Nancy Norton, the Convenor of ME93-11 Gas Liaison shares her story about being a woman in the pipeline industry and the contribution she has made to it.
Behind every great industry story, there are the women who made it happen. The executive committee of ME93 (previously ME93-07 Gas Network including Pipelines) shine a spotlight on Nancy Norton who has been making a valuable contribution to ME93 (Standards Australia Technical Committee – Hydrogen Technologies) and connecting ME93 with industries to advance the hydrogen economy.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I was born and raised in Pahiatua, New Zealand, a small township in the North Island with a population of about 3000 people before moving to Auckland during high school.
At school, I always enjoyed maths, science and using creativity to solve problems. Engineering was not something I had considered, or understood, until my final year of high school when a friend recommended I consider it given my love for STEM and problem-solving.
A little research about what engineers did and I was sold. Following high school, I went to Auckland University to pursue my engineering degree, which I received in chemical and materials engineering.
I landed my first job as a graduate engineer at BOC in Sydney, a global industrial gas company.
Leaving NZ and heading to Sydney in 2005 I undertook project engineer roles as a graduate and then progressed, taking up more responsibility. I took roles as Quality Change Lead for Queensland, based in Townsville, then a managerial role as the Safety Health Environment & Quality Manager for Queensland.
While practicing engineering I continued my managerial journey at BOC with the role of Site Operations Manager for Townsville.
I led a highly skilled team of 20 to ensure the safe and effective manufacturing of compressed gas and cryogenic bulk products and timely delivery to customers across Northern Queensland while maintaining visibility of safety performance.
I also continued my learning journey and completed my Master’s in Business Administration and, equally exciting, I started my family while settling in Townsville.
Having served at BOC/Linde for 15 years, I joined the Queensland Government in the role of Senior Inspector, Petroleum and Gas within Resources Safety and Health Queensland (RSHQ).
My role included safety inspections and audits of all aspects of the gas supply chain, from production to use – including transport in pipelines! I recognised the hydrogen industry and hydrogen-related projects were rapidly emerging in Queensland.
Hydrogen fuel gas is an area that falls into RSHQ scope, so I volunteered to take the lead on reviewing Queensland’s gas safety regulations for hydrogen suitability, thus I led the development of the hydrogen category within the inspectorate.
This involved forming an internal working group for liaison with internal and external stakeholders, reviewing Queensland legislations with emerging applications of Hydrogen, drafting the Queensland Hydrogen Safety Code of Practice, making recommendations for change to legislation, preparing regular ministerial updates, and supporting the communications team in developing ministerial statements, and external communications.
After five years with RSHQ I have recently returned to the private sector serving as the Senior Manager for Risk and Safety at Ark Energy and continue to practice engineering.
What is ME93 and your ME93-11 Convenor’s role in the Gas Liaison Group?
Following the publishing of the National Hydrogen Strategy in 2019 and projecting ever-evolving hydrogen technology on the horizon locally and overseas, there was a call for the establishment of a hydrogen technical committee within the Standards Australia framework.
That led to the inauguration of Technical Committee ME93 (Hydrogen Technologies) late in 2019. The formation of the ME93 standards committee was perfectly timed with my role in reviewing Queensland gas safety regulations and I volunteered to join the committee.
To rapidly fill in the void of Codes and Standards in Australia, a ‘speed-to-market’ pathway was adopted with a shorter timeframe in mind rather than the traditional Australian Standards’ development pathway. This meant Australia would mirror the relevant ISO and IEC technical committees and undertake adoption as well as modified adoption of their publications.
There are many components in the hydrogen value chain, such as production, distribution, supply and utilisation. At the start of the ME93, five working groups (WG) were formed to tackle the challenges. I was fortunate enough to be elected as the Convenor of the ME93-07 from day one.
My WG was to address and HSE elements such as leak detection, hazardous areas and material compatibility, gas quality specifications for the gas network, transmission and distribution pipelines and network equipment. My WG is now a liaison group that works with existing pipeline, gas network and gas appliance committees to ensure adequate coverage for the use of hydrogen, either as a blend with natural gas, or as pure hydrogen.
During my time serving as convenor of ME93-07, I must say I have been fortunate to get to know other great women in the industry, to name a few – Rachelle Doyle (Chair of ME93), Kylie Schumacher (Project manager of ME93), Susan Jaques (Chair of ME-038, Pipelines) and many more. They are my source of inspiration.
As the Convenor I have been on Australian delegations to ISO TC197 plenary sessions multiple times. I felt that I had the great privilege of serving as an ambassador for Australia and one example was able to bring the ISO TC197 plenary meeting to Sydney, a great showcase of ME93 and Australia on the global stage.
Over the last five years since ME93’s inception, there have been 24 publications, notably the publication of Handbook SA HB 225 (Guidelines for blending hydrogen into pipelines and gas network) that was delivered by my WG.
What inspired you to play your role as Convenor of ME93, and what do you enjoy about it?
I am inspired by members of ME93’s breadth and depth of knowledge and experience.
The experience I have engaging members of ME93 enhances my professional development and enables me to connect with peers nationally and internationally. I am inspired by the diverse backgrounds of the highly skilled members.
During my 18 years working in industry and government, putting what I learned into practice has been a very enjoyable experience. I enjoy sharing with others what I learn at work and in public spaces too.
I enjoy being an ambassador for Australia on the International Standards Organisation (ISO). I also enjoy presenting to big groups and conferences. One recent example was having me to present a topic ‘Challenge of Regulating in an Emerging Hydrogen Industry’ at the Hydrogen Safety and Hazardous Conference in 2023.
What advice would you give to young professionals, particularly women in industries?
One of the biggest challenges of my career has been finding the work-life balance that works
for me, my family and my career.
It can be hard to juggle all the competing priorities life has to offer.
I have been fortunate that my workplaces have always been flexible, and my husband is very supportive of my career, enabling me to find a balance that works.
Volunteering in a professional capacity is very rewarding and provides many networking opportunities and avenues.
I have met lots of great people through my work with Standards Australia.
I love to learn and being part of the standards committee has enabled my learning journey
to continue.
I would say to other females in the industry or looking to join it – be curious, that is what leads to learning, and meeting new experts and generating new ideas and ultimately creating a brighter future for us all.
This feature also appears in the July edition of The Australian Pipeliner.