Introduction
In the engineering profession, as with any other profession, a code of ethics applies. In Alberta, all engineers have to be APEGA certified, i.e., they must follow a procedure set by APEGA to gain membership to practice engineering and then must follow a code of ethics and conduct to continue in the field as a professional engineer. In this paper, I will talk about a project for testing Ultrasonic Flow Meters at Enbridge Pipelines Inc. that an acquaintance of mine, Mike, along with his team, undertook in the Flow Computer Services department and how the APEGA Code of Ethics applies to the work that was performed.
At one of Enbridge’s sites, one of the manifolds sees brines solutions sometimes. The occasional brine solution can potentially damage the meters which has happened in the past. It results in downtime and maintenance costs. These costs are huge especially considering how downtime would result in reduced flow, increased delivery time and higher pressure on the other meters in the manifold (thus, increasing the possibility of damaging them as well) in addition to the costs incurred to repair or replace the meters. As a solution to this problem, one of the suggestions was to test an alternate technology, i.e. Ultrasonic Flow Meters (henceforth, referred to as UFMs). I will be talking about what impacted Mike’s team’s decisions and what made them choose the route that they did.
Why Ultrasonic Flow Meters?
“Ultrasonic has comparable measurement to mechanical meters, but with no moving parts—saving you money on lower installation, maintenance and energy costs. Plus, the additional diagnostics give you a clearer picture of exactly what is happening inside the pipe.”1 – General Electric.
“…five measuring paths can perform extremely precise and reproducible measurements regardless of the viscosity of the medium – a real quantum leap”2 – Krohne.
“Daniel intelligent ultrasonic flow meters deliver real-time diagnostics, high accuracy, stability, redundancy, and operational cost savings for liquid and gas fiscal flow measurement”3 – Emerson Process Management
In addition to this, vendors claim to have zero downtime, higher accuracy and even a reduction in the equipment required due to an unchanging meter factor. Also, UFM technology is being used at locations outside of North America for custody transfer in the pipeline industry; however, they had not been tested here, in Canada. To test these claims and if the idea behind UFM is feasible, this project was undertaken.
Code of Ethics and how they apply
1. Professional engineers and geoscientists shall, in their areas of practice, hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the public and have regard for the environment.4
Health, safety and welfare of the personnel, society and the environment are few of the key values extremely fundamental to Enbridge and any work that is undertaken. In this situation, the UFMs will be placed in series with the turbine meter that is currently in service at this meter run. To ensure that these meters function safely, extensive testing of all equipment is required. API – American Petroleum Institute publishes and manages a very comprehensive standard for operation of all industries within the Oil and Gas sector which is revised regularly to ensure it is up to date. This standard is the widely accepted industrial standard but choosing to follow it is completely voluntary (i.e. not mandated by any government). Enbridge follows these standards and goes beyond in ensuring the integrity of every single piece of equipment. There are, however, regulations by the governments in whose jurisdictions Enbridge operates. To consolidate both of these, Enbridge creates its own specifications that go above and beyond what these standards require. For instance, all meters and pipes are hydro tested (with water at pressures depending on what ANSI class the equipment will be used in). All meters are calibrated before they are put in service and these calibrations are witnessed by a 3rd party consultant. There is an Inspection and Test Plan (ITP) for all of these meters which is witnessed by a 3rd party to properly implement these standards without any biases towards getting work completed quickly as opposed to getting work done safely and with integrity. These meters are designed with safety at the forefront. The ITP and the step by step approvals for all these systems ensure that all systems are as safe as they possibly can be and that any flaw in the design or workmanship can be exposed before the meter even leaves the vendor’s facility. The flow computer system that receives signals from these meters are tested at the vendor’s site followed by a dry test and then a wet test at Enbridge’s sites to ensure that the pipeline and the measurement system are completely safe and accurate before they are used at a site. Also, the gradual introduction of the Flow Computer to the system means that any risk with, for instance, faulty wiring is tested many times before the system is put in service.
2. Professional engineers and geoscientists shall undertake only work that they are competent to perform by virtue of their training and experience. 4
Before Mike was handed this project, he was required to go through a “Getting Onboard” training plan which is an introduction to the Enbridge’s standards and code of conducting business. It also showed where to get help from as well for the various issues that might arise. He attended sessions on workplace safety, fairness and equality at the workplace, WHIMS training, driver safety training and much more. This is standard training for all engineers.
In addition to this, Mike documented custom logic that Enbridge uses in its Flow Computers so he could gain an idea of how the Flow Computers work and all the technical details relevant to measurement systems used at Enbridge. This helped getting familiarized with how safety and integrity are incorporated in to the measurement systems. He also studied extensively Enbridge’s own specifications and manuals to familiarize with other systems relevant to this project, e.g. pipelines, wiring and welding.
Once he completed these, he was handed the task of coordinating the project for setting up an Ultrasonic Flow Meter testing facility. While working on this, Mike attended a vendor sponsored training session which explained how their UFM works and all of the information that they needed to efficiently utilize their meter. He visited the particular site multiple times now to determine what work needs to be performed; he had set up multiple meetings to ensure all stakeholders are up to date on the progress of the project; spoken with vendors multiple times for training documentation, user manuals, installation manuals and other documents to ensure that he has had the required training and expertise to execute the project safely and efficiently. At Enbridge, people are carefully chosen and then trained comprehensively before they perform any work that may, either directly or indirectly, affect other personnel, the public or the environment.
Another task as the project coordinator is to ensure all of the standards that Enbridge requires are properly followed in designing the facility, piping, purchasing meters, Inspection and Testing Plans for the meters.
3. Professional engineers and geoscientists shall conduct themselves with integrity, honesty, fairness and objectivity in their professional activities. 4
The team’s plan to test the meter is essentially a 4 stage test. The plan includes testing the UFM on small diameter, low viscosity products, followed by either large diameter and low viscosity or small diameter and high viscosity and then the other, followed lastly by large diameter and high viscosity. At this point, the team is purchasing meters for the first stage of this test. The reason behind this is because UFMs may or may not be suitable for these applications and the impact of any incident increases step by step. Multiple vendors were chosen so as not to favour one vendor over another and that the test conducted was fair, comprehensive, honest and objective.
Besides this, they planned to test the other turbine meter that was servicing the meter run by putting another turbine meter from a different vendor to test the integrity of the current meter. One other aspect of this test which speaks of honesty, integrity, objectivity and fairness is that all vendors are required to go through a pre-defined procedure. They sent out a Request For Quote (RFQ) which states what they were looking for, the standards that that have to be met and the conditions the equipment will see. Vendors, considering this information, provide a Quote which includes pricing information, standards they will follow (which has to meet Enbridge’s standard at the very least) and expected delivery times. A technical evaluation of these meters is then conducted objectively by comparing against our standards and the meters most suitable for the project are then selected. All vendors go through the purchasing department so that vendors cannot, either directly or indirectly, influence any decisions that are made with regards to which meter is selected.
4. Professional engineers and geoscientists shall comply with applicable statutes, regulations and bylaws in their professional practices. 4
As mentioned earlier, there are various regulations, bylaws, statutes and standards that are followed. For instance, API regulations, ASME, CSA, MODBUS communication protocol and many more that are adhered to by Enbridge. Some of these are mandated by governments, others are widely accepted industry standards. Another system that is based on industry standards include SCADA – Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition which is basically a way of communicating data between the meters, control center, site personnel and office personnel.
Enbridge has created a set of 7 books that detail all of the standards that need to be met for any work that is done to ensure it is safe and that all business conducted is fair, honest and transparent.
5. Professional engineers and geoscientists shall uphold and enhance the honour, dignity and reputation of their professions and thus the ability of the professions to serve the public interest. 4
The purpose of conducting this test is, at the very basic level, to add value to the pipeline industry through the use of new and innovative technology in a very honest and fair manner. The idea is to increase the efficiency of the measurement systems which will, in turn, lead to costs savings, increased reliability and integrity of the systems and a diverse suite of solutions to all of the measurement problems that arise within the Oil and Gas sector. The engineering profession is diverse and it continues to grow and enhance the ways it is using new ways and technology to serve the public; some are visible to everybody while others are not and this project is an example of how this is happening everywhere.
Conclusion
APEGA’s code of ethics is a guideline for conducting business in Alberta, however, these guidelines are applicable everywhere. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that business is conducted fairly and all engineering work is designed with safety and integrity in mind and it is tested several times before implementation, during implementation and after the project is complete. Without these guidelines, not only would we, as engineering professionals be putting the life and health of the working personnel in danger, we would also be putting the society, economy and the environment in danger and the cost of this vastly outweighs the cost of proper engineering in the first place.

Works Cited

General Electric Website: http://www.ge-mcs.com/microsites/lct4/index.php - December 8, 2014
2 Krohne Website: http://krohne.com/en/products/flow-measurement/ultrasonic-flowmeters/ - December 8, 2014
3 Emerson Process Management: http://www2.emersonprocess.com/enUS/brands/daniel/Flow/ultrasonics/Pages/Ultrasonic.aspx –December 8, 2014
4 APEGA’s Code of Ethics – Website: http://www.apega.ca/about/ACT/code.htm – December 8, 2014