Training session in progress
Sydney based CFS International has wrapped up a busy second half to 2010, putting more than 50 industry members from Bangladesh through one of the most comprehensive NGV training programs the company has staged since its formation in almost ten years ago. The CNG industry is an important element of Bangladesh’s economy and energy setup. Bangladesh has one of the world’s highest CNG market penetration rate, with a CNG vehicle population (currently at about 250,000 out of a total vehicle population of some one million).
CFS Technical Director, Dr Hien Ly, says the program conducted in Sydney, Australia in conjunction with the Sydney Institute of Technology marks an increased commitment to safety from stakeholders in Bangladesh and supports growing evidence of a change in culture in the region. “Like many other countries with large CNG vehicle populations, Bangladesh has had its unfortunate share of safety incidents in its long history of CNG vehicle usage,” he said. “Our interactions with industry leaders in Bangladesh made it clear that they are committed to providing the safest possible environment for the industry and end users of NGVs.”
Four groups of officials and technical staff from Petrobangla, RPGCL (the country’s natural gas company), the Bangladesh Ministry of Planning – Energy and Mineral Resources Division took part in the four-course program from July to December.
Course details included:
Course 1 (by CFS): Planning, engineering, design, operation and maintenance of refuelling stations (eight weeks, 18 persons)
Course 2 (by CFS): Project planning and management (with special reference to CNG project identification, preparation and economic evaluation (eight weeks, nine persons)
Course 3 (by Sydney Institute, with a one – week safety course by CFS): Planning, engineering design, operation and maintenance of CNG conversion system (eight weeks, 18 vehicle converters)
Course 4 (by CFS): Safety and environment (including new safety codes, standards and regulations related to conversion and use of CNG) (four weeks, 11 persons)
CNG training in Sydney, Australia
CFS and Sydney Institute have collaborated for a decade in CNG training programs for Asian countries, starting with a program to train Singapore CNG industry and government officials in the early 2000s. Sydney Institute has been at the forefront of training for gas fuelled vehicle conversion auto mechanics in Australia for three decades. It has a large number of expert instructors, a well equipped vehicle conversion laboratory and extensive industry contacts from its training and technical assistance programs over several years.
The courses in the Bangladesh program placed strong emphasis on:
- the extensive set of international CNG codes and standards, as well as standards on supporting infrastructure such as gas cylinder test stations and test procedures, vehicle workshops and garages, hazardous area classification and CNG flow metering testing and approval
- government regulatory frameworks for effective safety management
- design and operation of CNG vehicles for safety in fire and collision
- CNG cylinder safety: selection, storage, handling, operation and maintenance
- CNG vehicle and refuelling station design and installation
- CNG safety management in the challenging regulatory and market conditions of developing countries
- Lessons learnt from databases of over 25 years of CNG safety incidents in many countries
- Online and PC-based course work where attendees underwent supervised tutorials to ensure that the lectures were correctly understood and technical assignments were correctly completed
Technical field visits were conducted to Sydney Buses’ CNG bus depots and fast fill CNG stations, a CNG cylinder retest station, an OEM CNG bus building factory, and the Australia Post Parcel Distribution Centre where CNG forklifts have been successfully deployed for several years.
Upon successful completion of the training courses, many delegates will be able to upgrade their safety programs and train their CNG industry colleagues. Additional training courses will also be conducted in Australia, or in Bangladesh, for more groups later.
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