Event Overview
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.
Participants will be introduced to practical, job-ready tools developed through collaboration between SGA, NGA, and Blacksmith, including PSMS Tactical Guides and Quick Tips created specifically for field functions. Rather than theory, the course emphasizes how PSMS shows up in real work—pre-job planning, work execution, communication, and follow-through.
The course summarizes how Tactical Guides and Quick Tips support field employees in understanding their role within a PSMS, applying guiding principles, and using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle to manage risk and improve performance. Functional examples are drawn from Mains and Services Construction, Distribution System Maintenance, Corrosion Control, Pressure Regulation and Instrumentation and Odorization, Gas Control, Emergency Preparedness and Response, and Engineering Design and Review.
Future deep dive courses will be scheduled to review individual Tactical Guides and Quick Tips listed above.
Attendees will receive 2 Professional Development Hours (PDH) upon completion.
Course Objectives
- Participants will be introduced to the process used for the collaborative development of Tactical Guides and Quick Tips as a resource for embedding PSMS in daily activities
- Participants will gain understanding of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and how it is used in the planning, execution, oversight, and continuous improvement of field work activities.
- Participants will be introduced to “key considerations” for strengthening the PDCA processes in the field, including during planning, pre-job and post job reviews, and during quality control and quality assurance activities.
- Participants will also receive an overview of key roles and guiding principles for consideration in operationalizing PSMS in the field.
Who Should Attend
Operations and Engineering Managers, Supervisors, Work planners/coordinators, Inspectors, Field employees
Meet Your 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
