Training · HydroTech Testing Services

Pipeline OQ training and continuing education

In-person hydrostatic and nitrogen pressure testing courses for pipeline operators, utilities and engineering firms — taught by the field crews who plan and execute the work, at our facility or yours.

Three formats, from a four-hour briefing for the people who buy and accept tests, to a two-day field certification that is the standard HydroTech’s own crews are trained against. Every format uses Proper Pigging, our 172-page field book, as the text, and every attendee keeps a copy.

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Qualification is not competence

Operator qualification demonstrates that a person is qualified to perform a covered task. It does not demonstrate that the person understands why the pressure moved six psi at two in the morning. Qualification and competence are different things, and the distance between them is where tests get argued about instead of accepted.

These courses exist to close that distance. They are built to sit alongside an operator’s own OQ program, not to replace it: we teach the engineering and field judgement behind the covered tasks, so that the people already qualified on paper can defend a test in the room where it is accepted.

What this training is, and is not This is professional training that supports your operator qualification program. It is not itself an OQ evaluation, and completing a course does not qualify an individual on a covered task under 49 CFR Part 192 Subpart N or Part 195 Subpart G. Qualification remains the operator’s determination under its own written plan.

The three course formats

Course	For whom	Length
HT I Executive & Project Briefing	Managers, project engineers and owner’s representatives who buy, schedule and accept pressure tests. No calculation required of participants.	4 contact hours
HT II Engineering Workshop	Pipeline engineers and inspectors. Adds calculation practice; a 16-inch crude oil pipeline is engineered end to end over the day.	8 contact hours
HT III Field Certification	The complete programme, with equipment displays, field-reality sessions, live checklist exercises and a written assessment.	Two days 10 contact hours

Full course outlines, chapter by chapter →

Annual training requirements and records

Most operators and utilities carry an annual training obligation for engineering and integrity staff, and need a record that stands up to audit. Every attendee receives a certificate of completion naming the course, the date, and the contact hours completed, and we can supply an attendance roster for your training file.

The two-day certification is 10 contact hours. One contact hour of qualifying instruction is generally counted as one professional development hour, so the class corresponds to 10 PDH, or 1 CEU by the standard ten-hour conversion.

Most state engineering boards do not require a provider to be accredited or board-approved for a technical course to count toward renewal. They set criteria instead — typically that the activity has clear purpose and objectives, and that its content maintains, improves or expands the skills and knowledge of the licensee’s field of practice. Pressure testing instruction taken by a pipeline engineer sits squarely within that.

Acceptance is nonetheless your board’s or your employer’s determination, not ours. Requirements vary by state and most operate on self-certification with the possibility of audit. We state the subject, the date and the hours accurately so the claim can be made and supported. More on credits, OQ and booking →

Bringing a course to your facility

Courses run at the HydroTech facility or at yours. On-site delivery suits operators training a whole crew at once, and lets the field-reality sessions use your procedures, your equipment and your acceptance criteria. Tell us the headcount and the rough timeframe and we will scope it.

Who attends

Pipeline and integrity engineers
Inspectors and testing technicians
Project managers and owner’s representatives
Operators, engineering firms and construction contractors across the natural gas and hazardous liquids industry

Ask about a course

Tell us the headcount and rough timing and we will come back within one working day. The same form orders the field book if you want to read it first.

HydroTech Testing Services · 724 809 3385 · info@hydrotechtesting.com