Nacap Australia was chosen as the winner for 2011 from five nominations for the award, which is designed to recognise one or more of the following achievements, all of which aim to improve the safety of the pipeline industry and its personnel:
- Outstanding safety performance in the workplace, whether in office, industrial, project, or operations and workplaces;
- A unique innovation or initiative addressing a safety issue; and,
A new and well-defined safety system, procedure, or practice.
Previous winners of the APIA Safety Award include SEA Gas, DBP and WestNet Energy, APA Group and AJ Lucas Group.
Outgoing APIA President Peter Cox said that in 2007 the Board agreed to implement an industry-wide Safety Award. The award is a result of the instigation of the APIA Safety Committee, and in at the request of Board Member Mark Twycross.
The five nominations for the 2011 award were as follows:
1. Nacap Australia’s Hydraulic Pig Catcher, which was nominated under the Unique Innovation or Initiative criterion. Nacap has developed a smart and cost-effective solution to dewatering after hydrostatic testing through its Hydraulic Pig Catcher.
2. Australian Pressure Testing Services, which was nominated under the Outstanding Safety Performance criterion for its overall safety record under the guidance of Paul Newbound.
3. UEA, which was nominated under the Well-Defined Safety System criterion for its safety management system overview, which includes working under the slogan “Making Safety a Way of Life”.
4. Pipeline Machinery International’s implementation of the Pipelayer System by Cranesmart, which was nominated under the Unique Innovation or Initiative criterion. The Pipelayer System is a new, wireless load-monitoring system for pipelayers which provides safer conditions for the pipelayer operator and enhances job safety for welders and other persons working in the vicinity of suspended pipe.
5. McConnell Dowell on behalf of its Northern Network Alliance partners – LinkWater Projects, Abigroup, and Kellogg, Brown and Root – under the Outstanding Safety Performance criterion for its overall outstanding safety performance and measurable performance improvements achieved in 2011 while constructing the Northern Pipeline Interconnector – Stage 2 in South East Queensland.
Mr Cox said that all of the nominations were rigorously considered by an APIA committee comprising independent professionals, some of whom held state regulation experience. The committee also made particular note of the quality of nominations this year.
Nacap’s Hydraulic Pig Catcher is designed to eliminate the threat of projectiles and debris from blowing out at the end of a hydrotest on a pipeline.
“The successful implementation of a hydraulically powered pig catcher allows pigs to be received into a partially vented cage,” said Mr O’Connell. “The hydraulics system on the catcher operates remotely, allowing pigs to be dropped from the receiver safely, and the receiver automatically readied for the next pig.”
According to Mr Cox, the committee chose it because of the product’s demonstrable safety outcomes and ability to prevent possible accidents using a simple but effective design, and because it offers a low-cost solution to a significant safety problem.
Mr O’Connell said “Nacap thanks APIA for this prestigious award. We are proud of the effort and innovation of our people. This design makes our workplace even safer, and we strive to do this each and every day.”