Pipeline Safety Stakeholder Communications

Inspection Activity Glossary

PHMSA performs a variety of inspections, investigations, and other activities to assure safe pipeline operation and full operator compliance with all pipeline safety regulations. The following terms are used in the tables accompanying the "Inspection Activity" reports. Some of these terms represent multiple PHMSA activities which have been combined for the purposes of this report.

System-Wide Program Inspections

General Operations Inspections - Inspections of an operator's Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Procedures. These inspections are typically conducted by a team of PHMSA inspectors and are performed for the larger pipeline operators who have a variety of geographically diverse pipeline facilities. For smaller pipeline operators, O&M Procedures are typically covered in conjunction with a Unit Inspection.

Integrity Management Inspections - Inspections of an operator's Integrity Management Program. During the period 2001 - 2004, PHMSA issued a series of new regulations requiring gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipeline operators to develop and implement comprehensive integrity and risk management programs, including requirements to periodically inspect and test pipelines to identify and repair potentially injurious defects. These Integrity Management Inspections provide a comprehensive review of an operator's program and processes, and its testing and inspection plans and results. In 2011, PHMSA issued gas distribution integrity management regulations requiring operators to understand the risks faced by their systems and effectively manage integrity.

Operator Qualification Inspections - Inspections of an operator's Operator Qualification Program. In 1999 and subsequent years, PHMSA issued new Operator Qualification requirements for operators to have formal programs to qualify personnel for certain safety-sensitive tasks associated with operation and maintenance of their pipelines. PHMSA inspections provide a comprehensive review of the operator's qualification program and processes, including the identification of all safety-sensitive tasks, the identification of individuals qualified to perform certain tasks, and the conduct of employee performance evaluations to assure proper performance of identified tasks.

Integrated Inspections - Inspections resulting from a 2008 PHMSA initiative to develop an inspection approach that combines discrete inspection "types" (e.g., Unit Inspections, Operations and Maintenance Procedure Inspections, Integrity Management Inspections, etc.) into a single inspection that provides an integrated evaluation of an operator's safety management programs. Integrated inspections prioritize specific areas to be inspected based on system-specific risk information in order to apply PHMSA inspection resources to programs, geographic areas, and threats that pose higher risks.

Site-Specific Field Inspections

Unit Inspections - Inspections of individual pipeline facilities or lengths of pipeline (called "Inspection Units") designed to assure compliance with pipeline safety regulations and standards. Unit Inspections are performed on predefined portions of pipeline systems and oftentimes include inspection of pump or compressor stations, storage tanks, and other equipment in addition to the pipeline itself. For smaller operators, a single Unit Inspection may cover all of its pipeline facilities; larger operators often have multiple pipeline systems and, as a result, multiple Unit Inspections become necessary to examine all their facilities. Unit Inspections are sometimes also referred to by PHMSA as Standard Inspections.

Integrity Management Field Verifications - If the inspector has an opportunity to examine the operator's implementation of integrity management activities in the field, this inspection will be included in gas transmission and hazardous liquid Unit Inspections. Integrity management activities can include verification that procedures for conducting integrity assessments are followed, verification that pipeline excavation and repair activities were performed in accordance with regulations and applicable procedures, and that preventive and mitigative measures identified by the operator's integrity management program have been performed.

Operator Qualification Field Verifications - If the inspector has an opportunity to observe operator personnel performing duties in the field, this inspection will be included in Unit Inspections. Inspectors typically check that qualified individuals are performing the work and also check records demonstrating that the individuals' qualifications are current and accurate. Operator Qualification Field Verifications also confirm that field personnel are cognizant of Abnormal Operating Conditions.

Targeted Inspections/Investigations

Failure Investigations - Investigations performed following a pipeline failure to determine the cause of the release and any violations of the pipeline safety regulations that may have contributed to the failure.

Specialized Inspections - Inspections that focus in detail on a particular area of concern, oftentimes initiated following Unit Inspections, Failure Investigations, or other inspection activities where it is determined that a more intensive, in-depth inspection of a particular geographical area, pipeline system, or compliance area is warranted.

Construction Inspections - Inspections of a new pipeline construction project designed to assure the pipeline or facility is constructed, installed, and tested in accordance with applicable pipeline safety regulations and standards prior to its being placed in operation.

Drug & Alcohol Inspections - Inspections of an operator's drug and alcohol testing program designed to assure compliance with DOT and PHMSA's Drug & Alcohol Testing regulations and standards.

Other Inspections - Inspections focused on other specific areas of operator compliance and safety performance such as damage prevention, site security, and emergency response exercises. Also included are PHMSA follow-up activities associated with Corrective Action Orders and other PHMSA enforcement actions, as well as PHMSA investigations of concerns raised by members of the public.

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