Annual training. Periodic training. Initial training. Managing railroad training can be confusing and daunting at times. Like many training organizations within the transportation industry, it’s critical to know the fundamentals as well as the very complex training requirements within highly government-regulated environments such as railroad, aviation, maritime, trucking and other transportation industries.

So, how often do railroad employees need to be trained, and what are the best ways of ensuring training has been completed on time? What seems like it should be very straightforward and easy sometimes isn’t. For example, how do training managers distinguish between those employees who need their 3-6 month qualifications and certifications vs their annual training. To make matters more complex, there are often railroad employees with dual qualifications so the training landscape can become twice as complex and difficult to manage. How do you keep your railroad trainees current and compliant within these types of scenarios?

Relying on archaic, manual, spreadsheet and paper-based methods are rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and will put your company at risk of hefty government fines. Being disorganized in terms of managing railroad training is becoming less and less tolerated because of the safety and compliance risks that may result. New railroad training rules are being put in place to help keep railroad training institutions and organizations’ trainees current and compliant through modernization of systems and processes of managing the railroad training process. In fact, according to FRA regulators, railroad employers with 400k or more employee hours annually are required to submit programs to FRA by January 1, 2018.  Employers with less than 400k total employee hours annually are required to submit programs to FRA by May 1, 2019.

Railroad employers that manufacture railroad equipment are generally not impacted by 49 CFR Part 243, unless that employer is contractually obligated to inspect, repair, or maintain the equipment for the railroad in compliance with Federal railroad safety laws, regulations, and orders, regardless of whether those actions are taken on or off railroad property.

Without a modern training management system that is fully integrated with classroom and elearning (LMS) methods, the task of maintaining training schedules, qualifications and certifications will be quite overwhelming. Systems like AQT Solutions’ ATMS (Advanced Training Management System) have been carefully engineered under the guidance of USDOT / FRA regulations to ensure compliance with the upcoming 2018 eCFR Part 243 training program requirements for training delivery, electronic recordkeeping and program documentation.

The FRA Training, Qualifications and Oversight for Safety-Related Railroad Employees compliance guide (shown left) identifies the training timelines and requirements. Please contact send your questions and comments regarding how these requirements can be management within a training system at atmsinfo@aqtsolutions.com or call 707-265-7800 ext. 105.

To learn more, please browse the following ATMS Railroad Training System slideshow