Preface
This
document prescribes policy and operational procedures for
certifying Federal, federally funded State, and local government
and private contractor vehicle inspectors, safety auditors,
and safety investigators, as required by Section 211 of the
Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999. The certification
process is designed to ensure that all personnel have the
proper training and experience to perform the inspection and
compliance activities of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA).
FMCSA
published an Interim Final Rule to meet the requirement of
Section 211 of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of
1999 (the Act). The Act requires that a certified safety auditor
perform any safety audit or compliance review conducted after
December 31, 2002. The rule requires certification and maintenance
of certification for anyone who performs a motor carrier compliance
review, safety audit, or Level I and V inspection.
This
document is divided into four parts:
- Part
1 - Certification Process
- Part
2 - Decertification Process
- Part
3 - Temporary Waiver Process
- Part
4 - Recertification Process
Part
1: Certification Process
Provides the certification and maintenance of certification
requirements for each type of job responsibility: the motor
carrier compliance review, safety audit, and Level I and V
inspection.
Part
2: Decertification Process
Addresses what circumstances would result in an individual
being decertified to perform one or all of the motor carrier
compliance review, safety audit, and Level I and V inspection
responsibilities conducted by Federal and federally funded
State and local government enforcement personnel.
Part
3: Temporary Waiver Process
Describes the process for obtaining a temporary waiver of
the requirement to maintain certification.
Part
4: Recertification Process
Describes the procedures for an individual to regain his or
her certification following a decertification.
Part
1: Certification Process
Certification
is a way for FMCSA to assure its employees, the general public,
and the Congress that its enforcement personnel are qualified
to perform motor carrier compliance reviews, safety audits,
and Level I and V inspections. Certification as required by
the Interim Final Rule is a mandatory condition of continued
employment for Federal employees required to perform these
types of duties on a recurring basis, as described below.
Each Division Administrator will ensure that the Federal and
federally funded personnel performing motor carrier compliance
reviews, safety audits, and Level I and V inspections in his
or her State are certified to perform that job function. For
Federal employees performing functions subject to certification
on a recurring basis, failure to be certified or maintain
certification as required by the Interim Final Rule could
be a basis for termination of employment. Recurring basis
means that those individuals' job responsibilities require
them to conduct a minimum of six (6) compliance reviews, twenty-four
(24) safety audits, and/or thirty-two (32) Level I and V inspections
on an annual (annual shall mean fiscal year) basis. State
MCSAP agencies will certify as part of their commercial vehicle
safety plans that MCSAP personnel conducting any of these
job functions meet these requirements.
The requirements
for certification will apply to all individuals who conduct
motor carrier compliance reviews, safety audits, or Level
I and V inspections. However, FMCSA will certify any current
Federal or federally funded State or local employee who was
fully trained in conducting motor carrier compliance reviews,
safety audits, or Level I and V roadside inspections prior
to July 17, 2002. FCMSA recommends that the Division Administrators
document this certification process for Federal employees
through the annual performance appraisal process. These individuals
will be certified until September 30, 2003. After this initial
certification, they must be certified by one of the following
methods. Certification to Conduct Motor Carrier Compliance
Reviews
Basic
Certification:
Basic
Certification will apply to individuals newly appointed or
assigned from another government agency to FMCSA positions
with motor carrier compliance review responsibilities, and
to FMCSA employees occupying or assigned to positions with
this responsibility who have not been previously certified
to conduct motor carrier compliance reviews. It will also
apply to State employees who conduct federally funded motor
carrier compliance reviews. The requirements of basic motor
carrier compliance review certification are as follows:
Federal:
- Successfully
complete the FMCSA Safety Investigator Academy; and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections; or
Non-Federal:
- Successfully
complete the FMCSA North American Standard Level I, General
Hazardous Materials, and Compliance Review courses, and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections.
Maintenance
of Certification:
Each individual certified to conduct motor
carrier compliance reviews (including those conducting compliance
reviews as of July 17, 2002) must meet the following requirements
to remain certified:
- Complete
six (6) motor carrier compliance reviews annually (for purposes
of certification, annually shall mean every fiscal year);
and
- Complete
thirty-two (32) Level I and/or V inspections annually (for
purposes of certification, annually shall mean every fiscal
year); and
- Successfully
complete any FMCSA required refresher or in-service training;
and
- The
compliance reviews and Level I and/or V inspections must
be conducted in accordance with the FMCSA Field Operations
Training Manual and applicable policies.
Certification to Conduct Safety Audits
Basic
Certification:
Basic
Certification will apply to individuals newly appointed or
assigned from another government agency to FMCSA positions
with safety audit responsibilities, and to FMCSA or federally
funded State or local employees occupying or assigned to positions
with this responsibility who have not been previously certified
to conduct motor carrier compliance reviews or safety audits.
The requirements of basic safety audit certification are as
follows:
Federal
and Non-Federal:
- Successfully
complete the FMCSA Safety Auditor Academy; and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections; or
- Have
certification to conduct motor carrier compliance reviews.
Maintenance
of Certification:
Each
individual certified to conduct safety audits must meet the
following requirements to remain certified:
- Meet
the requirements to maintain certification to conduct motor
carrier compliance reviews; or
- Complete
twenty-four (24) safety audits annually (for purposes of
certification, annually shall mean every fiscal year);
- Complete
thirty-two (32) Level I and/or V inspections annually (for
purposes of certification, annually shall mean every fiscal
year);
- Successfully
complete any FMCSA required refresher or in-service training;
and
- The
safety audits and level I and/or V vehicle inspections must
be conducted in accordance with the FMCSA Field Operations
Training Manual and applicable policies.
Certification to Conduct Level I and V Inspections
Basic
Certification:
Basic Certification will apply to individuals
newly appointed or assigned from another government agency
to FMCSA positions with Level I and V inspection responsibilities,
and to FMCSA or federally funded State or local employees
occupying or assigned to positions with this responsibility
who have not been previously certified to conduct Level I
and V inspections. The requirements for the basic certification
to conduct Level I and V inspections are as follows:
Federal and Non-Federal:
- Successfully
complete the FMCSA Inspector Academy; or
- Successfully
complete the FMCSA North American Standard Level I Course;
and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections; and
- Meet
the minimum documented quality levels in the Level I and
V inspection process.
Maintenance of Certification:
Each
individual certified to conduct Level I and V inspections
(including those individuals conducting Level I or V inspections
as of July 17, 2002) must meet the following requirements
to remain certified:
- Complete
thirty-two (32) Level I and/or V inspections annually (for
purposes of certification, annually shall mean every fiscal
year); and
- Successfully
complete any FMCSA required refresher or in-service training;
and
- Meet
the minimum documented quality levels in the Level I and
V inspection process.
Duration
of Certification
Each
initial certification or maintenance of certification described
above will be valid through the last day of the next complete
fiscal year after the date the requirement was met. For example:
If an individual successfully completed the FMCSA Safety Investigator
Academy in fiscal year 2003, that person would be certified
to conduct compliance reviews until September 30, 2004. If
an individual conducted six quality compliance reviews in
fiscal year 2003, that person would be certified to conduct
compliance reviews until September 30, 2004. This applies
to each type of certification.
Part
2: Decertification Process
Any Federal
or federally funded individual who is certified to perform
motor carrier compliance reviews, safety audits, or Level
I and V inspections shall be decertified if he or she fails
to meet any of the established requirements for maintaining
certification within the applicable fiscal year (October to
September for Federal employees). However, a person who is
decertified to conduct compliance reviews may continue to
conduct safety audits and/or Level I and V inspections if
that person meets the certification requirements for the safety
audit and/or Level I and V inspections. For example, if a
person certified to conduct compliance reviews conducts 3
compliance reviews and 24 safety audits in a fiscal year,
that person would lose certification to conduct compliance
reviews but retain certification to conduct safety audits.
Decertification shall be automatic for anyone who does not
meet the requirements of the certification process. For example,
if a person is certified to conduct compliance reviews until
September 30, 2003, but fails to conduct six compliance reviews
before that date, that person would be decertified to conduct
compliance reviews on October 1, 2003.
It shall
be the Division Administrator's responsibility to ensure that
all individuals (both Federal and federally funded State and
local) performing compliance reviews, safety audits, or Level
I and V inspections within their state are certified. Federal
employees whose positions require certification shall be provided
no more than 180 days from the date of decertification to
obtain recertification, unless the employee obtains a waiver
as described in Part 3 below. For federally funded State
and local employees, each MCSAP agency will be required to
certify that the federally funded employees in that State
are certified to perform the applicable job function(s) (compliance
reviews, safety audits, Level I or V inspections).
Part
3: Temporary Waiver Process
A Federal
employee who has been decertified to conduct motor carrier
compliance reviews, safety audits, or Level I and V inspections
may apply for a temporary waiver from decertification. This
request shall be made through the Division Administrator of
the State where the person will be conducting compliance reviews,
safety audits, and/or Level I and V inspections to the Associate
Administrator for Enforcement and Program Delivery as the
deciding official. A waiver can only be granted to a person
who has previously been certified and subsequently decertified
due to reasons beyond his or her control, or reasons not related
to misconduct. For example, an employee who was certified
to perform compliance reviews, but failed to maintain certification
due to a management-directed temporary assignment in another
office or illness, would be allowed to apply for a waiver.
A person who was certified, but failed to maintain certification
because of misconduct, or whose compliance reviews are not
of minimum acceptable quality, shall not be allowed to apply
for a waiver. State employees may also apply for a waiver
from decertification, but that request should be made to the
head of the MCSAP lead agency or that person's designated
official.
A waiver
can only be granted for a period of time commensurate with
the reason the employee was unable to obtain certification
(e.g., the duration of the temporary assignment or illness).
For example, a person certified to perform compliance reviews
is hospitalized for 6 months and fails to maintain his or
her certification. That person could apply for a waiver from
the decertification process, and if that waiver were granted,
he or she would be given a maximum of 6 months to meet the
maintenance or basic requirements for certification. After
the waiver period has expired, the employee must meet the
requirements for recertification within 180 days. If a waiver
is not granted, the requirements for recertification must
be met within 180 days of decertification.
Part
4: Recertification Requirements
A Federal
employee who fails to maintain certification may request recertification.
The request must be made to the Division Administrator of
the State where the person plans to conduct motor carrier
compliance reviews, safety audits, and/or Level I and V inspections.
If the request is granted, the Division Administrator shall
determine which requirements below will be utilized for recertification,
and whether the person has satisfactorily completed the recertification
requirements.
State
employees should make the request for recertification through
the head of the MCSAP lead agency or that person's designated
official.
Recertification to Conduct Compliance Reviews
The person
must:
- Satisfactorily
complete the FMCSA North American Standard Level I, General
Hazardous Materials, and Compliance Review courses; and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections; or
- Satisfactorily
complete the final examination for each course listed above;
and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections.
Recertification to Conduct Safety Audits
The person
must:
- Meet
the recertification requirements to conduct motor carrier
compliance reviews; or
- Satisfactorily
complete the FMCSA Safety Auditor course; and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections; or
- Satisfactorily
complete the final examination for the FMCSA Safety Auditor
course.
Recertification to Conduct Level I and V Inspections
The person
must:
- Satisfactorily
complete the FMCSA Inspector course; or
- Satisfactorily
complete the FMCSA North American Standard Level I course;
or
- Satisfactorily
complete the final examination for one of the courses listed
above; and
- Satisfactorily
participate in thirty (30) Level I or V inspections under
the direction and control of a person certified to conduct
Level I and V inspections.
- After
being decertified, any Federal employee whose position requires
certification for continued employment shall be given only
one opportunity to obtain recertification.
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