Distribution Construction, Operations and Maintenance Round Table

Part of the SGA Operating Conference 2007

July 30-August 1, 2007

Hyatt Riverwalk Hotel - San Antonio

 

Chairmen

• Michael Fuentes, Supervisor-Pressure Control, CPS Energy (mrfuentes@cpsenergy.com)
• Lloyd Wallin, Texas Gas Service (lwallin@txgas.com)
• Butch Richter, Operations Manager, Piedmont Natural Gas (Charles.Richter@piedmontng.com)

This is your meeting! Weigh in with the Round Table Chairmen to offer suggested topics for discussion.

Vendor Participation: Parts of this session may be open to vendors. Please check the sign outside this sessions meeting room for a "Open to Vendors" sign. Or check with the Chairs (listed above) for more details.

 

More details about this Conference (and to register):

SGA Operating Conference with Exhibits Web Page

 

Discussion Topics and Presentations will Focus On:

• Distribution O&M - Cost containment

• Which companies allow a developer to install gas facilities? Discuss the successes / challenges with this process
• How many operators allow others to install service lines to the customer?
• How does the operator monitor others installing gas lines to ensure a qualified workforce and installation to 49CFR192 and operator standards?
• What is the crew size of your in house forces? Discuss the performance matrixes you use for rating in house crews.
• Steel vs. plastic
  • 8” and 12” plastic
  • Experiences
  • Operating pressures (60 to 100 psi)
• Is anyone using leak survey instead of cathodic protection on bare steel mains for compliance requirements.

• Distribution O&M - Contractors

• How many companies allow a contractor to repair leaks? Outside OQ Consortiums, how many companies use them? Discuss your company's contract methodology.
• How common a practice is accepting Contractor OQ training but requiring the Contractor to be tested/evaluated by Company OQ evaluators?
• What contractors are providing O/M services to large industrial customers directly off the pipeline i.e. natural gas power plants, chemical plants, etc.
• Does anyone contract out pressure control & maintenance work
• What are some outsourcing opportunities (things being outsourced other than leak survey, etc.)

 

• Leak Survey

• Leak detecting equipment
• Standardized grading leaks
• Is there a standard for the amount/location of odorant test sites throughout a natural gas system? could be an operator or an association. 2. Does any operator have a standard for selecting odorant test sites?
• Leak investigation – new technologies

 

• Outages/Emergencies - Mass Outage Process

• Incident command
• DOT Report 7100
• Disaster planning
• Sharing resources/mutual aid
• We conduct annual emergency response drills. Our most recent drill involved a transmission line and major curtailment. What do other utilities do.
• Is there a national movement towards a more coordinated response from the natural gas industry similar to how the electric industry responds when a disaster strikes?

 

• Safety

• How many companies use incentives for safety and what are some of the awards?
• Describe your safety incentive program.
• What ways are being utilized to make vehicle safety a fresh topic on a daily, weekly, monthly basis?
• New safety ideas / technologies

 

• Employees/Staffing - Workforce Development

• Technology - workforce crews
• GPS - phones
• Knowledge sharing/mentoring
• Performance matrix
• Staffing models
• How are gas operators planning for replacement of older more knowledgable employees with junior staff so a smooth transition can occur.
• What ways are being used to sell management on the idea of phasing in younger employees before knowledgable employees retire?
• What do you do with a management workforce where many of them will reach retirement age at about the same time? What is everyone measuring and how is it measured? Do other companies have incentives for their employees to hit certain productivity goals? How many companies are completely paperless and complete all work via laptop? How long did that process take and what were some of the main problems dealt with?
• What types and sucess has other companies had with automated work force and tracking employee time and cost ?

• Damage Prevention - Technology 

   

  • Unlocatable lines
  • Damage prevention technology
  • What are others doing to strengthen state laws in light of the proposed DIMP requirements?
  • Have other utilities found the radar units to be effective?
  • How many companies do in house locating? Who has "timeliness" standards to meet and what are they?
  • How do you locate plastic lines where tracer wire is broken?

   

• Damage Prevention - Communication

• Integrity management communication plans
• Interested in buffer being used by other companies to determine public outreach for transmission class pipelines.
• Standard methodologies for baseline assessments?

 

• Third Party Damages

• Collections/recovery of third party damages
• Third party damages – billing/rates
• Are there any collection claims being obtained due to Cathodic protection contacts from outside sources to gas mains, where extensive labor time is invested to locate and clear the contacts.?
• What size crew is used for third party damage response? Do most companies have inspectors that are dedicated to observe outside contractors excavating around their facilities? How many?

 

• Atmospheric Corrosion/AMR

• How has AMR impacted atmosheric corrosion inspections?
• Atmospheric corrosion inspection
• What affordable options are available for radio read?
• How are systems which have implemented AMR meeting the atmospheric corrosion requirements for meter sets?

 

 

More Information about this Interest Group

Distribution Operations, Construction, and Maintenance Interest Group

 

Questions?

Mike Grubb

Southern Gas Association

mgrubb@southerngas.org

972-620-4022

 

This page updated: June 11, 2007