The Monday evening fancy dress event was “Roaring 40s”, with a 20-piece band (and, I’m informed, excellent ballroom dancing) and guest entertainer Little Pattie. If you’re too young to remember her, google it!
While many APIA members are facing the challenge of the “two-speed” economy, with the high Aussie dollar and parts of the economy slowing, the broader industry continues to grow. There are a few reasons the industry and the Association are bigger now: of course the economy (generally) is larger; APIA expanded to include the whole industry (owners and operators were included in the 90s). But I believe the most important reason for the growth is the determination to embrace new ideas and new challenges.
There is a lot happening in the industry and in the Association. And natural gas is now part of the national debate – remember when APIA was the only voice of the gas industry? So, that means gas is now generating a lot of interest.
The Code of Practice (CoP) for CSG gathering lines has been launched and the first review is expected to be finalised before the APIA Convention. It was important to get this initial review underway as the release of the CoP has prompted some immediate actions. Any further reviews will be in a year or two.
APIA’s successful support of young people in the industry is being recognised internationally (and increasingly nationally too). With the support of APIA and the Australian Gas Industry Trust, four young engineers attended the international research conference (Joint Technical Meeting) held by APIA’s Research & Standards Committee, the European Pipeline Research Group and the US-based Pipelines Research Council International, in San Francisco in May. After the conference, they visited pipeline and gas facilities in North America. The Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre funded two young researchers to join the group. The international organisations were so impressed by this initiative that they are working on providing a similar opportunity for their young engineers for the next JTM to be held in Sydney in 2013.
At the Brisbane dinner in July, the more than 350 attendees were impressed by what the young people learned on the trip. The group collaborated on a presentation which was provided by Clayton Warner, the Queensland YPF committee chair. The strong performance of these young people continues to provide assurance that the next generation of experts in this industry is learning quickly.
Another important development for young people, and also for company members, is the Pipeline Engineer Training Project. The competency matrix and the guide to AS2885 are on the APIA website. Project Manager Chris Harvey has presented at various APIA events and visited APIA members to explain how to use this industry tool. Young people can use the skills listed to consider where they might want to take their career and managers can assess the skill levels within their companies.
Also, Charles Darwin University has indicated an interest in providing pipeline engineering courses that are not already available. This is a very exciting development.
On the Government front, APIA is providing industry input to the carbon tax legislation and participating in the development of the Energy White Paper.
The new Health Safety & Environment Committee held its inaugural meeting in July, with good reports on its safety work, plus a decision to review the Code of Environmental Practice, bringing in regulators around the nation to hopefully ease the regulatory burden.
So, here we are in Sydney again; 26 years of change since the event was held at the Manly Pacific. This year we will have 121 exhibition stands and more than 600 attendees; we’ll be in the grand Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. Some things haven’t changed, though. The business sessions remain informative and the networking opportunities are excellent. Importantly, pipeliners still know how to have fun.
Enjoy the Annual Convention. Then, when the Convention is over, we’ll be counting down the weeks to Christmas!