I’m a fiber lineman doing ADSS installs and maintenance on joint‑use poles, and I need 8 CE hours before the April safety audit. Has anyone had FOA CFOT or CFOS/T accepted toward power lineman CE, or is it safer to stick with NFPA 70E and rigging refreshers? Bonus if your utility counted OTDR 1310/1550 modules from an EXFO course.
My utility counted FOA CFOT for 4 CE hours (technical), but I still had to grab 70E to cover safety. Submit the course outline for pre-approval; they also accepted EXFO OTDR “1310/1550” modules once I attached the syllabus and hours. Here’s FOA’s CFOT outline: https://foa.org/CFOT/CFOT.html — who signs yours off, training or safety?
Quick example: our auditor okayed FOA CFOS/T as 6 CE only after the trainer added an “induction/grounding on joint‑use” segment with NESC 420/422 tie‑ins, and EXFO OTDR 1310/1550 clocked 2 hrs based on the cert time. Easiest step is to send your coordinator the outline plus the FOA page (https://www.thefoa.org/CFOS/T.html) and ask how they’ll classify it (technical vs safety) before you enroll. If they still want 4+ safety hours, bolt on a short 70E refresher — the paperwork weighs more than a reel of ADSS.
It’s worth checking if your utility will pre-approve the course outline. FOA training is solid, but safety refreshers are a must before that April audit! 
.