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The Gas Association, and, through it, the industry, places a great deal of effort into ensuring the safety and reliability of the gas infrastructure. This includes the pipelines and services and the installations within homes, offices, restaurants, hospitals, hotels, factories, greenhouses, schools and motels.
This section introduces the association’s industry-led initiatives that support an ongoing safety and reliability programme within a light-handed co-regulatory environment.
Safety and Reliability Programme
The Gas Association’s safety and reliability programme provides a structured basis to assist member companies to develop, maintain and improve performance within a light-handed and co-regulatory environment.
It is based on establishing industry-led initiatives requiring minimum government intervention, to facilitate best business practice and demonstrate compliance, competence and credibility.
The overall aim is to maximise safety and reliability for the product, the public and the workforce, while minimising compliance costs.
The current programme covers the following main work areas:
- Safety Management Systems – Development of overarching SMS framework for network, GMS and retailing activities including the identification of core competencies, and establishment of performance reporting, KPIs , audits and assessments.
- Consumer Connection Certificate – Specification, development and implementation to provide information on all connections to the systems.
- Technical protocols – Preparation of protocols for new connections, reconnections, incidents, information exchange, auditing, gas retailing etc to establish industry minimum best practice.
- Contingency Planning – Maintenance of national contingency plans and support for and co-ordination with national and regional civil defence and emergency planning programmes.
- Review of accidents and incidents. This includes an in depth review of damage to the gas infrastructure through third party damage.
- Legislation – Consultation, liaison, monitoring and submissions on energy related legislative developments to maintain the light handed performance based regime. This includes the Energy Safety Review Bill which is currently before Parliament.
- Technical Support – Preparation of Industry Standards and codes of practice, implementation of consumer awareness programmes, reporting on and reviewing incidents and accidents, working with downstream partners to ensure installation and appliance compliance and general technical advice.
Safety regulator
The Energy Safety Service of the Consumer Affairs Branch is responsible for the administration and development of the Gas Act, Regulations and New Zealand Gas Codes of practice relating to safety, and quality and measurement of gas. The service promotes safety, measurement and quality in the supply and use of fuel gases in New Zealand by audits, surveys and the investigation of accidents. The information gained by this work is used to feed back either to improve legislation, standards and work practices or in the promotion of safety.
Its primary role is to create an environment that promotes good and accurate information flows between suppliers and consumers so that consumers can transact with confidence, and to create an environment where there is public and consumer confidence in the safe supply and use of energy.
Gas safety
Safety Management System (SMS)
The Gas Association’s core business is to ensure competency, safety and reliability in the gas industry. This is being managed in a structured manner based on an agreed Safety Management System (SMS).
The gas industry has established a clear path to enhance industry performance using a continuous improvement process framework to establish the SMS.
The foundation of the work, based around competency of people and agreed industry operating protocols is planned to dovetail neatly into the Energy Safety Review Bill, currently before Parliament.
That legislation, once passed, will offer a formal mechanism for introducing innovate solutions, with performance reporting and self auditing packages.
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