Interview: The New Era Of Pipeline Safety

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed by the author are his own.

Read each word of the title of this column slowly, then think about it for a moment. It’s the most important piece I’ve written since joining Hart Energy and perhaps in my 27 years of covering the industry because of its enormous implications.

Under the auspices of the American Petroleum Institute (API), an unprecedented coalition of North American oil and gas operators and associations created the Pipeline Safety Management System, Pipeline SMS. Its goal is simple, though the effort requires a full-court press: ensuring that pipeline infrastructure is as safe as is humanly possible. Humanly—because despite the enormous amount of technology and money spent to make, construct and monitor pipeline systems, it is the human who bears the ultimate responsibility for pipeline safety.

In this litigious era when every pipeline incident is held up to public scrutiny and the future of the industry seems to hang in the balance, there is no higher calling for operators. Angela Kolar is chair of this unique coalition of energy providers and has the perfect credentials for this assignment. She has been employed by Colonial Pipeline Co. since 2007 and is vice president, operations services and chief risk officer. Colonial, located in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, is the largest refined products pipeline in the U.S.  Colonial has chosen to meet safety challenges head-on and a determined effort by senior management has created a safety culture within the company that has become one of the leading examples in the pipeline industry.

RP 1173
In this interview with Hart Energy, Kolar wastes no time defining Pipeline SMS’s mission and why it was deemed necessary.

“The Pipeline SMS Industry Team was initially created to support the pipeline industry’s implementation of API Recommended Practice 1173, Pipeline Safety Management Systems (API RP 1173 – Pipeline SMS), including building the tools and processes necessary to facilitate industry alignment around Safety Management Systems. A Pipeline SMS provides a systematic and integrated approach to comprehensively manage risk and continuously improve safety at every stage of pipeline operation,” she said.
 
The industry team represents oil and gas industry pipeline operators and trade associations in their drive toward zero pipeline incidents. With the RP published and implementation tools developed, Kolar explains that the focus of the industry team has now shifted to understanding industry progress, measuring the effectiveness in pipeline safety performance, and continuing to increase cross-industry participation and understanding of Pipeline SMS.

The members are comprised of pipeline trade associations including API, Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL), Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), American Gas Association (AGA), American Public Gas Association (APGA), and the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA). It is believed to be the first cross-industry team of its kind and is critical in collectively moving the SMS ball forward as a unified group, Kolar said.

She was named chair of the group in January, representing liquids pipelines. John Hill, vice president at Black Hills Energy, serves as vice chair representing gas pipeline operators. Membership is comprised of representatives from approximately 20 companies across the liquids pipeline and gas transmission and distribution pipeline sectors. They meet regularly during the year in-person, as well as routine leadership and sub-team conference calls to maintain progress.

Kolar says the objectives include increasing industry participation, ensuring there is proactive external engagement in educating regulators and the public, providing ongoing support for the operator Pipeline SMS journey, and bringing governance and oversight to the overall process. From RP 1173’s publication in 2015, the industry has stepped up and proactively backed implementation efforts from the outset with what she described as “tremendous support.”

“Leaders from the industry trade associations and member companies have been extremely engaged and critical to the significant progress in Pipeline SMS, including active representation on the Pipeline SMS Industry Team. Additionally, training opportunities—such as conferences and webinars—are well-attended by industry personnel responsible for Pipeline SMS implementation. An effective Pipeline SMS is one of the industry’s highest priorities, and all levels of industry, starting with top executives and management, have bought in to champion it,” Kolar said.

Industry Challenges
Becoming a global energy titan has come with more than its share of challenges for North American pipeline companies and the associations that represent them. The Colonial Pipeline executive amplifies the increasing demands with which the industry must contend.

“We are in a historic time in our industry with the growth in oil and gas production that has led to the United States being a world energy leader. During this time of growth, as an industry, we remain focused on ensuring pipelines are constructed and operated in a manner that maximizes safety and protection of our people, the public, and the environment. That responsibility and focus on safety happens through compliance with federal and state regulations as well as operators, in many instances, going above and beyond by applying best practices and standards that further advance safety.
 
“We’re establishing open lines of communication with regulators and the public to provide greater transparency on operations, projects and our continued commitment to providing a safe and reliable pipeline network for our nation. The industry is developing technology and a workforce to meet future demands as our industry evolves.”
 
Kolar goes on to say that, “We’re focused not only on the safety of our own workers and the public, but also on the safety of our contractors and holding them accountable for delivering the highest standard of work. Our industry continues to proactively share learnings under the umbrella of Pipeline SMS. Now, more than ever, we are also focused on open dialogue and building relationships with those who live and work near our pipelines.”
 
Specific Targets
The real significance of RP 1173 was that it is much broader than the industry’s traditional definition of safety, Kolar says. Pipeline SMS goes a step further by focusing on the safe operation of a pipeline.

“The Pipeline SMS framework is designed to foster continuous safety improvements and a robust safety culture within a company, while at the same time being scalable to organizations of any size, scope or sophistication, and with the flexibility to incorporate existing safety programs,” she explains. The elements of Pipeline SMS defined by the RP include:

• Leadership and Management Commitment;
• Stakeholder Engagement (internal and external);
• Risk Management;
• Operational Controls (procedures, system integrity, management of change (MOC), and contractor safety);
• Incident Investigation, Evaluation, and Lessons Learned;
• Safety Assurance;
• Management Review and Continuous Improvement;
• Emergency Preparedness and Response;
• Competence, Awareness and Training, and;
• Documentation and Record Keeping.

During the initial development of the RP, Kolar says, these elements were selected to ensure an expanded view of safety in the pipeline industry.

“The RP also focuses on applying the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle to each of the elements to ensure that we are achieving continuous assessment and improvement. One of our key tenets is that a positive safety culture is essential to safety performance, and implementation of a strong Pipeline SMS will strengthen the safety culture of pipeline operators.”
Measuring Effectiveness

The Pipeline SMS Industry Team utilizes three key metrics to determine effectiveness of its program for liquid pipeline operators, including right-of-way incidents per mile or kilometer, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) incidents with public impacts per mile or kilometer, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) annual injury rate. The industry team also focuses on ensuring industry participation in implementing a Pipeline SMS.

Prior to this year, the group’s primary metric was based on a signed commitment letter indicating that a company was committed to implementing Pipeline SMS. However, this year, the focus is on transitioning to measuring effectiveness based on an operating company’s demonstration of progress in implementation and assessment of Pipeline SMS, she said.
 
As the programs and processes mature, maturity scores for each element of Pipeline SMS and across companies are compared through a variety of mechanisms including self-assessments and peer to peer reviews, as well as the option of utilizing a third-party volunteer assessment process, which is currently being piloted by API, Kolar said.
 
“Foundational to Pipeline SMS is a commitment to continuous improvement and our industry’s long history of sharing best practices. Through PDCA, operators are proactively incorporating learnings to enhance their operations,” she said.

Committed To Safety
Kolar has also been instrumental in building and maintaining Colonial Pipeline’s much-envied safety program. She feels several elements have made a difference in pipeline safety and lists these examples:

Operational Controls—Management of Change: “Colonial has developed a process that ensures everyone is aligned, procedures are complete, and everyone has been trained before making a change to the system.”

Competence, Awareness, and Training: “Our team has implemented an integrated approach to training new employees that includes on-the-job training, skill checks, and hands-on operator qualification, including performance verification requirements.”

Incident Evaluation, Investigation, and Lessons Learned: “Over the past couple of years, we have focused on increased reporting of potential risks by employees and contractors. This information allows us to be more proactive by identifying trends and risks early so we can implement a solution before an incident occurs.”
 
Safety Assurance: “We implemented a behavior-based safety observation program to make process improvements system-wide. We also use this information to develop timely content for safety communications.”

Executives have long insisted the true importance of safety extends well beyond definition as a priority. Kolar offered her vision of a true safety culture.

“It is critical to capture hearts and minds. Employees and contractors need to feel personally responsible for their own safety, as well as the safety and well-being of their families, peers, and the community. Chronic unease, thinking constantly about what could happen, helps us avoid complacency.

“It is also important to establish a structure and culture of continuous improvement, transparency and teamwork by utilizing the Plan, Do, Check, Act model to ensure that we are always improving on the elements within Pipeline SMS.”