1. Recent Plastic Fusion Orders
Con Edison Case Study:
Recent Plastic Fusion Orders
Lauren Toczylowski
Section Manager, Gas Quality Assurance

2. Agenda Con Edison Distribution Overview
Plastic Fusion Remediation Plan
New NY State requirements
Tracking & Traceability approach
Ongoing Fusion Inspections
Required Enhancements
Other Plastic Joint Enhancements
Ongoing Tracking & Traceability Projects

3. Con Edison Distribution Overview
Distributes natural gas to 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Westchester County
~ 4,300 miles of gas mains and ~384,000 services transport about 225 billion cubic feet a year
Most of our customers use gas for cooking and ~221,000 also use gas for residential heating

4. Con Edison Distribution Overview

5. Organizational Structure
Gas Operations
Compliance & Quality Assessment
Training & Employee Development
Quality Assurance
Quality Control

6. Fusion Compliance Requirements History
September 29, 2014: Con Edison, and other NY LDCs required to submit a remediation plan
October 31, 2014: Con Edison, and other NY LDCs, submitted plans to be completed within one year
November 17, 2014: Con Edison’s original plan deployed, to be complete by November 1, 2015
December 2014 – May 2015: Discussion with DPS Staff re: plan
May 15, 2015: PSC Orders Con Edison to submit revised plan. Also orders NY LCDs to:
Peer check 100% of all new fuses being installed
Visually inspect all fuses exposed during the course of normal business
August 2015: Excavations under new plan begin

7. Plastic Fusion Remediation Plan

8. Overview of Plastic Fusion Sampling Plan
Population: ~805,000 fuses installed in
Conduct statistical approach to identify samples to be inspected
Fuses/fusers were not previously documented, but segments were mapped
A sub-set of pipe segments were randomly selected
Fuses were then mapped and labeled for each segment selected
Statistician’s analysis includes strata for each type of segment (main or service), geographic areas (Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Westchester), and each type of fuse (butt fuse, electrofusion and sidewall tee)
200 fuses will be inspected to determine whether additional sampling is needed to develop a remediation plan

9. Inspection Form: Visual Inspection & Destructive Test

10. Field Documentation Piping Retrieval Information Form
Tag sample to indicate:
Location (house address & borough)
Size of pipe
Date removed
Supervisor name
Piping Retrieval Information Form
Filled out for each sample length

11. Inspection/Testing Photos & Videos

12. Manual Data Conversion for PSC Reporting

13. Multiple Documents & Files for One Fuse
Hand written forms
Pipe tags
Visual Inspection Results Data
Destructive Test Results Data
Multiple Photos
Video file
Spreadsheet entries
Letters to PSC

15. Solution: Integrated Mobile Data Capture
Application deployed on ruggedized smart phones and tablet computers
Real-time data transfer from field to office to field
Centralized repository with robust reporting capability
Cloud computing/ hosted options

16. In The Field

17. Automated PSC Reporting

18. New Fuse Peer Inspection & Exposed Fuses Visual Inspections
NY State May 15th Order

19. Con Ed Preparation for Additional Inspections
Needed to train and qualify additional employees/contractors to perform visual inspections
Developed and deployed additional training
Used a Written Evaluation (equivalent to NGA CT#52) developed by Con Edison
Qualified additional employees and contractors to perform visual inspections of plastic joints
Note: at the time, a separate NGA CT 52 online knowledge test was not available (in NGA’s OQ site: ITS)
This process is documented in ConEd’s OQ Plan- under Appendix D
Hand Out of Training Packet

20. Field Documentation Identifying PE Plastic Joiner and Inspector
Plastic joints are identified on as-constructed drawings
Fuser and Peer Inspector are signing the pipe
Each plastic joint is documented
Data captured:
Job information (M&S plate #, Ticket/Leak #, Location , Layout #)
Plastic Joiner employee/ID #
Peer Inspector employee/ID #
Date Plastic Joint made
Joint Type ( Butt Fusion, Electrofusion, Mechanical Joint)

21. Peer Check of All New Fuses
Con Ed began on June 1 with Peer Check of 100% of all new fuses going in the ground
May 15th Order (all LDCs in the state): required starting Oct. 1st
Additional- Level 1 and Level 2 requirements were added for Con Edison (level 1: 15%, level 2 5%)

22. Fuse-to-Fuser Application
Full Deployment by Jan. 1st,
Inquest

23. Fuse-to-Fuser Application

24. Other Plastic Joining Enhancements

25. Ongoing Enhancements in Plastic Joining
Annual OQ: block requalification with 3rd party evaluators
Online OQ system: eLearning, online testing and QR codes
Level 1/Level 2 inspections of new fuses
Remediation Options for visually unacceptable fuses
Elimination of the Sidewinder
Enhanced QA/QC Programs
NTSB Recommendations for Specification Improvements
R&D Projects:
Heat Fusion Processes
GPS Devices

26. Butt Fusion Remediation Sleeve
4” and 6” right now, but working with R&D on other sizes

27. PE Repair Patch

28. Additional QC: Fusion Inspections
Created a separate GQC group
Hired a 3rd party inspection contractor
Fusion inspectors in the field, making process observations
Field visits where ongoing fusions are taking place
All GQC inspectors are fusion qualified
Level 1/ Level 2 Fusion Inspections

29. Analyzing Inspection Results
Large amount of data around fusion inspections and quality
Analyzing and reporting on results
Common issues identified and addressed:
Damaged Butt Fusion Plates (replacement program)
Alignment of Electrofusion (new tools identified)
Scraping of Pipe Surface (1” past fusion area)

30. Tracking & Traceability R&D
IT Roadmap Project: analyzing GIS and WMS solutions
Trimble R&D Project:
Handheld Trimble and smart device connections
Testing in areas with Urban Canyons and Tree Canopy issues
Comparing usability with other smart device applications

31. Thank You
Any Questions?