The plan
- Lesson 1, placards and classes. Project a class set for class 2 and one for class 3. Stop on each placard and ask for the class before revealing it. Hand out the placard chart.
- Lesson 2, the yellow and blue lookup. Give every trainee a printed guidebook. Run the timed lookup at the slowest pace together, then at a faster one, and compare guide numbers aloud.
- Lesson 3, Table 1. Project scenarios with green highlighted materials only. Ask for the spill size and time of day before anyone opens the table.
- Lesson 4, full scenarios. Trainees work the daily drill on their own devices, then the class works two projected scenarios from start to finish. Print certificates of practice for those who want one.
What the drill set covers
The drill set holds 68 materials with ID numbers and 8 placard only scenarios. A class set draws from one hazard class:
- Class 1, explosives: 6 scenarios per set
- Class 2, gases: 8 scenarios per set
- Class 3, flammable liquids: 8 scenarios per set
- Class 4, flammable solids: 5 scenarios per set
- Class 5, oxidizers and organic peroxides: 5 scenarios per set
- Class 6, toxic and infectious substances: 8 scenarios per set
- Class 7, radioactive materials: 3 scenarios per set
- Class 8, corrosives: 7 scenarios per set
- Class 9, miscellaneous: 5 scenarios per set
The daily drill mixes 5 scenarios and always includes at least one that needs Table 1 and one that does not. The timed run shows 10 ID numbers from anywhere in the yellow index, one every 30, 20, 15 seconds depending on the pace you choose.
Running a projected scenario
Choose the class set, type the class name if you want it on the printed key, and start. Each scenario shows a large placard, orange panel or shipping paper line and a short situation: a leaking cylinder at night, a tank truck on its side by day. Four questions sit beside it. Give the room a minute per question, then reveal. The answer names the class, the guide, the distance with its Table 1 row or guide page, and the first actions the guide supports. Use the previous and next buttons to revisit a scenario the room argued about.
What to listen for
- Trainees who reach for the placard table when an ID number is visible.
- Trainees who read the large spill columns for one leaking package.
- Day and night swapped, especially on the first Table 1 scenario of the day.
- A guide typed without its P, and nobody asking what the P means.
- Anyone who wants to walk closer to read a placard.
Tracking practice
Each trainee's results stay in their own browser. The progress page shows accuracy by step: class, guide, distance and first actions. A trainee can export a CSV to hand in, and print a certificate of practice. The certificate records practice only; it is not a training record under any regulation, and your course records remain your own.
Common mistakes when teaching it
- Letting the app replace the book. Have printed guidebooks in the room and make trainees find the page.
- Revealing too fast. The lookup is the skill; give time to turn pages.
- Teaching distances from memory. Numbers change between editions; the lookup does not.
Start with projection mode, or send trainees the daily drill as homework.
Sources
Checked on 27 September 2026. Everything here is said in our own words; the guidebook's text is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Where your instructor, your employer's plan or the current printed guidebook says something different, follow them.
- 29 CFR 1910.120(q)(6)(i), first responder awareness level (eCFR text as of 1 September 2026). The competencies an awareness level responder must be able to show, including an understanding of the guidebook's role; opened 27 September 2026.
- 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook, How to Use This Guidebook (printed page 1) and User's Guide (pages 344 to 349). The lookup order: ID number to the yellow section, name to the blue section, placard to the placard table, then the orange guide and, for highlighted entries, Table 1; opened 27 September 2026.
- 2024 Emergency Response Guidebook, Introduction to Green Tables and Table 1 (printed pages 280 to 333). Small and large spills, day and night, and Refer to Table 3; opened 27 September 2026.
- Placardset's grader. Every example on this page is computed by the drill's own data and grading at build time, and pinned by a test.