Underground Infrastructure - June 2023 - 13

Inside Infrastructure
industry associations, the task force has made a variety of
tools available to contractors.
A panel of task force members provided an update on contractor
efforts to implement SMS in the gas distribution construction
industry. The discussion began with describing some
of the misperceptions of SMS, starting with concerns of being
overly prescriptive.
SMS is fundamentally about instilling and maintaining a culture
of safety and striving for continuous improvement - not just
another safety requirement to comply with. Contractors need to
know that it's alright to recognize that they are not fully engaged
in SMS. " Just learn that and act on it, " according to one panelist.
Gap analyses are imperative, and contractors need to take a
hard look at the " plan-do-check-act " process that is central to
initiating any management system. SMS starts with the safety
department and then must spread throughout the organization.
All personnel must be engaged, including large companies operating
in multiple areas.
An important distinction was raised about SMS and operator
qualification requirements. OQ is much more prescriptive,
with specific requirements regarding covered tasks and acceptable
methods, while SMS is all about creating a safety culture as
a " way of doing business. "
When it comes to the best available resources, panelists
suggested that contractors start with their LDC customers,
who are increasingly bringing contract personnel in to discuss
and even help advance their SMS programs. The SMS Industry
Team, which DCA is a member of, maintains a wide range of
resources (contractor guidance, assessment tools) and the
DCA SMS template is available to all contractors.
The template was based on API 1173, API 1177 on quality
management systems (QMS), and an AGA white paper on
QMS. There is also an industry team on LinkedIn that provides
several virtual roundtables featuring SMS experts that both operators
and contractors would benefit from.
The panel also discussed safety culture surveys, which provide
gap analyses by which a company can gauge where it is
on its SMS journey. Quality management is critical to a contractor's
SMS. QMS factors address construction operations,
as much as (or even more than) API 1173, which obviously
focuses on pipeline operations.
Mutual aid
Mutual aid performs a significant role in providing supplies,
personnel, materials and equipment when a disaster hits a
region. An AGA member provided a thorough presentation
about mutual-aid coordination and lessons learned from recent
events, specifically regarding a case study.
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Underground Infrastructure - June 2023

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