Contractor SMS Template & SMS Contractor Guidance
DCA members, and pipeline contractors in general, maintain effective and elaborate safety programs in an industry where safety must be the top priority. In 2015, the American Petroleum Institute (API) issued the First Edition of API Recommended Practice (RP) 1173, “Pipeline Safety Management Systems,” which established a pipeline SMS framework for operators of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines jurisdictional to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). SMS has become a main focus at PHMSA, and while the agency maintains it does not intend to require this approach to safety as part of the federal pipeline safety regulations, SMS is strongly supported and encouraged by PHMSA and other regulatory agencies. In fact, stakeholder groups who have adopted, encouraged or contributed to industry Pipeline SMS advancement consists of pipeline operators, contractors, industry trade associations, members of the public, as well as government agencies such as the National Transportation Safety Board, Pipeline and Hazard Materials Safety Administration and others at federal, state and local levels.
As API and other associations representing pipeline operators work to promote and implement SMS in throughout the industry, leading associations representing contractors who build, maintain and repair natural gas and oil pipelines collaborated to develop a Contractor SMS Template to guide interested contractors looking to implement or improve current SMS maintained in their operations.
This framework is intended to assist contractors looking to move towards a systematic approach to safety management, or to improve their existing SMS programs. While the concepts included in this document are consistent with those described in API RP 1173, adjustments have been made to ensure SMS elements in the contractor template are appropriate for construction contractors. Therefore, the concepts presented in API RP 1177, Recommended Practice for Steel Pipeline Construction Quality Management Systems (Nov. 1, 2017) are also referenced in the contractor template. Finally, this document includes certain recommendations presented in the American Gas Association’s White Paper, entitled Contractor Construction Quality Management Guide (Nov. 22, 2016).
The second document, “Pipeline Safety Management Systems; A Contractors Guide,” was developed by the Pipeline SMS Industry Team, which relied on DCA to help fine tune the guidance. The SMS Industry Team released the Guide to provide contractors with general additional direction as they work to implement or improve their current safety management systems. The Industry Team defines a “contractor” as person(s) doing work on behalf of the pipeline operator, including all levels of subcontractors. This includes a people with a wide range of responsibilities and authorities united for the purpose of performing a function or process on behalf of the pipeline operator. Examples of contracted services may include, but are not limited to design and engineering, operations and maintenance, construction, and other functions or processes on behalf of the pipeline operator. This guide is not intended to supersede and replace any existing agreements between parties.
DCA believes that these two documents will serve as beneficial tools for pipeline contractors to begin transitioning from traditional safety programs to the comprehensive, “top-to-bottom,” cyclical approaches to safety management offered by SMS. Additional material can be found on the SMS Industry Team’s website www.pipelinesms.org.
Download the Contractor SMS Template
Download the Pipeline Safety Management Systems; A Contractors Guide