January 18, 2018

Pipeline SMS Group Members,

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and you were able to take some well-deserved time with family and friends. 2017 was certainly a busy year for the Pipeline SMS Group. Now almost two years into the implementation of Pipeline SMS, many of you are already reaping the benefits through more efficient operations and overall safety performance within your organizations. I am confident and excited about the new year where we will be introducing new tools and continue to carry forward the important work of the Pipeline SMS Group, in support of your individual implementation efforts.

Recognizing the value and benefits our liquids Pipeline SMS Implementation Team efforts would be to the entire pipeline industry, last year we expanded Group membership to include the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), the American Public Gas Association (APGA), the American Gas Association (AGA) and the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA). In doing so, we are introducing important perspectives which will help shape the development of our critical measurement tools and benefit a greater segment of the oil and gas industry. It also ensures the entire pipeline industry is beginning and progressing on the journey of continuous improvement, utilizing appropriately similar mechanisms to track these valuable steps. So welcome to our newest trade partners, we look forward working with all of you in moving the needle on Pipeline SMS and safety performance for our industry over the coming year.

As such, to support you on this journey as Pipeline SMS Group Members, this edition of the newsletter highlights the development of important implementation tools including the Maturity Model, as well as upcoming training opportunities and recent Group events. The first will be a Group webinar on the Pipeline SMS Maturity Model, January 25 at 11:00 am ET, so please join us.

Best,

David Murk
API Pipeline Manager

UPCOMING EVENTS

Pipeline SMS Maturity Model and Tools Training Series

Mark your calendars for these important 2018 Pipeline SMS Implementation Team Training Events! Over the last year, the Pipeline SMS Implementation Team has been hard at work in the development of measurement tools to support the industry in understanding its progress and maturity in the Pipeline SMS journey. We are excited to announce this series of training webinars and an in-person workshop, where we will provide Group members with an overview of the industry’s maturity model, and important conformance and effectiveness methods that will provide operators with critical tools to help you better understand where you are in the journey. The series will culminate with a hands-on, all day workshop on the use of the tools. Calendar invitations with webinar information have been sent out. If you have any questions or problems registering, please email PipelineSMS@api.org for further information.

• January 25, 2018, 11 am – 12 pm ET – Pipeline SMS Maturity Model Webinar
• February 27, 2018, 11 am – 12 pm ET – Pipeline SMS Tools Webinar
• April 19, 2018, 11 am – 12 pm ET – Pipeline SMS Third Party Audit Webinar
• June 21, 2018, All Day – Tools Workshop, Houston, TX

AGA Management Systems Workshop

AGA is hosting a Management Systems Workshop January 30-February 1, 2018, in San Diego, CA. The workshop will feature case studies from pipeline operators, regulators and service providers on both pipeline and process safety management systems. The Pipeline SMS Implementation Team will have a special role presenting on the implementation tools for API RP 1173. Click here for more information on the event overview and registration.

GROUP ACTIVITIES

Presentations at Recent Conferences

Pipeline Safety Trust

During the 2017 Pipeline Safety Trust Conference, C.J. Osman (INGAA’s Director of Operations, Safety and Integrity), Shawn Lyon (Vice President of Marathon Pipe Line), and Linda Daugherty (PHMSA’s Deputy Associate Administrator), discussed the journey of Pipeline SMS implementation. View the streaming video of the conference as well as the compiled Pipeline SMS presentations and question-and-answer session here.

INGAA Pipeline Safety Conference

In mid-September, Shawn and I presented to INGAA’s Pipeline Safety Committee during their fall meeting in Salt Lake City, UT. We focused our remarks to the 30 plus committee members on the liquids pipeline industry’s implementation of Pipeline SMS and had an interactive dialogue around both the successes and challenges in utilizing the conformance and effectiveness tools and progressing through the five-level maturity model.

Implementation Team Meetings

The Pipeline SMS Implementation Team had several productive meetings recently to gain input and feedback from Group members. The Implementation Team’s September 27 meeting was an important opportunity to introduce some of the tools to support operators in their implementation of Pipeline SMS and measure progress along the five-level maturity model. Both the Conformance and Effectiveness subteams discussed the 71-question conformance tool that can be used to evaluate conformance with API RP 1173 and identify any potential gaps. The Team also conducted their first ever Group Webinar during the September meeting, introducing several of the implementation tools currently available and in development to pipeline operators.

The Team met for its final meeting in late November and expanded membership to include representatives from AOPL, INGAA, AGA, APGA and CEPA. The goal of broadening membership is to ensure the implementation tools and resources can be universally applied, presenting a unified approach to Pipeline SMS that is not specific to one segment of the industry, a goal of PHMSA. The Team continues to seek additional opportunities to include members of the Gas Processors Association (GPA Midstream) and other trade associations as appropriate. During the final 2017 meeting, the newly-broadened Team had a robust discussion around the development and piloting of conformance and effectiveness measurement tools. The Team identified 2018 dates for implementation webinars and training opportunities on the application of the maturity model and tools, which are published on the Pipeline SMS website.

Joint Liquid and Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee Meetings

During the joint December Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC) and Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) Meeting, Shawn Lyon, Chair of the Implementation Team, presented to committee members on the value of Pipeline SMS and the ceiling that regulating Pipeline SMS would put on how much an operator can achieve using the benefits of a safety management system. The presentation to the LPAC/GPAC provided an excellent opportunity to educate stakeholders beyond pipeline operators who, in their advisory roles, can influence policy and regulatory decisions for the industry. The Pipeline SMS discussion was extremely robust and well received by all Committee members. While some advisory committee members emphasized the need for transparency in the implementation process, PHMSA acknowledged the concern and indicated it is exploring longer inspection intervals as an incentive for robust implementation. The joint committees also discussed Pipeline SMS participation as a potential factor in reducing post-incident penalty assessments.

Liquid Pipeline Leadership Meeting with NTSB

Continuing to deliver our message to regulators that the pipeline industry is taking transformative, proactive actions to enhance safety, in early January, API, AOPL and six of our pipeline leadership executives met with the NTSB Chair and several board members in Washington, D.C. We highlighted the industry’s commitment to safety through our proactive technological advancements and implementation of safety management systems. NTSB leadership praised our outreach and commitment to safety, but most importantly our proactive and forward-thinking implementation of Pipeline SMS over the last two years. It was for this reason and the advanced nature of API RP 1173 that the NTSB assigned a mark of “Exceeds” to the industry and PHMSA’s recommendation to establish a Pipeline SMS RP. They also welcomed additional engagement as our Pipeline SMS implementation and demonstrating progress efforts continue over the coming year.
 

GROUP DEVELOPMENTS

Maturity Model Roll Out

The Pipeline SMS Maturity Model is nowavailable on www.PipelineSMS.org! The model lays out the five levels of maturity to gauge conformance and effectiveness in implementing Pipeline SMS. The model also outlines the various tools that are available for operators to compare an existing system to the RP’s requirements, track implementation, ensure conformance with all shall statements and evaluate the effectiveness of their programs.

Annual Survey Questions

If you have not already done so, please complete the Pipeline SMS 2017 Annual Survey as soon as possible. The 18-question survey includes the original 12 industry questions as well as six new PHMSA LPAC questions. Similar to last year, survey responses will be blinded, aggregated and used in populating the year-end 2017 annual report. Additionally, LPAC responses will also be blinded, aggregated across the trades and shared with the LPAC Pipeline SMS team. Our goal is an 80% or better response rate, so feel free to send any unsubmitted surveys to Stuart Saulters, SaultersS@api.org, Sam Minifie, Minifies@api.org, or myself at MurkD@api.org.

API RP 1173 Now Available to View Online

API RP 1173, Pipeline Safety Management Systems, is now available to view for free online here. For those interested in learning more or viewing the standard, this link will allow you to create an account and read the document online. To purchase hard copies or a PDF of the entire standard, feel free to visit the API Publications Store.

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