Meeting the New Regulatory Requirements for Pipeline Control Room Management

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has amended the U.S. pipeline safety regulations to prescribe safety requirements for controllers, control rooms, and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems used to remotely monitor and control pipeline operations. The objective of Control Room Management (CRM) is to help assure the controllers will continue to be successful in maintaining pipeline integrity and safety, and help reduce the number and consequences of shortfalls in control room management practices and operator errors when remotely monitoring and controlling pipelines and responding to abnormal and emergency conditions. CRM helps to address this by prescribing safety requirements intended to verify that procedures, systems, and equipment are well thought out and function as intended. CRM also intends to help assure that pipeline operators are addressing human fatigue risks and other human factors inside the control room that could inhibit a controller’s ability to carry out the roles and responsibilities the operator has defined for the safe operation of the pipeline. This paper will go over the background and elements of the rule, additional guidance and resources that have been provided publically, and lessons learned through the development and roll out of the new requirements.