An OQ is proof that an individual has been evaluated and found qualified to perform a specific "covered task" on a gas pipeline. Federal rules (49 CFR Part 192, Subpart N) and California's General Order 112-F require that anyone performing covered tasks be qualified at the time they do the work.

Anyone doing work on PG&E's gas pipeline system or facilities, or building new gas facilities that will connect to PG&E's system. This includes PG&E employees, PG&E's contractors, and applicant installers (contractors working under a new business application without a Master Service Agreement with PG&E).

An activity that meets all four of these tests: it is performed on a gas pipeline; it is an operations, maintenance, or new construction task; it is required by 49 CFR Part 192; and it affects the operation or integrity of the pipeline.

A condition that may indicate a malfunction or a departure from normal operations, one that could exceed design limits or create a hazard to people, property, or the environment. OQ evaluations test your ability to recognize and react to AOCs, not just to perform the task.

The maximum number of unqualified people a qualified person can direct and observe while they perform a covered task. For PG&E work it is typically 1:1. Span of control is not meant as a substitute for getting your crew qualified.

Contractors performing excavation around PG&E gas facilities (gas-only or joint trench) need:

• OQ-0507 – Damage Prevention During Excavation
• OQ-0215 – Installation of Pipe, Backfill, Compacting

Generally no. If you are trenching only for sewer, electric-only, or cable/communications projects, PG&E gas OQs are not required, even within two feet of gas facilities. If the trench will carry PG&E gas, the OQs above apply. When in doubt, ask your PG&E inspector or New Business representative.

It depends on the work, but commonly:

• OQ-0212 – Install Pipe in a Bore
• OQ-0214 – Tracer Wire on Plastic Pipe
• OQ-0215 – Installation, Backfill, Compacting
• OQ-0403 – Leak Test at Operating Pressure (soap test; required when making plastic connections)
• OQ-0404 – Pressure Test for Facilities Operating Below 100 psi
• OQ-0502 – Standby Pipeline (when observing excavation near critical or high-priority facilities)
• OQ-0504 – Non-Production Locate and/or Mark
• OQ-0507 – Damage Prevention During Excavation
• OQ-0613 – Polyethylene Tapping Tee (½" to 2")
• OQ-0320 – Protective Coating (only if applying paint to meters, regulators, valves, or above-ground piping)
• OQ-2217 / OQ-2218 – Steel Pipe Joining, Flanged / Threaded (when making those connections)

No. You only need the qualification for the joining method you actually perform, such as socket fusion (OQ-2103), saddle fusion (OQ-2105), butt fusion (OQ-2106 / OQ-2107), electrofusion (OQ-2108 / OQ-2109), or mechanical fittings (OQ-2112 / OQ-2114).

Log in to your PG&E OpenText Core account and search for QG-4008, the Guide to Qualifications.

OQs are evaluated with a written exam (computer or digital device), a performance evaluation (hands-on observation, simulation, or oral evaluation), or both, depending on the task. Evaluations are given in English.

Written OQ exams require 80% or higher; any missed questions are reviewed with you afterward. Performance evaluations require 100%.

A failed attempt removes that OQ, and you are not qualified to perform the task until you pass. After three failed attempts, you must wait 30 calendar days before retesting.

All required parts must be completed within 30 days.

No. OQ testing must be administered by a PG&E-approved third-party evaluator, such as Resource Pipeline. Training and coaching are not allowed during an evaluation.

All OQ questions are based on PG&E procedures, which are available in PG&E's OpenText Core. To request a Core vendor account, email CORE@pge.com with your company name and two company admins (with their email and phone). Review the materials before your testing session.

These are scheduled directly with PG&E's Gas Qualifications team:

• Plastic pipe joining: OQPlasticSched@pge.com or 1-855-854-6227, Option 4
• Welding: OQWeldingSched@pge.com or 1-855-854-6227, Option 4

It depends on the task. Most PG&E OQs run on a 3-year or 5-year requalification interval. Hot tapping and plugging tasks also require an annual written exam. Plastic and welding qualifications follow their own schedules.

At the end of the calendar quarter of your expiration date. For example, an OQ earned in February that runs three years expires March 31 three years later.

Yes. ITS OnBoard sends alerts 90, 60, 30, and 7 days before a qualification is due. You can also check your Qualified Module and Transcript reports in OnBoard.

Your ITS wallet card has a QR code that inspectors scan to see your current OQs and pre-qualification status. If an OQ doesn't show when your card is scanned, you're not qualified for that task. Inspectors can also look you up in the ITS GO app.

Industrial Training Services is the third-party company that manages gas qualification records for PG&E through its OnBoard system. Your OQs, SQCA, and wallet card all live in ITS.

1. Email PG&EApplicantInstallerPreQual@pge.com with your company name, a primary contact (name, email, phone), and the scope of work you typically perform.
2. Once PG&E confirms, ITS sends an information form (via PandaDoc), followed by an agreement to sign.
3. Provide a Certificate of Insurance showing at least $1,000,000 per occurrence in general liability.
4. Pay the set-up fee. Your company account is then created, and your admin attends an ITS admin training session.

ITS sales and set-up: Sales@ITS-Training.com or 270-753-2150, Ext. 100.

PG&E's August 2025 guidance lists a $350 set-up fee, $150 per admin, $80 per student, $10 per inactive student, and $10 per eWallet card plus shipping. Fees are set by ITS and can change, so confirm current pricing with ITS. OQ training and testing fees from your evaluator are separate.

Ask ITS to add the "Applicant Installer Series" to your account. You'll then be able to profile your workers for the SQCA.

The Safety, Quality, and Conduct Assessment is PG&E's pre-qualification for applicant installers. It's a short web-based training in ITS (7 slides and 4 questions) that takes under 30 minutes and is available in English and Spanish. No pre-study is needed.

Every individual in the field who installs in-scope gas or electric facilities under a PG&E new business application. Gas applicant installers have needed it since March 1, 2025, and electric applicant installers since April 1, 2025. There is no span of control for pre-qualification, so each worker needs their own.

Yes. In-scope electric work includes underground conduit, substructures, vaults, and boxes up to the meter panel (including excavation and backfill), transformer pads, PG&E-owned poles, meter pedestal and switchgear conduit and risers, and streetlight conduit and substructures.

Work on the customer side of the meter, temporary service, panel boards, grounding, restoration (paving, landscaping), installing only communication conduit or cable in a joint trench, and office roles. Project managers, designers, and owners who aren't in the field don't need it.

Anyone preparing and submitting gas as-built redlines must also complete the PG&E Applicant Installer Gas As-Built training in ITS.

Yes. PG&E can revoke it for willful or repeated safety violations, poor-quality or non-compliant work, or conduct issues such as intimidating an inspector, concealing damage, or falsifying records.

National Compliance Management Service monitors contractors' drug and alcohol testing programs for PG&E to confirm they meet DOT / PHMSA requirements (49 CFR Part 199, Subparts B and C).

Gas applicant installers whose workers use these OQs on PG&E gas facilities: OQ-0215, OQ-0501, OQ-0502, OQ-0504, and OQ-0507. Without satisfactory drug and alcohol results in NCMS, those OQs show as unqualified in ITS.

No. Applicant installers doing only electric work don't need a DOT drug and alcohol program. If you got an NCMS email, it's because someone in your company holds gas OQs and completed the SQCA. You can remove gas OQs your workers don't need.

You can't sign up on your own first. ITS automatically creates your NCMS profile once a worker with at least one PG&E OQ completes the SQCA. Within about 10 business days, your company contacts receive an engagement email from pipelinesafety@nationalcompliance.com. From there you subscribe to the NCMS website, set up your login, and complete NCMS's online audit of your testing program.

NCMS will explain what's missing and give you a chance to fix it. After approval, you must keep your NCMS account current and respond to NCMS requests throughout the year.

Many contractors join a consortium or use a third-party administrator (C/TPA) to set up and run a compliant program and to help with the NCMS review. Resource Pipeline doesn't perform drug testing, but we can point you to a provider and walk you through getting set up with NCMS. Testing providers include:

• No Drugs, Inc. – (800) 490-3784 · info@nodrugs.net · nodrugs.net (locations in Fremont, Martinez, San Jose, Sacramento, San Francisco, Tracy, and Lakeport)
• Pipeline Testing Consortium (PTC) – (800) 294-8758, Ext. 1 · info@pipelinetesting.com (works closely with NCMS)

NCMS: pipelinesafety@nationalcompliance.com · 620-669-0954

Resource Pipeline is an ITS Approved Provider and a PG&E-approved third-party OQ evaluator. We administer PG&E OQ training and testing (written and practical), guide your company through ITS set-up and PG&E pre-qualification, and help you get your DOT drug and alcohol program and NCMS audit in order. We also offer CPR/First Aid, trench safety, competent person, confined space awareness, and forklift training.

Yes. We're a traveling service based in Modesto and will bring training and testing to your site, available 24/7.

Call (360) 747-4386 or use the contact form on our home page.