The INGAA Foundation, a membership-based organization of over 200 natural gas pipeline operators, manufacturers and service providers, released two more installments of its “Construction Safety Guidelines” (“CSGs”) this December – Establishing Quality Metric for Natural Gas Pipeline Construction and Developing a Site-Specific Safety Plan.
The CSG initiative began in 2009 to steer the creation of safety guidance documents on a variety of construction topics, with the goal of enhancing safety culture and creating consistency across the natural gas industry. CSGs originate from highly demanded topics within the Foundation, and the suggestion process is open to all Foundation members. Each document begins with a collaborative base, produced from a representative industry sample of internal practices collected among member companies. This collection is evaluated to identify both commonly shared construction safety management practices as well as unique ones. A committee of safety experts reviews this information, examining both the consensus practices for accuracy and the unique practices for inclusion if they are innovative to safety. The membership then offers changes and suggestions, which are voted on by the committee. After a sufficient review period, the committee reviews, finalizes and distributes the guideline to the membership for integration into their own safety management procedures. Past CSGs, as well as information about the INGAA Foundation, can be found by clicking on this link to the INGAA Foundation.