H2S Alive training

H2S Alive is the industry training program for people who may be exposed to hydrogen sulphide, developed and maintained by Energy Safety Canada and delivered through its approved training providers. We help employers work out who needs it, arrange it for their crews, and make sure the program around the training, from gas detection to rescue, is ready for the day an alarm goes off.

What we look at

Training is one part of protecting workers from H2S. Before and after the course, we look at the rest of the picture:

• Where H2S may be present on your sites: sour oil and gas, wastewater, sewers, lift stations, manure and organic waste, pulp and paper, and some mechanical and plumbing work
• Which workers, contractors and visitors may be exposed, and which roles need certified training
• Your H2S hazard assessment and the controls already in place
• Personal and fixed gas detection, including bump testing and calibration records
• Respiratory protection: selection, fit testing, inspection and maintenance of breathing apparatus
• Emergency response plans, alarm signals, muster points and rescue arrangements
• Training records and how expiry dates are tracked

What to have ready

• A list of workers with current certification dates, including contractors you rely on
• The sites and tasks where H2S may be present, and any monitoring results you already have
• Your current H2S hazard assessment and emergency response plan
• The make and model of the personal and fixed detectors in use, with bump test and calibration records
• An inventory of breathing apparatus and the fit test records for people who use it

How it works

1. We ask why. We start by understanding the need: a client requirement, a new sour site, a wastewater project, an expired certification list or a gap found in an audit.
2. We identify who needs training. Based on your sites and tasks, we help you decide which workers need H2S Alive and which need additional training such as respiratory protection or confined space entry.
3. We arrange the course. We coordinate delivery of H2S Alive through an approved provider, at a time and location that suits your crew where that is possible.
4. We connect it to your program. We review your H2S hazard assessment, gas detection practice and emergency response plan so that what workers learn matches the equipment and procedures they will use on site.
5. We keep it current. We help you set up training records with expiry tracking so certifications are renewed before they lapse.

What you get

Your workers attend recognized H2S Alive training and receive their certification from the program on successful completion. You get a clear list of who needs which training, a review of the site-specific parts of your H2S program with recommendations, and a records system that shows who is certified and when renewal is due. If your gas detectors, breathing apparatus or emergency plans need attention, we tell you what we found and what we suggest.

The easiest way to see how the course and the site program fit together is to follow an alarm. Each response a worker is trained to make depends on something the employer has to provide on that site.

A typical case

A municipality is about to send a mixed crew of its own staff and a contractor's workers into a lift station upgrade. Some hold current H2S Alive certificates, some have expired ones and two have never taken it. Before booking a course, the useful questions are which tasks put people where H2S can collect, whether the lift station has fixed detection and what its alarm sounds like, where the wind sock and muster point are, and who would perform a rescue. Training gets everyone to the same baseline; the site walk-through confirms the detectors, alarms, escape routes and breathing apparatus they were trained on are actually there and working.

Who it's for

This service is for oil and gas operators and service companies, contractors who work on sour sites, municipalities and contractors working in wastewater and sewer systems, agricultural and food processing operations, and any employer whose clients require H2S Alive before workers come on site. It also suits safety managers who need to bring a mixed crew with different certification dates onto one schedule.

For background, read Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) hazards and What H2S Alive training covers. Detection is only reliable if the equipment works, which Gas detector bump testing and calibration explains.

Common questions