AGA is providing a new opportunity to help your company address the operational challenges it faces. AGA’s Operations Discussion Groups are an opportunity for member companies to come together to address the operational challenges they face. The discussion groups have been established for six key areas: Public Awareness, Work Management Systems, GPS/GIS, DIMP Rule Implementation, Employee Technical Training, and Materials Supply Chain Management.
These discussion groups are essentially “virtual” roundtables where members can hear presentations and exchange information, ideas, and practices. Each discussion group will meet by webinar or conference call on a quarterly basis with each session lasting between 45 and 90 minutes.
The discussion groups are different from our traditional technical committees in several ways:
- No face-to-face meetings
- No summaries or formal agendas provided
- No projects
- Discussion groups can change each year based upon member interest
The benefits include:
- Allows members to network continually with other utilities that share a particular interest in a given area
- Provides scheduled forums for members to freely exchange experiences and information with other utilities
- Allows companies to select multiple representatives for a particular topic
- No travel involved, minimal time commitment
Below is additional information on the six discussion groups as well as contact information for the AGA Staff Executive in charge of the group. Access to the specific discussion group sites is limited to members of the group. To be added to a group, please contact the AGA staff executive listed below. Companies may have multiple representatives in each group.
Work Management Systems - Member companies will share how they assign & dispatch work to field employees and contractors for both gas distribution crews and gas service technician tasks. The entire work cycle will be in the scope of the discussions, from order initiation until order close-out. Contact Andrew Lu, alu@aga.org
GPS / GIS - Member companies will share how they leverage GPS and GIS in all aspects of field operations, mapping of facilities, and management of field employees and contractors. Contact Andrew Lu, alu@aga.org
DIMP Rule Implementation - Member companies will share how they are implementing their DIMP plans, practices and processes. Contact Andrew Lu, alu@aga.org
Employee Technical Training - Member companies will share practices and information on training employees in gas distribution and gas service, including tasks covered by Operator Qualification programs. Contact Nneka Assing, nassing@aga.org
Materials Supply Chain - Member companies will share information on materials quality standards, manufacturing and quality concerns, and material traceability procedures for the gas industry. Contact Kate Miller, kmiller@aga.org
Public Awareness - Member companies will share how they are increasing public awareness of pipelines with emergency responders, government agencies and the public, complying with DOT's public awareness regulation and following the new RP 1162 standard. Contact Victoria Plotkin, vplotkin@aga.org