Gas Utility Operations Best Practices Program February 13-14, 2013 Gas Utility Operations Best Practices Program 2013 Quality Management Best Practices Roundtable Le Meridien, Philadelphia, PA Group Discussion Summary – Locating & Marking Facilitator – Andrew Lu, Aaron Johnson

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How should the quality of work being performed be measured? Quality of the damage prevention program probably encompasses additional items & metrics besides those attached to those associated with quality of the locating & marking (e.g., 811 awareness, maps & records accuracy, damage claims collections, etc.) Timeliness and Accuracy across enterprise, but also by regions or divisions Goal for timeliness is usually 100%, with provisions for Emergency Tickets (often excluded from data set) and for tickets which are unreasonably large in their scope Timeliness and accuracy are both determined by the language in the state’s One Call statute Exception reports are typically created for managers to indicate specific tickets which have had late staking

How should the quality of work being performed be measured? (cont’d) Performance metric for Accuracy is tied to number of excavation damages due to mis-marks (or no markings) Accuracy is ideally determined by an actual dig-up and exposure of the pipeline Due to limited resources, accuracy is usually determined by an audit where a SME goes out with pipe locator to affirm the markings are indeed accurate. This should be done within two days so that the paints and flags are still visible. Some utilities have a random approach to select those tickets to audit, while other utilities focus more on the tickets which require locating of higher risk pipelines (# of audits to perform should be based on volume of field locates being performed – Alagasco audits 1% of all field locates) Companies often have procedures to manage abnormal condition reports, where a record does not match the field locate, or a pipe is “difficult to locate.” These reports should be addressed in a timely fashion. Exception reports are created for managers to indicate specific tickets which have had late staking done

Describe the key components of an audit and training program Number of audits can be adjusted based on previous performance of individual involved There should be a correlation between audit results and number of excavation damages due to staking errors Training ensures consistent approach to locating performed by employees/contractors. Also establishes link to company procedures and compliance. Audits best performed by an independent department rather than using local supervision. Companies have training centers which feature “hard to locate” pipelines

Describe the innovative technologies and procedures being implemented Con Edison require contractor to use a video camera to record their markings in response for every ticket Enbridge and ATCO Gas require contractor to provide detailed sketch of their markings to the excavator, and to retain a copy for own records Some utilities require photo of all markings as evidence they were onsite and where they painted and flagged (Knoxville Utilities, Central Hudson G&E), some are having contractors/employees use an I-pad for digital photos. Utilities in Ontario and Alberta use a consortium approach where a contractor is responsible for providing the locates for multiple utilities For service lines that cannot be readily located, Citizens Energy Group, Alagasco, and Xcel Energy snake a tracer wire through outside riser (no blow technology) Cameras used to find service taps

Describe the innovative technologies and procedures being implemented (cont’d) Dominion East Ohio, Ameren, Xcel Energy, Atmos, and Integrys using acoustic pipe locator for pipes not readily locatable Marker balls Use of traditional cathodic survey tools (PCM) as primary locating methodology - Dominion Enbridge is using GPS for installation of new facilities to ensure accuracy for locates Alagasco and SWG have developed procedures to have gas services lines marked with medallions or permanent curb cuts for new subdivisions

Describe key management considerations accounting for differences between employees and contractors Companies still using employees exclusively to perform staking for gas facilities include: PSE&G, PGW, UGI, DTE Energy MichCon, New Mexico Gas, So Cal Gas, and PG&E. PSE&G has experienced lower damage rates, possibly attributed to the institutional knowledge that their stakers possess. These are veteran employees who have an assigned area and know the system. Utilities should have the ability to ask their locate contractor to remove any individuals who have a high rate of late or inaccurate locates. Facility records must be provided to contract locators Much more flexibility when using contractors due to seasonal fluctuations in one call tickets When using contractors, the overtime and on-call issues are all outsourced There may or may not be an incentive to perform additional inspections on contract locators relative to employees Agreement that when inspecting locate accuracy for employees, that it is ideally performed by an independent department rather than using local supervision

Other Key Issues Criteria used by companies to determine when they will have either monitoring of 3rd party excavation or stand-by for excavations around “critical pipelines” - - e.g., transmission pipelines or higher pressure distribution mains Tracking of 1st Party and 2nd Party excavation damages Exemptions from notification of One Call Center Marking of sewer laterals Identification of legacy cross-bores and prevention of cross-bores for new construction Enforcement actions from PUC/PSC when mis-marks occur, causing a damage

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