Gas Damage Prevention + Integrity Management

The character of risk is changing so the Gas Damage Prevention + Integrity Management track will share best practices and government agency partnerships regarding damage prevention. Additional topics may include FIMP, regulation RIN2, risk modeling, and prediction/prevention through the use of technologies such as AI.

This track is sponsored by:

Meet the Program Development Team for this track. Learn more about the Operations Conference.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

3:00 PM – 4:15 PM
Risk Modeling and the Use of Machine Learning
Speakers: Scott Lundgren, Integrity Management Engineering Manager, NW Natural
Nariman Laal Dehghani, Principle Threat and Risk Engineer, Southern California Gas Company
Continuous learning when it comes to risk assessment is essential to the long-term integrity of our assets. Machine learning allows us to ingest and analyze large amounts of data from different sources to enhance the use of quantitative risk models. This session will discuss the development and/or use of machine learning-based quantitative risk models for both DIMP and TIMP pipelines at three different utilities, their challenges, successes and the future of machine learning in risk assessment.

Thursday, April 25, 2024

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
Accurate Mapping in an Untoneable World
Speakers: David Yarnel, Director of Damage Prevention, NiSource
Andrew Costell, Director of Damage Prevention Services, SAM, LLC
John Hannel, Business Development Director, SAM, LLC
This session will highlight a highly accurate GPS Mapping program that has been on-going since 2014. Presenters will answer the questions of Why, When, How and Where to map with GPS as well as discuss GPS accuracy, mapping reliability, use ability, and some of the identified uses of this accurate gas distribution GIS database. This presentation will also cover the multiple stages of mapping that the owner had to do, and the lessons learned with each over the multiple year implementation. This will include legacy gas (in-service) mapping, capital gas (newly installed) mapping, and the resulting mapping remediation steps. This presentation will cover the efforts in the field and highlight the lessons learned. Why would we consider this? To have a reliable and accurate representation of where gas mains and services actually exist in the field… backed by science! These accurate facility GPS maps are the hub of critical information that the gas distribution industry has never had! Come learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly of this highly accurate and very involved gas mapping program.

1:45 PM – 3:00 PM
What’s Found Underground? Using TMS to Enhance Damage Prevention
Speakers: Lynsay Demko-Edwards, Southwest Gas Corporation
Jose Gonzalez, Technical Advisor, Southern California Gas Company
Brian Gordon, Principal, DigContrax
Advancing excavator success, shared responsibility, and communication through excavator focused ticket management systems, tools, and technology. Learn how some of the largest excavation companies in the state of Nevada are utilizing excavator developed ticket management systems to reduce damages, liability, and effectively enhance communication and oversite across their company.