Target groups
This course is aimed primarily at workshop personnel who intend to perform the following work on vehicles powered by compressed natural gas or biogas (CNG vehicles for short):
- Maintenance and repair work involving work on the gas system
- Body and structure work with interventions on the gas system
- Replacement of gas-carrying components
- Visual inspection of gas tanks for VCM
The course is also intended for technical personnel of towing and rescue services, rescue squads, disposal companies, etc
Conditions for attending the course
Passing the Basic Gas Module examination as well as at least a basic training in automotive technology (AFC) or equivalent. On equivalence, the Gas Technical Commission decides.
Specifically: at least a three-year basic training in automotive technology. Vehicle builders, coachbuilders and agricultural machinery mechanics are also eligible in this case. With AFC, professional experience is also required.
Admission to the “CNG” in-depth module examination: it is mandatory to have previously taken the “CNG” in-depth module.
Permeability: Skills still acquired under the old training module (CNG/LPG special authorization) remain valid until their expiration date.*
*In 2022 and 2023, a transitional solution applies: if a person wishes to qualify from scratch or complete an additional in-depth address, he/she needs both the Basic Gas Module and the corresponding in-depth module, incl. exam. If a person wishes to recertify for CNG only, he/she can still take the old courses (according to the old regulation) concerning CNG during the transition period, incl. UPSA’s GNC examination (without Basic Module).
Educational content
- Legal Basis
- Physical and chemical properties of CNG as a fuel
- Parameters of CNG systems in automotive technology
- Structure and function of gas-carrying components, especially safety and control elements
- Types, properties and labeling of CNG tanks
- Application of necessary monitoring and protection measures
- Use of testing instruments, measuring instruments, alarm equipment, tools and auxiliary instruments
- Unloading, emptying and inerting the CNG system
- Completion of documentation of visual, functional and leakage inspections
- Carrying out maintenance and repair work
- Handling of CNG tanks
- Behavior in case of CNG leakage
- Behavior in case of breakdowns and accidents
Learning objectives
Participants are able to perform work on the gas-carrying components of CNG vehicles under safe conditions.
Duration
Approximately 1 day (in-person class)
Cost
Fr. 400.-.
Certificates of attendance
After full participation in the course program and passing the final test, the certificate of competency will be delivered by UPSA on behalf of the Technical Commission for Gaseous Fuels. This certificate will be mutually recognized by the training partners in the field of gaseous fuels as an in-depth module “CNG” valid for all brands.
Validity
The certificate of competency for the “CNG” in-depth module is valid for 5 years from the calendar year following the examination year. Validity ends on Dec. 31 of the relevant calendar year.
Entry in the register
On behalf of the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and traffic bureaus, UPSA maintains a registry in which all expert persons who are authorized to conduct officially prescribed visual inspections of high-pressure tanks mounted in CNG vehicles are entered. These people are then authorized to complete and sign the natural gas system maintenance document that is part of the vehicle’s documentation. Training partners are required to inform participants and seek their consent for registry entry.
Course location and date
The course will be held in presence 21 March 2025 in Collombey-Muraz – in French. Students who have purchased the course will be informed in the days before about the details of the course.
