Event Summary
This course explores the relationship between regulatory compliance requirements and the API Recommended Practice 1173: Pipeline Safety Management Systems (PSMS), with an emphasis on how a strong PSMS can support, strengthen, and sustain compliance efforts across an organization.
Participants will gain an overview of how PSMS aligns with PHMSA regulations by providing a structured, systematic approach to managing risk, ensuring accountability, and improving consistency in compliance-related activities. The course highlights where PSMS complements regulatory programs, how it supports effective documentation and oversight, and how management systems help move organizations beyond minimum compliance toward continuous improvement.
The course also examines the role of leadership, engineers, compliance professionals, and PSMS personnel in integrating regulatory requirements into daily decision-making and operational practices. Emphasis is placed on understanding how PSMS supports audits, inspections, corrective actions, and assurance activities, helping organizations proactively identify gaps and respond more effectively to regulatory expectations.
Attendees will receive 2 Professional Development Hours (PDH) upon completion.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain the purpose and structure of the 2nd Edition of API RP 1173 and its implications for executive and leadership oversight.
- Identify key updates from the 2015 edition and assess how those changes affect leadership responsibilities, governance, and decision-making.
- Demonstrate how leadership behaviors, expectations, and accountability mechanisms reinforce Safety Culture across all ten PSMS elements.
- Apply the Safety Assurance framework to evaluate how quality control, quality assurance, audits, and evaluations support informed oversight and continuous improvement.
- Define specific leadership actions—related to resources, performance monitoring, and cross-functional alignment—that enable PSMS to be actively practiced throughout the organization.
Who Should Attend
PSMS personnel, leadership, compliance, engineers
Meet the Instructor
Mark Hereth
Process Performance Improvement Consultants (PPIC)
