In each issue of Working Pressure, we ask 10 questions to a training coordinator or instructor of an ASSE-approved training provider. Some questions are work related, some are personal, and others are just for fun. We learn our trade through local colleagues, mentors, and instructors, but what can we learn from others across the country? Let’s learn about the people we learn from. In this issue, we’ll get to know David Lambert, Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester Instructor for Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, WY.
If you’d like us to ask 10 questions to your ASSE-approved training coordinator or instructor, send us a note telling us why at editor@workingpressuremag.com.
How long have you been affiliated with your training center/school?
I received the ASSE Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester Certification in the Fall of 2005, along with my proctor, Ed Hozian. We have been offering classes several times a year since then on a regular basis.
What is your background as it relates to your job?
Ed Hozian and I both have public water system operation backgrounds, which led us into cross-connection control and eventually testing backflow prevention assemblies. I was fortunate to be involved in a start-up program involving the assessment of potential cross-connections and levels of hazard to the local municipal water supply.
How did you become interested in ASSE certification programs?
I recognized the dangers of cross-connections to the public water supply at an early stage in my position as a Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WYDEQ) Certified Operator. It was a natural step to learn the art of testing the assemblies that protect our system from unknow quality water supplies or systems.
What ASSE certifications are you currently offering?At Laramie County Community College (LCCC), we currently offer a 40-hour ASSE Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester course, as well as a tester recertification class.
Are any ASSE certifications required in your city or state?
Our state WYDEQ requires that all cross-connections be periodically assessed and tested by a certified tester. The statewide water suppliers generally have local ordinances supporting the state requirement as part of their cross-connection control program.
How do you get students interested in the classes you’re offering?
As a past WYDEQ operator, I utilize my connections in the industry to help promote education regarding cross-connection control and the hazards of not actively being engaged. Our classes are kept small and personal. There is much promotion by word of mouth from students saying we offer good training and skill development in our classes.
What’s your favorite sports team?
As a long-term resident of Wyoming, of course it is the Wyoming Cowboys.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
That’s a long shot, but I think the first thing I would do is set aside a fund to help young disadvantaged children have a better life in the future.
Would you rather never have internet access again or never be able to take an airplane again?
As a lifelong pilot, I would have to say I could not live without being able to take an airplane. Let’s give up the internet and do the world some good by just getting back to basics.
What would be the worst “buy one get one free” sale of all time?
A trip to the hospital in an ambulance!
