[Docket No. PHMSA–2012–0279]
The
Department of Transportation/Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA) issued Advisory Bulletin ADB-2012-10 to remind operators of gas
transmission and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities of their
responsibilities, under Federal integrity management regulations, to perform
evaluations of their integrity management programs using meaningful performance
metrics. ADB-2012-10 outlines 11 key elements for these evaluations.
A critical program element of an operator’s integrity management program is the
systematic, rigorous evaluation of the program’s effectiveness using clear and
meaningful metrics. When executed diligently, this self-evaluation process will
lead to more robust and effective integrity management programs and improve
overall safety performance. This process is critical to achieving a mature
integrity management program and a culture of continuous improvement. Program
evaluation is a required integrity management program element as established in
§§192.911(i) and 195.452(k) for gas transmission and hazardous liquid
pipelines, respectively.
In light of NTSB’s findings following the San Bruno gas transmission incident,
PHMSA is reminding operators about the importance of these requirements.
Operators are advised to critically review their processes and methods for
evaluating integrity management program performance and take action to
strengthen these processes where warranted.
In addition, operators must keep records supporting the decisions, analyses,
and processes developed and used in their evaluation of integrity management
program effectiveness. These records should include those justifying the
selection of performance metrics, the performance metric data and trends, and
how these metrics are used to improve the integrity management program.
For a copy of the Advisory Bulletin ADB-2012-10, contact Jessica Roger.