Southeastern Expo Highlights: Recruitment, Regulations, Willis Retirement

Attracting new employees to the propane industry was among the leading issues for discussion in April at the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo April 21-23, 2017, in Nashville. The industry’s Workforce Development Task Force met to discuss new methods, such as an increased social media presence focusing on recruitment.

An NPGA regulatory update focusing on issues such as cylinder requalification and an entry-level driver training rule, in addition to a retirement ceremony for Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) president and CEO Roy Willis were among the other highlights of the convention, the largest U.S. propane industry event.

A presentation by PERC preceding the opening of the exhibits featured council chairman Tom Van Buren honoring Willis’ service to the propane industry, and his announcement of the creation of the Roy W. Willis Scholarship Fund. Van Buren said, “We just think this is an unbelievable way for you to have your legacy carry on through our industry and for all time.”

Willis commented about joining PERC as its first president and CEO shortly after the organization’s founding in 1996 followed by additional comments at the PERC update portion of the Southeastern event (see p. 25).

In addition, NPGA chairman Stuart Weidie expressed appreciation for the collaborative relationship between NPGA and PERC and reviewed some top priorities for NPGA. The fight against several rules impacting commercial driver’s licenses and natural gas expansion into rural propane territory were two examples.

Weidie noted that the propane industry is against natural gas expansion and onerous commercial driver’s license regulations, but he added that NPGA is in the middle of a strategic planning process to define “not just what we’re against, but what we’re for.” He said he is for propane water heaters being installed in homes and commercial businesses, which results in the growth of year-round demand. Weidie added that the industry serves 4.5 million existing propane customers who have an electric water heater and that every million water heaters converted to propane means about 250 million gallons of propane consumed.

He is also for “propane going into engines,” including vehicles, lawnmowers, forklifts, heat pumps, and air conditioning. The propane industry must stay persistent in its efforts to grow engine fuel gallons, which would help provide a reliable source of gallon sales. Weidie also said that he is for growing the industry. “You’re either growing or you’re dying. I want you to think when you go to work every day: is it more exciting, is it more fun when you’re growing your business, when your people are excited about the opportunities that you’re taking advanage of?”

He went on to note that having a growing business is key to attracting employees to the industry. “Is a… young man or woman going to join a declining business that doesn’t create opportunities for them in the future? I think that’s a tough sell. But if you’re growing, you’re creating future opportunities for people in our industry and in your individual businesses.”

The industry’s Workforce Development Task Force met at the conference to address those opportunities. A group of state propane gas association executives, NPGA representatives, and propane marketers discussed producing “deliverables” to address the issue, such as apprenticeship programs, strategic partnerships, and the use of statistics to promote the industry. At its meeting, the task force broke into smaller groups to discuss expanding on the deliverables and came up with additional ideas such as expanding the industry’s social media presence to focus on recruitment, creating a website specifically for attracting new employees, working with trade schools, using the industry’s Blue the Dog advertising campaign to target prospective employees, and starting an apprenticeship program. Stephanie Hennen, 21, who has worked parttime for Westmor Industries and will transition to fulltime soon, attended the meeting and told task force members that people her age like that the propane industry is family oriented.

Task force member Alex Gresham, director of human development at Blossman Gas (Ocean Springs, Miss.)discussed “Recruitment and Development: Attracting New Employees to the Propane Industry.” They expanded on hiring and development practices discussed in a BPN article (BPN, May 2017, p. 28). Jim Stein, owner/manager of LP Gas Jobs, a hiring and recruiting Web site for the propane industry, stated that propane marketers should treat applicants like potential customers. “It’s just good public relations. They could be your best consumer advocate when they are hired.”

Gresham told session attendees they should conduct an internal review of their orientation process, ensure the work equipment to be used by new hires is in good condition, identify who will serve as a mentor, and regularly interact with the employee. He added that mentors should be prepared to help new hires learn properly, and the marketer should challenge that experienced employee to make a positive impact.

Justine Staub, director of workforce development at AmeriGas (Valley Forge, Pa.), offered a list of reasons people leave their jobs. Among them is that applicants are often unfamiliar with the requirements of the job until they start. She observed that for certain jobs, her company presents a job profile document to new employees that includes “a day in the life,” or a description of the employee’s day-to-day duties.

Regulatory Update

Mike Caldarera, vice president of regulatory and technical services for NPGA, provided an overview of the regulations that the association has addressed over the past months in the areas of cylinder requalification, crane operation, entry-level driver training, electronic logging devices, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s chemical facility anti-terrorism standards (CFATS).

On cylinder requalification, Caldarera addressed the news in March that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will not take enforcement action against the requalification of DOT-specification cylinders by volumetric testing according to a 12-year period, as previously authorized in 49 CFR 180.209(e). PHMSA will allow either a 12- or 10-year requalification period for volumetric expansion testing while the agency reviews NPGA’s petition to return the cylinder requalification period to 12 years.

Caldarera asserted that DOT was not justified to make rulemaking changes to HM-233F, which affected various special permits that had been on the books for many years. The department changed section 49 CFR 180.209(e), which deals with cylinder requalification intervals. Wording changes, which could initially be perceived as slight, nonetheless had a major impact on the propane industry, reducing the initial requalification period for cylinders from what had always been 12 years to 10 years. Alongside was a change to the proof pressure test from seven years to 10 years.

“There was no safety justification whatsoever for doing this, and it was not mentioned, word one, at any point throughout the regulation,” Caldarera said. “So we went back to DOT and engaged them about how to address this issue and made them aware that we think this was an oversight on their part and we pressed them for a change or clarification.” A changeover in DOT staff and the U.S. national election lengthened the process, but NPGA eventually met with the general counsel of the U.S Secretary of Transportation. NPGA asked for a stay of enforcement of the changes and submitted a petition of rulemaking to change the language back to what it was previously.

DOT eventually agreed that the rule change was not proper, and issued a notice stating new provisions would not be enforced. Further, a 10- or 12-year requalification would be accepted. Caldarera added, “The next step was to get them to change the regulation, and that’s where we are right now.”

Caldarera went on to discuss an entry-level driver training rule that DOT announced several months ago. As has been reported, the compliance date is February 2020 for the rule, which stipulates that new applicants for a commercial driver’s license, or existing drivers seeking a hazmat endorsement, must meet additional requirements on theory, or knowledge-based information, as well as behind-the-wheel (BTW) training. Before sitting for the state CDL exam, applicants must receive an 80% or higher score on a test covering theory and competently perform BTW skills to the satisfaction of the training provider. Applicants seeking the hazardous materials endorsement must receive an 80% or higher score on a hazardous materials test before the individual can take the endorsement exam administered by the state. The training must be administered by a training provider listed in a newly created Training Provider Registry, although different training providers may administer the theory and the BTW training.

Caldarera emphasized that the 80% threshold “is completely arbitrary.” Regarding the driver training provider portion of the rule, marketers can provide the theory portion, behind-the-wheel training, or both, but marketers will have to register with FMCSA, and some requirements must be met for registration. The marketer must meet minimum facility requirements and maintain records of applicants, including the number of hours trainees spend behind the wheel. Marketers are also subject to audit by FMCSA.

“These provisions are onerous enough that we’ve heard from our members who have had concerns, and if you look overall at the trucking industry and industries that rely on trucking, there is a shortage of drivers out there, so anything agencies do to increase the impediment to getting new drivers is going to be a problem.”

Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. (FCCC) and PERC held a meeting with propane truck builders and propane marketers to discuss service and other issues with the Freightliner S2G bobtail and hear concerns about the product. Michael Taylor, director of autogas business development at PERC, kicked off the meeting by asking how many people in the room still want to buy diesel-fueled bobtails. Just a few raised their hands. “We’ll try to change your minds,” Taylor said.

Mike Stark of FCCC talked about Freightliner’s 24/7 direct service model, and noted, “Our task is to return every single phone call and every single email to find out what the customer needs.”

Brian Caudell, a technical sales manager at Freightliner, addressed S2G field issues he has heard about, including problems with coolant and oil. “We’ll have a new gasket in the middle of the second quarter of 2017,” he said. Addressing a second issue, he noted that parts for an intake gasket and rocker arm should be available around June or July. In response to another, he added that the 2018 model year S2G will feature all the corrected engine components.

In response to an assertion from a meeting participant that his Freightliner dealer was not adequately trained on servicing the S2G, Stark noted FCCC would increase the number of training sessions it offers. After the gathering, Stark said FCCC “expressed a strong support of the product with enhanced vehicle components and support.” He stated that FCCC’s “transition to a Tier 1 support entity will greatly enhance the customer experience when needed,” explaining that Tier 1 support means all service and warranty questions now come directly to FCCC.

Three propane marketers spoke at a session titled “NPGA Benchmarking Council, Valuable Lessons from Best Practices.” One of the trio, Clayton Cook, energy division manager at United Landmark (London, Ohio), explained that the council recently completed a key performance indicator study. A data firm collected information on the number of propane customers, gross margins, how many customers are on budget plans, how many are on automatic fill plans, and how many are will-call. The information Cook received showed him how his company compares to his competitors.

“So, I can say, are my margins good where I am, or do I need to work on expanding those? Are my deliveries efficient? I think they are, but are they good enough? It gave me the opportunity to [compare] other competitors in the same market with the same customer base and same demographics [and ask], Is United Landmark a subpar business, or are we doing a good job?”

Mark Delehanty of Independence Propane (Green Lane, Pa.) said his benchmarking group conducted an analysis of members’ Web site traffic. “It was very eye opening, the information that can be gathered from Google Analytics.”

At a session titled “Global Trends in Propane, Today and for the Future,” Paul Ladner, group CEO of UGI East, noted that the European market sells 30 million tons of LPG annually, and a large percentage of that goes to petrochemical companies. Alison Abbott, marketing and communications director at the World LPG Association, gave an overview on India’s initiatives in accelerating an LPG rollout. She noted that India is one of the top-five LPG users in the world at 20 million tons annually, and she said that more than 170 million households in the country have access to LP-gas.

Capt. Bernardo Herzer, chairman of LPG Marine at the World LPG Association and chairman and founder of LEHR LLC (Los Angeles), provided an update on the worldwide use of propane in the marine environment. —Daryl Lubinsky