| | December 20148CIOReviewClosing the Data Quality GapPipeline Data: By Paul Kleinen, P.E., VP-Engineering & Technology, Bredero Shawopinionin myThe pipeline industry's construction and operating models are continually challenged by evolving legislation and regulatory requirements. This has been compounded recently in North America by some unfortunate accidents and political debate over Keystone XL, the continent's largest pipeline construction proposal ever. But the industry needs more than compliance and is developing ways to improve asset integrity and re-gain public trust while achieving regulatory balance. Looking outside the energy industry, it is instructive to note public attitudes surrounding airline safety, where accidents also become dramatic front-page news. Those investigations, however, are undertaken with the essential support of airline manufacturers who are regarded as trusted partners in any inquiry. It is reasonable to ask if the pipeline industry can aspire to earning the same level of public trust held by aerospace industry manufacturers like Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier. Aerospace manufacturers are the acknowledged masters of knowledge concerning their own products. In the recent battery incident that plagued the launch of Boeing's 787, all suspect batteries were immediately traced to the manufacturers and there was ample data on manufacturing dates and conditions, batch and lot identification, and correlations with manufacturing conditions and test results. Boeing withdrew the suspect batteries from service immediately, solved the problem, and got its planes back in the air. This traceability was achieved through a product quality program in which every component of an aircraft is supported by a supplier quality program and every component is numbered. Relevant product quality data readily available to regulators to support an inquiry.Public trust in airline manufacturers is so high that media and politicians rely on this data to reach their own conclusions. As a result, the Boeing battery incident was a mere `bump in the road' for the 787, and this aircraft is regarded as one of the premier ways to fly. The pipeline industry is quite different. Each pipeline is constructed as a `one-off' project with engineering design, equipment and material suppliers, contractors, and technology suppliers coming together to perform a single project. Although there are industry standards, many specifications are project specific, and lifecycle asset considerations are left to the owner. The pipeline construction supply chain has many players with individual contracts. Pipe is an area of focus and, while many pipelines (particularly offshore pipelines) have a Paul Kleinen
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