The proposal is made in Cases 14-G-0212 and 17-G-0318, in response to contractor cheating on written Operator Qualification tests and the subsequent re-digs of work completed by contractors who had access to test questions and answers before taking qualification tests; the re-digs revealed improper installation practices. In a White Paper, issued February 12, 2019, the DPS Staff recommends the Commission order operators to make changes to their respective Operator Qualification Programs to improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities of workers who perform construction and repairs on natural gas and other pipelines.

The White Paper includes two appendices: a proposed Model Plan and proposed Best Practices. The DPS Staff White Paper proposals include, but are not limited to, the following changes to each local distribution company’s Operator Qualification Program:

A. Training: (1) operators must provide sufficient training to ensure that any worker performing a covered task has the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the task; (2) contractors must receive the same training as operator personnel; (3) all training must include direct, hands-on training on the procedures and equipment of the operator for whom the worker will be completing tasks; (4) if a worker fails any evaluation, additional training must occur; (5) in no case shall an improperly qualified individual perform covered tasks involving critical functions (e.g., pressure regulation, etc.), even if the worker is directly supervised by a properly qualified individual; (6) operators must develop and implement an adequate “management of change” program and train workers in the program.

B. Worker Evaluations: (1) local distribution companies must evaluate worker competency for each covered task in which the worker will be deemed qualified through both a written (or oral) examination and a practical evaluation, which includes observation during performance on the job or during simulation(s); (2) operators must conduct and document regular re-assessments and re-qualification of workers at specified intervals for each covered task; (3) operator evaluations must include a documented process for ensuring that only Operator Qualified individuals, or individuals being directed and observed by Operator Qualified individuals, are performing in-scope tasks; (4) operator qualification shall not be determined by written testing alone; (5) observation of on-the-job performance shall not be used as a sole method of evaluation; (6) the completion of plastic fusions always will be considered a covered task and subject to Operator Qualification requirements; (7) an employee or contractor completing work on a pipeline must first demonstrate the technical knowledge necessary to identify abnormal operating conditions (AOCs) and other covered tasks through a hands-on demonstration of their skills; (8) to pass a written or oral test, all abnormal operating condition questions must be answered correctly.

C. Test Security: To eliminate the opportunity for cheating, security measures must be required for written evaluations, including, but not limited to: (1) written evaluations must take place at either the operator’s facility or a third-party testing center (except for following narrow exception); (2) in the rare circumstance when testing needs to occur at a specialty contractor’s location, the test must be administered and proctored by the operator; (3) among other restrictions, any electronic devices used to take a test must prohibit the individual from leaving the test page during the test; (4) test questions must evaluate proficiency on working within the procedures and on the type of equipment used by the operator for whom the workers will be performing covered tasks; and (5) contractors must take the same written evaluation as the operator personnel for whom the contractor will work.

D. Practical Evaluations: (1) Practical evaluations would be administered with one evaluator per each worker being evaluated; (2) a contractor’s Operator Qualification Program could be used only after the operator demonstrates that the contractor’s Operator Qualification Program meets or exceeds the requirements of the operator’s Operator Qualification Program and that it conforms to the procedures and equipment used by the operator; (3) evaluators shall not provide guidance during practical evaluations.

E. Program Effectiveness: An operator shall (1) conduct a program effectiveness review once each calendar year, with the intervening period between such reviews not to exceed 15 months; (2) measure a program’s effectiveness by (a) confirming that the Operator Qualification program is being implemented and executed as written; and (b) adopting amendments to the program to include any changes necessary to address the findings of the program’s effectiveness review; (3) keep a record of the number of times an individual who performs a covered task(s) adversely affects the safety or integrity of a pipeline due to deficiencies, including, but not limited to: (a) the individual’s training was inadequate for the specific covered task(s); (b) a change made to a covered task(s) process was not adequately communicated to the individual; or (c) the individual failed to recognize an abnormal operating condition.

The full text of the White Paper and the record of the proceedings may be reviewed online at the Department of Public Service web page: www.dps.ny.gov. The Commission may adopt, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the action proposed and may resolve related matters.

Statements and analyses are not submitted with this notice because the proposed rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.

(14-G-0212SP6)