NiSource Streamlines Completion Report Processing

Joe Bentley NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage John Spangler Global Information Systems

October 22, 2012

NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage (NGT&S)

Natural Gas Transmission and Storage Operations Primary Companies- Columbia Gas Transmission, Columbia Gulf

Transmission, Crossroads Pipeline, as well as other pipeline facilities operated by NGT&S including Millennium Pipeline Company, LLC, Hardy Storage Company , Central Kentucky Transmission, and NiSource Midstream Services (NMS).

Own and operate more than 15,700 miles of pipeline in 19 states.

One of the largest underground storage systems in North America.

NGT&S System Map – Columbia Gas, Columbia Gulf, Crossroads

2011 Capital Project List – 245 Projects

How  “Completion  Reports”  Come  to  the  GIS  Team

2010 Completion Reporting – “The  Black  Hole”

• Project completion packages varied in quality,

consistency and timeliness. • There was a lack of confidence in corporate handling

of project documentation after handoff. • There was a lack of transparency in how many

completion reports were in play and what stage. • Project completion packages were often an

afterthought after commissioning - added unnecessary delays in making the information available to the organization.

• Compiling project completion packages was an administrative burden.

Impact on GIS Team

GIS Project scheduling nightmare! Did not know what was coming in Could not assess backlog Could not resource plan to minimize backlog Did not know what was cancelled GIS  could  be  “significantly”  out  of  date

The BIG Challenge for NGT&S

NGTS’  MODERNIZATION efforts in 2012 through 2016 will increase the number of capital projects by 300% over 2011 levels New corporate directive to complete

Completion Report process by Oct of project year Impacts Finance, Field, GIS, Asbuilters and

Records teams – project information must get completely through each process owner

Improvement Ideas for Completion Reporting

• Utilize technologies to implement a standard method for the rapid collection of project documentation.

• Get the information into the GIS and EDMS systems so that the information can be used throughout the organization for assessment and decision making.

• Better track the progress of capital projects at all stages of planning, scheduling, construction, completion, as-builting, uploading and distribution.

Processes/Technologies in-play at NGT&S

Many stages occur before the projects hit the GIS team.

Scope (Power Plant /

Protools)

Plan

Schedule (Primavera)

Document Control

(Adept)

Project Tracking

(TBD)

Project Closeout

(Adept, Maximo)

As-Built Tracking

(TDB)

As-Built Closeout

GIS ESRI

What we created: “Project  Packager”

Allows  attachment  of  documents  to    an  electronic  “project  

checklist”  by  project  planners,  Project  Managers,  GIS  team,  as-builting service providers

Continuously syncs with server to keep documentation compiled and available online throughout project cycle

Notifies stakeholders when downstream activity is required Supports signoff/acknowledgement at all project stages Provides dashboard reports/metrics to track project packages Leverages industry standard data collection and

documentation software already owned by NGT&S (GForms, Adept)

Works in connected and disconnected mode

Project Packager Standardizes the Process

• Manages workflows between different user groups (clerks, chief inspectors, project leads, GIS, asbuilters, senior managers)

• Accessible from corporate intranet, or as disconnected desktop client app for times when intranet is not available

• Lets users attach various file formats (pdf, doc, xls, jpg, bmp, tif, gif, etc)

• Supports Data Verification at field and form levels • Provides searching, archiving, auditing, reporting,

exporting utilities

Completion Report Checklist (Paper Form)

Project Packager - Electronic Project Checklist

Documents Gathered During Project Cycle

• Financials •ROW Land List

(Final) •OP

Qualifications •Commissioning

Document • FERC

Compliance

At In-Service Plus 45-Days

•One-Call Compliance

•Corrosion Records

•Test Reports •Materials •Asset

Disposition

At In-Service Date Plus 30-Days

• Equipment Manuals

•Redline Drawings

•Map Corrections

• Supporting Sketches

At In-service Date

• ROW Line List •Environmental

Impact •AC Mitigation

Plans •Test Plans,

Corrosion Plans

•Blow Down Plans

•Qualifications •Compliance

Docs

At Start of Construction

• Identify required documents for this project

• Send notification to field teams, agents, inspectors, supply chain, clerks

30-Days Before Construction

Managing Process Flow Between User Groups

For each Capital, O&M or FMR project: Field Support teams Gather, Scan and Attach

Documents Chief Inspector reviews/approves or rejects Project Lead reviews/approves or rejects GIS team reviews documents for Asbuilting GIS/CAD Asbuilting work completes GIS team reviews asbuilting work and pushes

documents into EDMS Project report is finalized/closed

How Project Packager Promotes Transparency

• As team members attach documentation, all elements are compiled and available online

• Stakeholders outside the project can access project documentation

• PMs and senior management teams have access to project documentation and dashboard level reports

• Transparency ensures confidence and enables planning for downstream activities

Accessing Project Packager – Connected or Disconnected

Project Packager Metrics / Dashboards

Typical Dashboards

Key Performance Indicators tracked: – Count of projects by status – Count of projects by project leader – Count of projects by budget type (Capital, O&M) – Count of projects by GIS/CAD work required – Cumulative project costs

Attaching Electronic Documents

Enforces Data Validation

Enables Form Sign-off/ Acknowledgement

Provides Support Utilities

• Query reports • View reports • Print reports • Print transmittals • Export to EDMS • Send project

emails with URL

Supports Management of Change (MOC)

Other Uses for Project Packager

MAOP Verification Initiatives • To collect and archive historical documents • To fully document new construction projects

Traceable! Verifiable! Complete!

Query / Find Critical MAOP Verification Documents

Future Improvements

Enforce consistency on attachments to improve querying later (i.e.,  don’t  attach  all  documents  under  one entry or as single 100-pg PDF)

Integrate this application with other planning and scheduling tools such as Power Plant, Adept, and perhaps Primavera and Maximo.

Without losing quality, can we compress attachments to reduce I/O load on servers?

Gather a Lat/Long, then link this document to a spot of the GIS map

Support attaching multiple documents as single task.

Next Steps – Electronic Data Entry Forms

Instead of scanning and attaching PDFs that will be mined

later for critical attributes,

transition the process owners to electronically enter

the attributes so they can be

immediately utilized in GIS

Conclusion: Benefits Realized at NGT&S

Consistent project packages are delivered on time and with

the necessary content. (Construction to Commission to GIS) Ensures seamless handoff, tracking & feedback loop to

ensure confidence. Transparency exists in number of project completion

packages in play and the required elements of each. Ensures confidence and enables planning for downstream activities

Technology facilitates efficient compiling, transfer and retention of project documentation for stakeholder access.

Visibility into outstanding projects, asbuilting backlog.

Conclusion: Cost Savings Realized by GIS Team

Distributes costs/time to scan, index and archive documents

Reduces costs (and risks) by not transporting boxes of critical papers from field to office to vendors to file rooms to archives.

Saves space in file rooms

Decreases critical document retrieval times (users can look for documents via online query tools)

Decreases dependencies on file-room clerks, SMEs

Questions?

Joe Bentley NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage John Spangler Global Information Systems