1. AGA – OQ & Training Best Practices Roundtable
October 2, 2012

2. Piedmont Natural Gas About Us
We are a regional natural gas utility formed in 1951 and headquartered in Charlotte, NC
We serve over one million natural gas utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee and one-half million in Georgia through a gas marketing joint venture
We are one of the fastest growing natural gas utilities in the country and delivered 280 million dekatherms in 2011
We have complementary joint venture energy-related investments in the Southeast (natural gas pipelines, storage and retail marketing) 2

3. Piedmont Natural Gas Service Area
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4. Organization Model 3 Performed Organization Realignment Goals
Evaluate how training is performed, delivered, measured, and documented
Improve training standards, design and delivery, and reporting
Challenges
Training standardization
Training course materials & job aids
Training schedules
Training metrics & reporting
Opportunities
Establish learning and education requirements
Realign organization and document roles and responsibilities
Assess training curriculum inventory
Analyze methods to determine the training needs and requirements of employees
Recommend industry best practices for company standards and guidelines for training across the enterprise 3

5. Organization Model
Reviewed core functions of Training and Operator Qualifications
Analysis/ Assessment
Planning
Design Development
Implementation/Delivery
Evaluation/ Reporting
Maintenance
Training Support
Functional Area/ User Support
Compliance
Supervisory Duties
Created new organization structure 3

6. Organization Model Organizational Effectiveness and Learning
Technical Training
Operations Compliance/Performance, Engineering and Operations Services
Operator Qualifications

7. Organization Model Organizational Effectiveness and Learning
Learning Delivery
Manager Learning Delivery
Supervisor Learning Delivery
Learning Instructors (5)

8. Organization Model
Operations Compliance/Performance, Engineering and Operations Services
Operator Qualifications
Supervisor Operations Compliance/QA
OQ Committee
OQ Task Committees
Designated Evaluators
Field Auditors
Incident Review Committee

9. Operator Qualification Program
Governance
OQ Committee with final approval by Sr. VP Utility Operations
Each task has a committee comprised of subject matter experts and is chaired by an Operations Compliance representative
Covered Tasks
43 covered tasks
Retired tasks – Sidewall Fusion, Maintenance of CI Pipe
All tasks are periodically reviewed to ensure that internal or external changes have not impacted the performance of the task
Qualification
Voluntarily qualify all employees and contractors for existing O&M tasks under new construction
One OQ violation since inception in 2001

10. Operator Qualification Program
Training
Written test used prior to performance evaluation
Task specific training required for all qualified employees
Evidence of training required for all contractors prior to evaluation
Learning Instructors perform initial evaluations for employees and contractors
Training verified by field audits (~ 500/year) and controlled simulated emergencies
Abnormal Operating Condition (AOC) cards distributed to all field employees
Make Safe, Report, Make Repairs if trained and qualified

11. Operator Qualification Program
Statistics
Re-evaluation intervals
An average of 7500 evaluations and re-evaluations performed per year
55% Employees
45% Contractors
Evaluations performed
65% 2 QA Inspectors and 5 Learning Instructors
35% evaluations performed by 175 designated trained evaluators
An average of 125 failures/loss of qualifications per year
Timeframe
% Tasks Renewed
6 months 3%
1 year
18%
2 years 4%
3 years
42%
4 years
14%
5 years
19%

12. Process Improvement
Decreased time spent managing and scheduling training events
Class registration process
Employee training history available
Available access to SGA Network training
Reduced costs associated with 3rd party courseware
Management reports

13. Process Improvement Mapping of OQ requirements to job positions
Employees accountable for maintaining qualifications
Availability of qualified evaluators
Management dashboard reports

14. Process Improvement
Employee Initial Training and/or Initial Operator Qualifications
Technical Training department conducts initial training
Required remedial training must be documented, task specific self-directed or supervised
May include:
Classroom training – recommended
Supervised simulated performance
Documented “On the Job” performance
Computer-based training

15. Process Improvement
Employee/Contractor Subsequent or Loss of Operator Qualification Summary
Subsequent qualification
Optional self directed training
Pass task test, task evaluation performed
Qualified to perform task unsupervised
Loss of qualification
Required remedial training
**Unable to pass task test and task evaluation, move to position where task performance not required

16. Facilities PNG has 6 training centers:
NC – Charlotte, Greensboro, New Bern, Fayetteville
SC – Greenville
TN – Nashville
Simulator sites available for laboratory training
Mobile training kits with 12 laptops to bring the trainer to the students

17. Facilities
How are simulator facilities used?

18. Technology Learning Management System (LMS) update
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Manage Enterprise training modules
Compliance Required
eLearning and classroom modules
Module set up
Schedule
Management notifications
Employee training history
Online reporting

19. OASIS Program Operations Assets and System Integrity Solutions
Work and Asset management integration – future state
Deliver the right work to the right employee

20. Takeaway Thoughts Enable a culture of employee accountability
Avoid complacency
Supervisors must be engaged
Safety and compliance a priority