Our Approach

Our policies and procedures, applied through rigorous management systems, help ensure that we deliver responsible, reliable and safe operations. As part of our effort to continuously strengthen these systems, we have developed a corporate-wide framework for managing our operations. The Operations Performance Assurance (OPA) framework encompasses safety, reliability, integrity, compliance and environmental impact.

The OPA framework comprises six elements: governance, compliance requirements, risk assessment, operational controls, measurement and audit, and learning and management review. There are clearly defined expectations within each of these elements.

The OPA framework creates a higher level of consistency in standards and practices across our organization. It aligns well with internationally recognized standards such as ISO 14001 and Spectra Energy’s Business Segment best practices and builds on lessons learned from experiences across our industry. One industry incident lesson we learned from and took preventative action on was that segmented and “siloed” safety systems create the potential for pockets of failure. Integrating systems and processes and creating reporting and audit accountabilities that go all the way to the board of directors will enable us to identify and address the right risks across the organization.

During 2009, we:

• Developed the OPA framework and associated performance metrics and began developing the process for monitoring and measuring progress.
• Worked on developing an integrated scorecard that includes metrics for operational reliability, EHS performance, audit action item closure, and risk management.
• Completed a Risk Management Standard including a common risk ranking matrix.

In 2010, our business units began deploying and implementing local OPA processes in preparation for system-wide integration in 2011.