November, 2013

Nigel Curson

Director

Penspen Ltd., UK

Training the Next Generation of Pipeline Engineers via the Web

Objective of Presentation

• Explain the need for education and training our staff in the pipeline business

• Highlight the difficulties in providing education and training courses

• Show a ‘way forward’

Unfortunately pipelines fail

• We are experiencing many, some with tragic consequences*:

*http://www.ntsb.gov/Dockets/PipeLine/DCA10MP008/458194.pdf

San Bruno, USA, 2010.Gas pipeline failure: many fatalities and casualties.

Why?

• But how can this be happening, when we have regulations and standards that show us how to manage integrity, and technologies that can check the pipeline’s integrity?

Smart pig for inspecting a pipeline.Image from Rosen.

Over reliance on technology ?

• A reason is… our pipelines are ageing… and we are not managing our pipelines’ integrity effectively.

• We are relying too much on technology (machines, software, etc.), and not enough on people.

Welders (~1943), on a pipeline in

Texas

Top image from: www.crc-evans.com/75th/75th-body.htm.

The relationship between age and failure probability • An ageing structure is likely to fail more often*:

Age

Early lifefailures Steady failure

rate

‘Wear-out’phase

Failu

re p

roba

bilit

y

*http://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/ageing/information.htm

Influence of staff and culture

• But integrity management is not only about maintenance - we must also ensure we have the correct skills and management; i.e., do not rely solely on technology.

*’Pipeline transportation systems — Recommended practice for pipeline life extension’. 2010

Graph fromISO/PDTS 12747*.Note importance of staff and ‘culture’.

Inte

grity

‘Wear-out’phasestarts

We can build a wall to protect us

Policies &Objectives

Management &Organisation

DocumentControl & MIS

RiskAssessment

DesignControl

ProcurementControl

ConstructionControl

Commissioning& Handover

NormalOperations

Inspection &Maintenance

Emergency Response

AccidentInvestigation

Repairs &Modifications

ChangeControl

QualityAssurance

Codes &Standards

LegalCompliance

Review and Audit

But need the knowledge

Knowledge

Information

Data

Value to company

More human interpretation, awareness, etc..

■ Education and training gives you ‘knowledge’

■ Knowledge is ‘information in action’

■ It includes data, information, skills, experience, lessons learnt, etc.

How do we define knowledge?

Educate

Ready

Mentor

Train

Field experience & mentoring

Industry-specifictraining

Relevant academic/tradequalifications

Continuous professionaldevelopment

Knowledge

Management

■ The path to engineering competence has four steps:

It’s valuable, but how do we get it?

20 65450

5

10

15

20

25

pe

rce

nt

high-tech companies,consultancies

Ageing Staff

• The age profile for a modern technology company is:

• The age profile for an oil and gas company is:

We need to rapidly train our existing workforce to replace the gap

• This age profile is international.

• Many NOCs require rapid training due to the replacement of foreign workers with nationals:

21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63

Age

Nu

mb

er

of

Sta

ff

Nationals Expatriates

Nationalisation

The need for rapid development

• We now have and increasing dependence on: knowledge, young engineers and knowledgeable staff to train them;

• In addition to this, there is an increasing demand from society to demonstrate ‘competence’ in engineers;

• Therefore there is an increasing need to transfer knowledge rapidly;

• The only way we can show – demonstrably competence, is by an accredited, examined courses which imparts specific knowledge. Nothing less.

• This has led to a global demand for training

Global Demand for different methods of training/teaching

• We are in the training business. Our experience is:

Our trainers are spread too thin. Unlimited demand with finite resources;

Staff/companies do not want long residential courses or even short ones;

Staff want to learn at their own pace, and at work/home;

Companies want courses to be accredited;

The new generations in work today want to be educated in the same way as they communicate with their friends, book a hotel, and buy a pizza – via the internet

What could the future look like?

■What will our workplace look like in 10 year’s time?

■How will we be ‘learning’ in the future?

■Will we still be...

■attending residential classes...?

Today’s Learners■Today’s learners want easy, flexible, access:

Classroom... the past?

The web... the future?

Time to change■Existing residential university courses, and residential

industry training courses are both important and essential.

■But these will not supply our needs in the short or long term, nor appeal to many of our younger, newer staff.

■Time to change...

The art of the possible

■Why not use the internet, social networks, iPads, etc.?

■As everybody under the age of 35 already does...?!

■Education and training needs to fit in with today’s modern worker.

Flexible delivery to suite lifestyle

■The future for learning is...

■ Your mobile device will become your office, classroom and organiser.

■ Social media literacy will be a job requirement.

■ The corporate curriculum will use video games, simulations, etc., as delivery modes.

■ Your training and education will be based around your timetable, lifestyle and job.

Online distance learning■In this environment, online

distance learning is the preferred form of delivery to allow flexible learning.

■ The complete course materials are presented as a series of topics available through different e-learning tools, which are accessible online.

■ This online delivery fits in with today’s workers/students and busy workers:

Penspen and Northumbria University■Penspen have been developing material for 20 years

including an Msc Course and have trained thousands of engineers. Penspen, and a UK University now provide these on line materials for pipeline engineers:

Certified postgraduate Pipeline Integrity Management from anywhere• All materials are on line, ‘24/7’.

• You can now study and achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in Pipeline Integrity Management from anywhere in the world.

• Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tasco are also working with Penspen to deliver distance learning and classroom accredit postgraduate courses to PEMEX

Thank you for your attention