Skills and Experience for Effectively Designing Natural Gas Systems
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to operators on how to develop, maintain, and enhance the key technical competencies required to safely and effectively perform engineering work functions for natural gas systems. Although professional engineers (PE’s) must demonstrate technical competency in the field of engineering, focusing on concepts such as fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, structural mechanics, and responsible charge of work and ethical standards of practice, a PE license by itself is not a substitute for industry-specific experience and first-hand knowledge needed to understand natural gas systems and make decisions related to public safety in this field.
This white paper provides a roadmap for operators to improve and enhance the performance of engineering work or services for the design, construction, and maintenance of natural gas facilities with the goal of reducing risk to public safety. Additionally, this white paper addresses the importance of embedding design approvals within an operator’s safety management plans and leveraging a change management process to ensure design changes, reviews, and approvals are in place to minimize the risk of human error.