Event Summary
This course moves beyond PSMS concepts and focuses on practical applications in the field, using API Recommended Practice 1173 (PSMS) as a framework to support safe, consistent, and compliant operations related to distributions system operations and maintenance. Pipeline safety is built where the work happens—in the field. This course is designed for field personnel and the teams that support them, focusing on how PSMS is applied during planning, execution, and day-to-day decision-making on the front line of pipeline safety.
Designed for operations and maintenance professionals, the course translates PSMS expectations into tactical guidance, real-world examples, and quick tips that can be applied during daily work. Participants will examine how PSMS elements—such as risk management, operating procedures, management of change, competence, and safety assurance—connect directly to the operation and maintenance of the gas system.
Additionally, the course emphasizes how Operations and Maintenance field teams can use PSMS to anticipate hazards, reinforce procedural discipline, improve communication across shifts and functions, and capture lessons learned before incidents occur. It also highlights how frontline actions support system-wide safety outcomes, inspection of readiness, and continuous improvement.
Participants will be introduced to practical, job-ready tools developed through collaboration between SGA, NGA, and Blacksmith, including PSMS Distribution System Operations and Maintenance Tactical Guide and Quick Tips created specifically for field functions.
Attendees will receive 2 Professional Development Hours (PDH) upon completion.
Course Objectives
- Participants will be able to explain the role of field personnel in an effective Pipeline Safety Management System (PSMS).
- Participants will be able to apply PSMS Tactical Guides and Quick Tips to support planning, execution, and follow-through of gas operations and maintenance work.
- Participants will be able to identify key PSMS considerations relevant to Distribution System Operations and Maintenance planning and field activities.
- Participants will gain understanding of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, its use in the planning, execution, oversight, and continuous improvement of field work activities.
- Participants will also receive an overview of key roles and guiding principles for consideration in operationalizing PSMS in the field.
Who Should Attend
Gas Distribution Operations and Maintenance staff, including Managers, Supervisors, Planners, Engineers, and field technicians
Meet the Instructor
Dan McNamara
P-PIC
Dan is a retired gas utilities operations and pipeline safety management professional with over 40 years of experience leading large field operations organizations in safely operating, maintaining, and constructing gas distribution assets. Dan is also an industry expert on pipeline safety management systems and led to the initial implementation of PSMS at National Grid.
His gas utility operations experience and pipeline safety background working for both a global investor owned Utility, and for a utility contractor, give him a full understanding and unique perspective of the challenges facing a utility, as well as its contractors in safely operating and constructing a gas distribution network in densely populated urban areas with aging infrastructure.
Prior to joining P-Pic, as a senior fellow, Dan was the VP of Pipeline Safety for a large gas utility construction contractor in the Northeast that specialized in gas utility construction and maintenance in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Dan started his utility career at Colonial Gas Company in Lowell, Massachusetts as a field technician and progressed through all levels of gas operations leadership at the former Boston Gas and KeySpan Energy companies, and ultimately National Grid. Dan retired from National Grid in 2018 as a VP of Pipeline Safety Management.
Dan joined P-Pic in early 2021 and was assigned to a year-long project at Deloitte as a utility operations and pipeline safety subject matter expert, supporting Deloitte in the development of an asset and work management platform. For the past three years Dan has participated in multiple API 1173 pipeline safety assessments in support of the NGA PSMS Collaborative, as well as similar assessments for utility clients. Dan has been instrumental in assisting NGA/SGA in the development of PSMS Tactical Guides and other materials focused on helping to embed PSMS into daily planning and work execution activities.
Education
- B.S. Political Science
- Trinity College Hartford Ct
Certifications
- AGA Executive Leadership Program
- Harvard Business School on Negotiations
