APPROVED OPERATORS
Defensible contractor OQ compliance. No platform migration required.
EWN's Approved Operator account is a simple, no-cost way for operators to streamline contractor OQ compliance while retaining full control over the qualifications they accept and the standards their contractors must meet.
What is an Approved Operator account?
An Approved Operator account lets an owner-operator formally recognize EWN qualifications for their contractor workforce without switching their own internal employees off their existing program. As an Approved Operator, you define the qualifications you'll accept, and your contractors use EWN's training and evaluation tools to meet your standards. You get visibility into their qualification status, and they get a single set of credentials that works across every operator they serve.
It's the practical middle ground between a full EWN implementation and no EWN at all, and for operators who want defensible contractor OQ compliance without the overhead of running a full qualification program internally, it's often exactly the right fit.
You need your contractors qualified to your standards. You don't need to rebuild your entire program to get there.
Many operators have established internal OQ programs they're not looking to replace. But managing contractor qualifications on top of an existing program (such as, verifying records from multiple sources, chasing completions across different platforms, and trying to confirm that the contractor crew on your pipeline meets your specific qualification requirements) is a separate problem. One that an Approved Operator account is designed to solve.
Contractor workforces use different systems and submit qualification records in different formats—reconciling them is a manual and time-consuming process
Verifying that a contractor is qualified to your specific standards requires documentation you may not have easy access to
A full EWN implementation for your internal workforce isn't the right fit, but you still need a consistent and auditable process for contractor qualification
Your contractors may already be using EWN for other operators, making EWN the obvious common denominator for qualification management
Approved Operator Benefits
Simple Setup
Getting started as an Approved Operator is straightforward and free. There's no cost to operators for an Approved Operator account, and because many contractors are already using EWN for other operators they work with, onboarding your contractor network requires minimal administrative lift. In many cases, your contractors are already in the system.
- No cost to operators for an Approved Operator account
- Minimal administrative work to onboard contractors
- You retain full control over which qualifications you accept
- Contractors use EWN training and evaluations they already rely on
Confidence in Content
When your contractors qualify through EWN, they're training on content that's built to the same regulatory standards your program runs under. EWN actively participates in the API 1161 and ASME B31Q working groups, helping shape the standardized OQ requirements that govern the industry. The content your contractors train on is aligned to those standards, which means their qualifications hold up when an auditor looks at your contractor records.
- EWN actively participates in API 1161 and ASME B31Q working groups
- Content aligned with federal regulatory requirements (49 CFR 192/195)
- Qualification records are complete, traceable, and defensible at audit time
Trusted by Peers
More than 500 owner-operators across the natural gas industry already accept EWN qualifications, which means if your contractors are working for multiple operators, they're likely already familiar with EWN.
- Widely accepted across distribution, transmission, gathering, and storage operators
- Ask your contractors about EWN—many are already users
How the Approved Operator model works
As an Approved Operator, you define the qualification standards your contractors must meet, such as the covered tasks, the content requirements, and the evaluation criteria. Your contractors complete training and evaluations through EWN's platform to meet those standards. Their qualification records are visible to you in real time, and you can verify any contractor's status instantly without a phone call, a portal login, or a manual records request.
- Set up your Approved Operator account (no cost, minimal setup)
- Define the qualifications you require for your contractor workforce
- Contractors complete EWN training and evaluations aligned to your requirements
- You verify contractor qualification status in real time from your dashboard
- Qualification records are maintained in EWN's platform and are audit-ready whenever you need them
Want to know how many of your contractors are already using EWN?
EWN can run a free Contractor Comparison Report that shows you how many of your active contractors are already in the EWN network—qualified and ready to work under your standards with minimal onboarding. It's the fastest way to understand what an Approved Operator account would actually look like for your specific contractor workforce.
