APIA President Ashley Kellett told delegates at the Association’s annual convention in Perth that the winner was the result of a joint nomination between Dampier Bunbury Pipeline (DBP) and WestNet Energy.

Mr Kellett said that the nomination was under the unique innovation or initiative category addressing a safety issue through the use of their Vehicle Safety and Speed Monitoring System.

The system produces almost real time data for all equipped vehicles, covering information on location, registration, speed, time and date as well as whether the vehicle is travelling and if the ignition on or off.

It provides automatic communication if there has been an emergency or speed breach and, instantaneous SMS text messages and emails are sent in an emergency. Since the introduction of the system, vehicle incident frequency rates on the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP) have declined by 50 per cent, vehicle rollovers have reduced by a factor of four and there have been no fatalities.

Article continues below…

Mr Kellett presented the award to both Stuart Hohnen from DBP and Aart ter Kuile from WestNet Energy.

WestNet Energy HSE Manager Alyson Vinciguerra said “It’s a huge honour to receive the award. It’s nice to see industry recognition for innovation – for actually generating an idea and then following through to implementing it.”

She said that developing the system was an involved process and DBP should be commended for having the foresight to see the benefits of the program.

“Speed on dirt roads has always been an issue and the vehicle monitoring system has been significant in reducing vehicle incidents along the DBNGP. This is evidenced in the change in driver behaviour, with people becoming aware of a priority of safety over speed.

“Employees have changed their attitude from getting there quickly, to getting there safely,” said Ms Vinciguerra.

Mr Kellett said that the pipeline industry really embraced the Safety Award in 2008, with seven nominations received for the award. Other nominations included:

  • The New Zealand Refining Company (NZRC) for its inspection data for enhancing safety and environmental practice in the operation of high pressure pipelines;
  • APA Group for management of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) on the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline;
  • McConnell Dowell for its role in the Southern Regional Water Pipeline Alliance. Working under 60 km of high voltage 110 kV electricity transmission lines, McConnell Dowell developed practices in the area of safe construction under operating power lines;
  • Nacap Australia for its introduction of the vibratory plough installation technique. This was a new innovation for the water industry and it provided for the safe installation of small bore water pipe to grade at production rates averaging up to 5 km per day with a peak production of 8 km per day;
  • AJ Lucas Group, on behalf of the Eastern Pipeline Alliance in South East Queensland, for its ‘come home to your family safely’ and ‘a safe day every day’ campaigns; and,
  • The McConnell Dowell field team of Lindsay Bull, Phillip Jacka, Sheralee McCloy and Jimmy Zonneveld for their work on safety aspects for the Western Pipeline Alliance on the Western Corridor Purified Recycled Water Project. A second part of the nomination covered the installation and use throughout the project of reversing cameras on earthmoving equipment, voltage proximity sensors, vehicle monitoring devices and a glass reinforced pipe collar press.

Mr Kellett said that the seven nominations were considered by an APIA committee comprising independent professionals and one of the state regulators.

“The quality of the nominations was outstanding and certainly made the job of the selection committee extremely hard. The field was eventually narrowed down to two.

“The committee agreed that there could only be one winner and agreed that a Highly Commended Certificate be awarded to McConnell Dowell for their highly impressive safety results in the Southern Regional Water Pipeline Alliance.”