I am extremely pleased with the outcomes of the first stage and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent work of the two Reference Groups led by Chris Harvey, as well as the large number of additional reviewers and contributors.
We have ended up with more than 200 competencies identified and 90important competencies detailed. These competencies have been reviewed and posted on the APIA website. If you are interested in training – or learning – I urge you to check the APIA website and review the work by Chris and the Reference Groups. The competencies cover the broad skill sets required by pipeline engineers operating in Australia. It is not expected that any one pipeline engineer would have all of these competencies. For this reason they have been divided into core, elective and specialist competencies.
Defining the competencies required by a pipeline engineer will assist training organisations to structure their courses to address the specific competencies required. It will also allow our members who employ pipeline engineers to assess what competencies they have and, importantly, which competencies they do not have. This will ensure that companies can more effectively structure their training programs to address the gaps or look to other member companies to provide capability.
At a pipeline engineering training presentation to members after the Convention last year, Susan Jaques, a pipeline engineer with a long-standing interest in the definition of pipeline engineering, commented that “this was a fantastic step forward and something that the industry has needed for many years”.
I think that young engineers will be able to review these competencies to help them understand the role of a pipeline engineer and structure their careers in the direction that most interests them.
The APIA Guide to AS2885 is designed to provide the background as to how and why the standard is what it is today, and make comparisons with international standards, as well as covering the pipeline design process. The issue papers written to support the drafting of the 2007 revisions are included as an appendix. It will be a useful reference for young engineers coming into the industry to better understand AS2885, as well as being a useful reference for experienced pipeline engineers.
I would like to think that the APIA Guide to AS2885 will also assist trainers in structuring training programs, and might be further developed in the future to become a full companion document to AS2885.
I think that a lot has been achieved to date, but there is certainly a lot more to do in order to ensure the future of pipeline engineering in Australia. The Energy Pipelines Co-operative Research Centre (EPCRC) has formed a Training Committee with a remit to ensure that the pipeline research performed by the EPCRC is passed on to the industry. The committee is also considering the development of a full Masters Degree in Pipeline Engineering developed in conjunction with both Australian and international universities. The APIA pipeline engineering competency document, which lists both university level and non-university level skills, will be an invaluable reference to help develop the Masters Degree.
Looking to the future, I would like to see pipeline engineering recognised as a discipline by Engineers Australia, within their accreditation for a Chartered Engineer, which would entail assessment against the core competencies that APIA has developed. I would like to see more and more engineers in the pipeline industry with recognised qualifications specific to pipeline engineering and accredited competencies in the specialist areas. It is a real challenge to achieve these goals, given the small size of the industry in Australia. Hence co-operation with the international community of pipeline engineering and embracing new training techniques is part of the solution. We are currently working through the next steps that APIA can take to facilitate these outcomes.
Peter Cox
President