water testing to the pool service tech and not just slide presentations. Many pool service techs are amazed at some of the small mistakes they make on water testing after this section of the course. The pool service tech will even learn about the proper method to store their pool test kit. As an instructor, proper test kit storage is a small topic but one of the biggest mistakes that the pool service tech makes. Pool techs typically do not realize how much improper test kit storage affects them when obtaining accurate water test results.
I conducted countless inspections where the pool tech had improperly stored their pool test kit on their trailer, in the bed of their truck, on their pool vacuum tray or in the pool equipment area. Temperature can significantly affect the accuracy of the water test results.
Fecal Accidents
A good pool service tech should know what steps should be taken when there is a fecal accident in their pool. The CPO student will learn about these steps and what the negative impacts are if they do not follow the CDC fecal guidelines which are taught in this course.
Health departments like the one I worked at monitor all reportable illnesses and interview ill persons. Interviews were conducted to identify where the person might have been swimming while ill. Afterwards, the pool tech who serviced that pool was contacted. This contact was documented by the inspector in the epidemiology medical records regarding the requirements of the pool service tech to follow CDC Fecal Guidelines. These CDC fecal guidelines are taught as part of the CPO course.
The pool service tech also learns that they can be negligent if more people get sick due to their lack of knowledge about recreational water illnesses and what actions to take for fecal accidents in pool water.
Suction Entrapment
Entrapment involves a person actually getting stuck on a suction outlet, mostly the main drain outlet.
Suction entrapment is a very important topic covered in the CPO course. It tackles the two main types of pool circulation designs and how they impact entrapment. The course details prevention as the best line of defense. Pool code requires the use of a main drain cover that meets the requirements of the Virginia Graeame Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2008. Pool service techs are taught how important it is for them to do their visual safety inspections of these main drain covers to ensure they are intact and not loose or missing.
Furthermore, the course also shows that a vacuum line cover is also on direct suction and that those vacuum line safety covers must also be compliant. Children can still get their arms entrapped even if the vacuum pump is inoperable.
Local Regulation
Pool service techs will be taught about the local public pool rules and how they apply to their facilities. I would inspect public pools and come across so many poorly trained pool service techs that did not even know how a public pool was defined or how it was regulated. In these instances, the pools would usually be closed due to lack of proper training on Chapter 64E-9, F.A.C. CPO instructors are required to educate on the local regulatory code with their students.
Preparing for CPO
The CPO Course, offered by Space Coast Pool School LLC, has many preparatory videos and documents in the CPO Resources section of the website at www.spacecoastpoolschool.com/ resources. There is also a monthly podcast and a blog page where information can be found to get prepared for class.
The only supplies needed for class are pencils, paper, highlighters, tab page markers and a calculator. These supplies are identical for all CPO class types.
The CPO Test
The method of instruction and test taking will not change the structure of the test. The CPO test is an open book and open note test and the use of a calculator is allowed. The test is comprised of 50 multiple choice questions. Math questions only make up 16% of the test with most of the remaining questions covering actual concepts within the textbook provided. Passing score is 75% with allowance to miss 13 questions on the test. The classroom course includes the test on the second day. It is graded onsite by the instructor. The online test is identical to the paper test and is taken on the “Test Trac” the same day as the Live Zoom Review. The online test is graded immediately by the system upon submittal.
Florida requires specific online proctored testing steps to be taken for the test to be valid per the Florida Department of Health rules.
Local regulatory code should be covered on proper closure of this pool due to poor water clarity
