Protect people, the environment and our assets
Protect people, the environment and our assets
A new approach to emergency management training
Looking beyond initial response is what motivated PMC’s EM team to design exercises for internal and external participants to put longer-term action plans into practice. This alternate approach was described as “industry-leading” by Mark Zamin, Emergency Response Coordinator at the Alberta Energy Regulator.
“I know emergency management in terms of what is required and should be done. I have attended many exercises and have seen many companies struggle and require help. Where PMC is now is how it’s supposed to be done,” said Zamin, who attended a PMC emergency exercise in Slave Lake, Alta. “PMC is able to focus on what didn’t go as planned during an exercise and then develop their program properly.”
One of the reasons for the favourable feedback was the realistic deployment of response equipment, including skimmers, booms and wildlife deterrents. This helped employees and local first responders better understand what would actually happen during a real incident.
John Rogers, a PMC pipeline technician, took part in an emergency exercise just outside of Swift Current, Sask., at Lake Diefenbaker. He explained that while PMC crews frequently take part in exercises, the physical deployment of equipment took it to another level. “When you are in a river with a bit of a current and doing the things the way they are actually done in a real-life scenario, it’s unbelievably valuable,” he said.
Peter L’Heureux, Deputy Fire Chief from Swift Current, stated that the Lake Diefenbaker exercise was one
PMC values our commitment to first responders
PMC facilitates training so that first responders get the opportunity to participate alongside our response personnel in simulated incidents related to assets, products and emergency situations in their area. PMC also provides donations to first responders across Canada and the United States to better equip them when they respond to emergency situations.
Some of the donations PMC made to first responders in 2019 included:
- Funding toward a new fire hall in Miniota, Man., where PMC has a long-standing relationship with the community.
- $18,000 to the Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department in Alberta so they could send their members to a special railway emergency training program.
- A decommissioned trailer for confined-space and flammable fuels training to the Vegreville Fire Department in Alberta. The trailer allows volunteer firefighters to use their training to extinguish live fires under safe and controlled conditions. The technical rescue team also uses the trailer to simulate confined-space rescue conditions.
- $5,000 to the Lesser Slave Regional Fire Service in Alberta, where the fire department took part in one of PMC’s emergency exercises involving the deployment of spill response equipment. For further learning, the department provided a demonstration of their industrial firefighting capabilities to PMC personnel.
Security Management
Our Security Management Program helps to ensure the protection of the environment, public, employees, property and information through emphasis on physical security, security risk management, information security, personnel security, information technology and industry-related threat intelligence.
Protecting people and the environment
through emergency preparedness
PMC’s Emergency Response Plans (ERPs)
An ERP is crucial for emergency preparedness. This document contains essential information, processes and procedures to assist personnel in the safe and effective response to emergencies.
The ERPs account for risks and hazards in each of PMC’s operating areas. They include hazard-specific emergency response procedures, equipment availability, area- and operations-specific information, as well as critical internal and external contact information.
PMC’s Emergency Management Program (EMP)
The EMP is built on four integrated pillars:
Prevention and Mitigation
Preparedness
Response
Recovery
Health and Safety
PMC conducts operations in a manner designed to maintain the safety and security of the public, employees and contractors; the protection and stewardship of the environment; and the integrity of all our assets. Our Health and Safety Management Program reflects that commitment and enhances our processes through a variety of initiatives. These include Life Rules, Stop Work Authority, Visitor Visibility Program, Incident Reporting and Investigation Program, and Corrective and Preventative Action Management Program. Our Process Safety Management Program is another important component of safe operations at PMC.
PMC’s safety culture
reflected in our programs
Because PMC’s leadership takes safety very seriously, they have made a commitment that there will be no repercussions for any individual who stops unsafe work.
Our Safety Incentive Program is another way we demonstrate that safety is everyone’s responsibility. This awards program was initiated four years ago as part of our commitment to continuously improve and our belief that incidents are preventable. Through Good Catches and Safety Leadership awards, the program rewards workers in safety-sensitive positions who take a pre-emptive approach to safety and exemplify safe behaviour in the field.
Every quarter, PMC gives Good Catch awards workers who proactively identify and report hazardous conditions,
Because PMC’s leadership takes safety very seriously, they have made a commitment that there will be no repercussions for any individual who stops unsafe work.
Our Safety Incentive Program is another way we demonstrate that safety is everyone’s responsibility. This awards program was initiated four years ago as part of our commitment to continuously improve and our belief that incidents are preventable. Through Good Catches and Safety Leadership awards, the program rewards workers in safety-sensitive positions who take a pre-emptive approach to safety and exemplify safe behaviour in the field.
Every quarter, PMC gives Good Catch awards workers who proactively identify and report hazardous conditions, potentially preventing incidents from occurring. Considerations include the impact of the learning across the business as well as the hazard being mitigated and the associated risk.
In 2019, PMC workers and contractors submitted 1,260 Good Catches as part of the Safety Incentive Program. Several areas of our business have benefited from Good Catches, including updates to our Emergency Response Plans and improvements in the PMC Electrical Safety Program.
Safety Leadership awards recognize workers nominated by their peers for going above and beyond to promote safe work and contribute to strengthening our safety culture. In 2019, 28 PMC workers and contractors received Safety Leadership awards.
In 2019, PMC workers and contractors submitted 1,260 Good Catches as part of the Safety Incentive Program. Several areas of our business have benefited from Good Catches, including updates to our Emergency Response Plans and improvements in the PMC Electrical Safety Program.
Safety Leadership awards recognize workers nominated by their peers for going above and beyond to promote safe work and contribute to strengthening our safety culture. In 2019, 28 PMC workers and contractors received Safety Leadership awards.
Laura Hughes, PMC Analyst Health & Safety
Teaming up to
prevent pipeline
strikes
In 2019, a collaboration between our Damage Prevention and Geographic Information System (GIS) teams resulted in an innovative and time-saving solution. The GIS team had previously developed the Plains Asset Location Map (PALM), which has been pivotal in helping teams across the organization quickly locate underground assets, pipelines, facilities and valves. Using the information within PALM, our GIS team then helped develop a mobile mapping system.
This system comes in the form of an app available on iPads and Android tablets, so locators can use the mobile technology in the field. The app’s functionality is specific to locators’ needs, enhancing on-the-go experiences and containing the same up-to-date data as PALM.
Teaming up to
prevent pipeline
strikes
The technology was implemented as a pilot project and is expected to be rolled out organization-wide in 2020.
David Tramer, PMC Instrumentation Technician
Are you planning work that will disturb the ground? Visit clickbeforeyoudig.com for the One-Call centre information you need before working near a pipeline or any buried infrastructure.
Damage Prevention
Our comprehensive Damage Prevention Program includes core elements that work together to protect the public, employees, contractors, assets and the environment by preventing damage to underground infrastructure. The core elements include One-Call Management, Crossings and Encroachments, Ground Disturbance, Right-of-Way Surveillance and Monitoring, Class Location and Land Use Monitoring, Unauthorized Activities and Public Awareness. Each approaches public safety in a different way, with the common goal of increasing awareness and changing unsafe behaviour around our pipelines.
Environmental
inspections are
key to compliance
The completion of inspections drives our sites toward a continuous state of environmental compliance. The inspections focus on aspects such as waste management practices and the protection of soil and groundwater. Findings are documented and, if necessary, corrected.
PMC’s commitment to the protection of the environment extends through all phases of project design and construction to minimize or avoid adverse environmental effects. Our Environmental Protection Program seeks to address all provincial and federal acts and regulations.
Reclamation
of the environment
The incident occurred in a location known for its wetlands and forested areas. Eight months of response activities focused on cleanup, including the recovery of oil using vacuum trucks and skimmers, removal and offsite disposal of affected vegetation and absorbent materials, and excavation and removal of contaminated soil.
By December 2011, the entire release footprint was fully remediated, and PMC began the process of restoring the area to a pre-incident condition. Ongoing site monitoring showed the return of wildlife to the area, the surface water and groundwater quality met provincial guidelines and vegetation had re-established.
The issuance of a reclamation certificate from the Alberta Energy Regulator in 2019 ended any further reclamation requirements from PMC.
