I
Winter 2014
|
9
feature
n this day and age of technology why is
carrying a card such an issue?We have to carry
our driver’s license because the Law says so.
We have to have insurance on our vehicles
because the law says so. The law doesn’t
mandate we carry a cell phone but we never
leave home without it. So if we can remember
to carry our driver’s license and our phone
why can’t we also remember to carry our
certification cards? After all, our cards shows
that we have accomplished something, right?
It shows that we are certified to do our jobs!
Yet every year, at every training event held
across North Carolina there are always people
that don’t bring their cards to a continuing
education training day.
The state has released a new program for
scanning water and wastewater operator’s
certification cards. This program works well
as long as we have the cards to scan. With
technology being what it is today, if you can’t
keep up with your cards during the year, do
yourself a favor and take your phone which
has a camera and take a picture of your cards.
If you have one of the new smart phones
download one of the card apps that you can
store your grocery store cards etc. on and put
your cards in that app. By doing so you know
you will have your phone with you so you
should have a copy of your cards as well. With
these new apps they allow for the bar codes to
be scanned right off your phone.
Going into 2015, it will be the responsibility
of anyone attending a training event to provide
their cards if they want credit hours, so do
yourself a favor and make sure you have
your cards in hand or a copy of them on your
phone. As an operator in North Carolina, you
are required to attend 6 hours of continuing
education training each year and to get that
credit you will have to provide your cards
to be scanned so the state has a record of
your attendance. Depending on someone to
manually enter your number is risky at best.
Numbers get transposed or digits get left out,
so why take the chance? It’s your certifications
on the line, so if it doesn’t matter to you if you
get credit then it shouldn’t matter to anyone
else. No matter where you get your hours make
it easy on everyone and bring those cards.
I hope to see everyone at our 2015 training
events as we will be offering some new training
topics that will provide not only the hours but
great topics to help make you a better operator.
CARD CARRYING OPERATORS
—
OF THE 21
ST
CENTURY
—
By Alan Oldham
