How much does SPCC Training cost?

Learn how much you can expect SPCC Training to cost you.

SPCC Plans come along with lots of requirements - monthly inspections, annual inspections, reviews, amendments, record-keeping & documentation, and of course, the need for annual SPCC training. Naturally, you might be wondering “how much is this SPCC Training going to cost me?”. Like anything else, any type of training, let alone environmental training, is going to depend on several factors. What is your budget? How many people do you need to train? How will you conduct the training? What level of detail does your training need to include? What kind of training are you looking for?

Fortunately, understanding Training, especially the factors that impact the cost of SPCC training, is relatively easy to break down and understand. So, let's dive in and discuss SPCC Training cost variables, and help you figure out a price for training.

So how much does SPCC Training really cost?

As a quick ballpark estimate, it’s safe to say that SPCC Training can cost anywhere from nothing (yes, FREE), to thousands of dollars, all depending on a variety of factors.

I know, that doesn’t narrow it down very much, so let’s check out some variables that could impact the cost of SPCC Training.

What are the most cost-effective forms of SPCC Training?

Depending on your budget, needs, and familiarity with SPCC Plans and their regulations, there are a few different types of SPCC training you may choose to conduct that are relatively cheap and easy. But a quick reminder –you get what you pay for, and cheaper isn’t always better!

Your Initial SPCC Training

COST: FREE

I can’t speak for colleagues and competitors, but here at RMA, whenever we develop an SPCC Plan for someone, we always provide complimentary initial SPCC Training once a new plan is developed and delivered to our clients. In our case, our standard, free training includes a half-hour video going over your plan, your requirements, and a high-level overview of SPCC regulations. This initial SPCC Training costs nothing since it comes with your new plan. Technically you could argue “well you needed to buy an SPCC Plan to get the free SPCC training”, and you would be correct.

Regardless, a new SPCC Plan, as developed by an outside environmental consultant or professional engineer, should come with some type of introductory training. Otherwise, you'll never fully understand what you bought and are now required to use.

PROS

• Free SPCC Training! Free is good!
• Usually pretty light and easy to get through since it's your first introduction to SPCC Plans.

CONS

• Happens only once, usually right after you've received your SPCC Plan.
• Need to pay to play! You'll need to buy a new SPCC Plan to get your SPCC Training for free.
• Video can be boring. Webinars & in-person requires juggling schedules.
• Usually, generic, high-level training that isn't overly specific.

Costs for In-House SPCC Training

COST: FREE

The regulations describing the need for annual SPCC Training don’t specifically say you need to hire an outside expert to conduct your training. So, if you are knowledgeable and confident you have a firm grasp of the requirements, you may choose to conduct it yourself. SPCC training doesn’t necessarily have to take place in a formal classroom setting either – it could simply be a casual 20-minute conversation while walking around your facility, even during a monthly inspection, as long as it is documented and covers all areas of concern!

Be cautious if deciding to go with this method of training, as if an inspector deems the training not sufficient, it could fall back on you. Here is where if your training is insufficient, incorrect, or unsatisfactory in the eyes of regulators, your “free” training might end up costing you in the long run! As with any other training, make sure it's documented, and those documents are available upon request.

We’re big believers in the “training-the-trainer-method”. That is, you or a member of your company’s management take some sort of SPCC Training provided by a professional (could even be the initial training as long as you retained some knowledge!) and then distill the information down to what your staff needs to know. We recommend to all of our clients that someone distills applicable information to site staff in some way, shape, or form, to ensure that everyone gets some type of annual SPCC Training. Staff who handle oil on a daily basis might need to know more information regarding spill response, whereas management might only need to know about why you have a plan and its purpose. The right information given to the right person makes training much, much more effective.

After all, who knows your company, and how to train your employees, better than you?

PROS

• Free SPCC Training! Free is good!
• If you're a subject matter expert, this should be easy for you to get down.
• Train your staff when it's convenient for you and/or them.
• Less formal, more conversational, and easy to deliver on-site or in the field.

CONS

• You’ll need to be knowledgeable about SPCC plans and regulations.
• You must provide and keep documentation of training.
• If insufficient, you will be held responsible by regulators.

How much does online SPCC Training cost?

Maybe you like the idea of receiving training from a professional environmental consultant, but don’t want to deal with the logistics of arranging schedules and finding a time to “rally-the-troops”, negotiating a price, emailing staff and the consultant back and forth to coordinate, etc.

Enter: Online Training. Here’s where things can start to change drastically since there are so many options out there for online SPCC Training.

Please be aware that depending on the number of people you need to train, the legitimacy of the course author, the accuracy & detail of the information covered, length of the course, and additional features offered (quizzes, simulations, guided narration, automatically generated certificates, etc.) the cost to you may be cheaper or more expensive than what we’ve listed here.

Costs for Premade Online SPCC Training

COST: $50 - $500+

It’s becoming more and more common for businesses to utilize the power of online courses in order to stay on top of their required environmental training, and it’s pretty easy to see why. From pre-recorded video courses to interactive learning software, it’s never been easier to take your required annual SPCC Training. Yes, a lot of people still like face to face training, and we don’t blame them, but let’s look at why premade/pre-recorded/canned online SPCC Training is so popular:

• Online SPCC Training is always available and accessible from any device with internet access. Your staff can train during downtime and at their own pace.
• SPCC Training online can include quizzes and knowledge checks along the way to make sure the trainee is following along. Depending on your organization, you can use these “exams” as a way of determining understanding, or even as a way of encouraging employees to take the training! Thanks to things like gamification, your staff can actually be rewarded for completing training on time and acing those quizzes!
• Certificates for online SPCC Training can be automatically provided upon course completion. Each user can easily download, print, or save their training certificate, for documented proof of annual training.

If you’re looking to deploy the “training-the-trainer” strategy, online courses can be a great way to become knowledgeable on SPCC Plans and the applicable regulations you need to be familiar with, before passing along SPCC Training to your staff.

For our online SPCC annual training course developed by our environmental professionals here at RMA, we charge $135 per user. Check out our online SPCC Training course or visit our online environmental training portal for a full listing of the online environmental courses that we offer. If you’d like to purchase this course for several staff members or your entire training group, visit our contact us page and reach out to us for additional information regarding pricing for bulk license purchasing.

PROS

• Online SPCC Training is affordable, always available, and accessible from any internet-connected device.
• You (or your staff) can take training at any time. Coordinating schedules for a meeting is a thing of the past.
• Interactive online SPCC Training can feature a variety of interactions, such as quizzes, simulations, or even games. This helps keep your staff involved and invested. Plus, with gamification options, you can keep track of performance and reward employees who ace their training.
• Online training provides certificates for completing courses, which counts as documented proof of training for SPCC requirements.

CONS

• Online SPCC Training, unless otherwise stated, is mostly generic, meaning it provides a high-level overview with getting into specifics about your industry, facility, etc.
• Usually, online SPCC Training is pay per user. If you have a lot of employees to train, it may not be the most cost-effective solution strictly on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Costs for Custom Online SPCC Training

COST: $2,000 - $10,000+

If you’re interested in conducting online SPCC training, but would prefer that the training be specific to your operation as opposed to for a general audience, you may want to consider custom online training. Custom online training is developed around you and your operation. It can include your company logo, colors, branding, and language, as well as highlight the specific areas that your facility should be aware of concerning SPCC regulations and your plan.

Custom training tends to be more expensive, but if you need something specific to you and your operation/facility/industry, OR you have a relatively large group of people to train, custom training may be a better option.

Custom training can include anything you want – photos and videos of your site, specific quiz questions and assessments, and more. Additionally, these custom courses are typically private – that is, they are hidden and inaccessible for users outside of your organization. If you decide to go with a custom online SPCC training course, you’ll be a part of the development process in order to direct the course developers on exactly what you want in the final product. However, since the course will take time to develop, it won’t be immediately available for your staff to use for training purposes.

While this method is enticing and may provide the “best” online training, it isn’t for everyone. If you are simply looking to satisfy your annual training requirements in the fastest, easiest, and most cost-effective manner, custom training likely isn’t right for you. Large, multi-state operations with a large number of staff members might benefit from custom SPCC training, but for a small “mom-and-pop” shop, it’s probably overkill.

PROS

Everything about premade online SPCC Training plus...

• Training is 100% specific to you, your operation, facilities, industry, etc. It is targeted to provide you with the most relevant information. It can include anything, from features to photos, that you think will best serve you and your staff.
• Depending on how involved you want to get, you can become a part of the development process, ensuring you get an end product you'll be more than satisfied with.
• Training is private and hidden from the public. Only you and your organization, department, facility, etc., will be able to access training. You decided who's included.

CONS

• Custom training can be expensive, but it depends on a variety of variables which I won't go into today. Needless to say, it will cost more than buying one individual, pre-made online training, but maybe cheaper if you need to deploy it company-wide to a large number of staff members.
• The development timeframe for custom online SPCC Training can range from days to months, depending on what's being asked for.

In-Person / Live SPCC Training Costs

COST: $500 to $5,000+

If you don’t feel that you or your management team are qualified and knowledgeable enough to provide annual SPCC Training to the staff of your company (or don’t feel like dealing with the headache of providing it yourself!) or would like additional training before undertaking the task of training your staff, you may choose to hire a professional environmental consultant to conduct annual SPCC Training for you or a targeted group of your fellow employees

Obviously, the cost of this method will depend on the environmental consultant you choose to go with, and the method of delivery they are providing you. A low-end consultant providing a single live webinar may only cost you a couple of hundred dollars, while a seasoned, knowledgeable expert providing in-person training on-site at numerous facilities could cost thousands between airfare, lodging, and the time out of the office conducting the training itself. If you decide to go with this method, you may need to do some shopping around to figure out which consultant works best for you in terms of delivery methods, training content, and what you’re looking to spend.

Here at RMA, we’ve conducted annual SPCC Training for clients in a variety of ways over the years, from live webinars for groups of all sizes, to a companywide SPCC Training session at corporate HQ for larger groups, to on-site field training, specifically discussing the aspects of our client’s SPCC Plans, for targeted, facility-specific employees. For these, we typically have charged anywhere from $500 to over $5,000, again all depending on what our client asks for.

PROS

• Usually customized to your SPCC Plan, facility, or industry. You'll get applicable information that is often easier to digest.
• In-person is still a highly popular, highly effective method of training.

CONS

• Costs can be high for in-person training because of travel considerations, prep time, and time out of the office.
• Scheduling several people, let alone dozens or more can be challenging. Even once everyone's together, chances are an emergency will pop up, someone will get a phone call, etc., and some of your staff could miss training.

Additional SPCC Training Cost Considerations

As you’ve surely heard before – you get what you pay for. Annual SPCC training is no different.

Think of it like buying a car: you can get a new Ferrari, or you can get a used minivan from the ‘80s. Likewise, you can have an expert environmental consultant come out to each and every one of your facilities across the country to conduct your SPCC training in person, or you take a swing at providing it yourself over a cup of coffee in the break room here and there.

For most businesses, the most practical and responsible choice with regards to annual SPCC Training falls tends to be online SPCC Training due to ease of use, ease of scheduling, and cost considerations.

Whatever you decide, make sure that your training is documented and stored in your SPCC Plan in the event that an inspector shows up. And if we didn’t make this clear already – and we can’t stress it enough – you absolutely MUST perform annual SPCC training in some manner. Not doing so could cost you thousands of dollars more than simply conducting the training in the first place.

Other SPCC Articles

We know SPCC plans and their requirements can seem daunting. If you're still feeling a little confused about SPCC plans and regulations, check out some of our most popular articles for more helpful information!

• What is an SPCC plan?
• Who needs an SPCC plan?
• What are the different types of SPCC plans?
• How much does an SPCC plan cost?
• How long does it take to get an SPCC plan?
• Who enforces SPCC plans?
• The top 10 things to do during SPCC monthly inspections
• What should SPCC training include?
• Can I do SPCC training online?
• When should you update your SPCC plan and can you do it yourself?

Need more help with SPCC Plans?

That's a lot to take in, right? If you're overwhelmed, you're not alone. RMA has been actively involved in helping companies get and stay in compliance since our founding in 1992. Long story short, we know the ins and outs of the environmental problems industrial and commercial facilities face and can help you get into compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, ensuring your business stays out of trouble and in compliance.

Our staff members have been on-site at thousands of commercial and industrial operations across the country, so when we say we've seen it all and done it all, we mean it. We've helped everyone, from globe-spanning, multi-national organizations to small "mom & pop" operations. No matter your size, industry, or location, we'd love to learn how we can help.

So, if you're having any type of issue at your operation and need the help of an environmental consulting firm with a proven track record, reach out. Even if we can't help, we’ll do our best to steer you in the right direction.

Feel free to contact us at info@rmagreen.com, click here to contact us, or give us a call anytime at 888-RMA-0230 to learn how we can help your operation deal with environmental regulations.