ASME develops a new standard for gas pipeline integrity management

Keith Leewis, P.E.
ASME B31.8 Task Force

A new, non-mandatory supplement to ASME B31.8 was completed recently to aid gas pipeline operators in the development and implementation of an integrity management program.

The supplement outlines the technical requirements for implementing all the elements of an integrity management program, as well as guidance in developing the specific integrity management plan.

The ultimate goal is the safe operation of the more than 325,000 miles of gas transmission pipelines that span the United States.

ASME's standard B31.8 for the design, construction and operation of gas transmission and distribution piping systems is an ANSI-approved standard used throughout the world. The non-mandatory integrity management supplement B31.8S is also a product of the ASME standards consensus process.

This process was started in 1999 by the gas pipeline industry; its regulator, the Office of Pipeline Safety under the Federal Department of Transportation; state regulators and research development and consulting organizations, which looked at the base of existing knowledge relative to pipeline integrity issues. ASME's expedited process approved for use several years ago was effectively used for the first time.

The team then requested the Gas Technology Institute to commission a number of research and development projects to fill in the gaps in knowledge. As a result, the team that volunteered to write the standard had a technical platform of 20 reports on various issues, such as inspecting for and evaluating pipeline integrity to form a solid foundation for the integrity management standard.

The standard supplement provides guidance for two methods of compliance, a prescriptive track and a performance-based one. The prescriptive track is conservative, but easier to implement. The performance-based track gives more flexibility to the pipeline operator, but needs much more data to implement. The operator can choose which track to use.

The supplement provides guidance for each of the six elements of a complete integrity management pro-gram: program evaluation, integrity management, data integration, management of change, quality control and communications.

To implement an effective program, a pipeline operator must address each of 22 potential threats to each pipeline and perform risk analyses to determine the priority for inspections and how these threats will be addressed. Data integration from diverse sources is a key element in the implementation of a successful integrity management program.

B31.8S is an integrity umbrella standard and requires eight supporting standards that are being written by other ANSI standards developing organizations. When these are completed, they will replace language in the standard supplement.

The final result of this effort is a comprehensive standard that the pipeline industry and regulators can use to develop and implement effective safety programs.

 

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