Advanced Pipeline Risk Management
Led by W. Kent Muhlbauer
May 15-16, 2019: Houston

Day 1
  7:30am Registration & coffee
  8:00am-5:00pm Course
Day 2
  8:00am-5:00pm Course

 

From the National Transportation Safety Board Safety Study
Integrity Management of Gas Transmission Pipelines in High Consequence Areas, January 27, 2015:

"The study did find that IM programs... require expert knowledge and integration of multiple technical disciplines including... probability and statistics, and risk management.... The study found that aspects of the operators' threat identification and risk assessment processes require improvement."

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has proposed a wide range of stricter regulations for improving pipeline safety. At the top of the list are these:

  • Requirements for conducting risk assessment for integrity management, including seismic risk.
  • Expanded mandatory data collection and integration requirements for integrity management, including data validation and seismicity.
  • Increased focus on a data- and risk-informed approach to safety by requiring integration of available data, including data on the operating environment, pipeline condition, and known manufacturing and construction defects.
  • Required annual evaluation of protective measures in High Consequence Areas, with established deadlines for internal inspections where possible for any new or replaced pipeline that could affect an HCA.

Are you ready for these new rules? The Advanced* Risk Management course will get you there.

Risk management has been embraced by both the pipeline industry and regulatory agencies as a way to not only increase public safety but also to optimize all aspects of pipeline design, operations, and maintenance. This workshop is designed to equip attendees with the information and the know-how to set up and implement a comprehensive risk management program for pipelines. It will go into considerable depth in explaining the latest methods for risk profiling. The focus will be on the establishment of a program that not only fulfills regulatory requirements, but also gives the pipeline owner/operator a long-term decision support tool.

This course begins with a review of risk management concepts and risk assessment methodologies and then focuses on the most practical risk assessment technique available to the pipeline industry. The emphasis throughout is on practical, ready-to-apply techniques that yield immediate and cost-effective benefits.

Participants will leave with the necessary tools to begin or strengthen risk assessment practice leading to a formalized risk management program. As much as is possible, course content will be directed to specific audience needs.

*The word “advanced” is used here to denote the course’s presentation of state-of-the-art methods and best practices. It does not refer to the degree of technical proficiency or experience required to benefit from the course. It is suitable for beginners and practitioners alike.

Important Additional Take-Aways from This Workshop

In addition to the wealth of information from the lectures and the course notebook—including selected article reprints, lecture slides, and exercises, two additional and unique offerings accompany this workshop: a 578-page, $145 textbook and a working, spreadsheet-based risk assessment model.

It will be necessary to bring a laptop to this course.

Target Audience

Anyone requiring a working knowledge of pipeline risk concepts and how they can be efficiently employed to enhance pipeline operations, maintenance, design, and regulatory compliance.  Attendees should be prepared to engage in hands-on team and individual exercises designed to solidify theoretical concepts into practical applications.

Lecturer

W. Kent Muhlbauer is a principal of WKM Consultancy, LLC, a firm specializing in pipeline design, construction, operations and management. With over 35 years’ experience in the pipeline industry, especially focused on pipeline risk management and integrity management, Mr. Muhlbauer, is an advisor to government regulatory agencies and academia as well as pipeline operators and remains an oft-invited speaker at industry conferences worldwide. Since its inception in 1994, WKMC, LLC has been the primary consultant in numerous pipeline technical and managerial projects for over 100 clients, including most major U.S. and international pipeline operating companies.

Mr. Muhlbauer is the author of the widely respected reference book series Pipeline Risk Management Manual, Editions 1 to 3, in print since 1991, as well as the new Pipeline Risk Assessment: The Definitive Approach and Its Role in Risk Management which is part of the course material.

CEUs

Upon completion of the course, participants will be eligible to receive 1.4 Continuing Education Units.

Textbook

The newly published reference book, Pipeline Risk Assessment:  The Definitive Approach and Its Role in Risk Management, is included with the course materials. This breakthrough book presents the definitive approach to assessing risks from pipelines—an approach that overcomes the limitations of previous methodologies. The methodology detailed here is a practical, easy-to-apply approach to measuring risks associated with operating any type of pipeline in any environment. Click here for more information on this new book.

Working Risk Model File

Attendees also receiver a robust, working, spreadsheet-based, risk assessment template, ready for immediate use in performing risk assessments on actual assets.  The spreadsheet format allows easy customization and can fully support risk assessments on even larger pipeline systems. 1Its utility is only limited by the limitations on the spreadsheet software environment.  With this unprecedented accompaniment to a risk workshop, attendees can jump-start their initial risk assessment efforts or see exactly how to update their existing risk assessment methodologies.

1At some point, spreadsheets become inefficient and the more robust database capabilities of other software programs are more appropriate environments for performing risk assessments, as is discussed in the workshop.

Course topics include

Foundation

  • Basic Concepts of Risk
  • Definitions and terminology
  • Risk Assessment Processes
  • Use and Misuse of Statistical Analyses

Information Utilization

  • Sources of Information
  • Measurements and Estimates
  • Gathering and Effectively Utilizing Information
  • Data Collection and Analysis
  • Formatting for Databases QA/QC of Data
  • Segmentation

Risk Assessment

  • Failure Modes
  • Measuring Failure Potential
  • Time Dependency Issues
  • Threat Interaction
  • Consequence Analysis
  • Hazard Zone Calculations
  • Conservatism

Risk Management

  • Risk Profiles
  • Data-based Decision Making
  • Managing the Risks
  • ‘Acceptable’ Risk Concepts
  • Project Prioritization Based on Risk Assessments
  • Resource Allocation Concepts
  • Integrity Management and Risk Management
  • Regulatory Compliance

Practical Applications

  • Dispelling Myths
  • Optimizing Complexity—Intelligent Simplifications
  • Case Studies
  • Tips and Learning Experiences in Practicing Risk Assessment
  • Using Common Spreadsheet and Desktop Database Tools

 Organized by:

Clarion Technical Conferences