20230309Updated Direct Gilchrist.pdf

Preston N. Carter, ISB No. 8462
Morgan D. Goodin, ISB No. 11184
Blake W. Ringer, ISB No. 11223
Givens Pursley LLP
601 W. Bannock St.
Boise, Idaho 83702
Telephone: [phone]
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Attorneys for Intermountain Gas Company
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION
OF INTERMOUNTAIN GAS COMPANY
FOR AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS
RATES AND CHARGES FOR NATURAL
GAS SERVICE IN THE STATE OF IDAHO
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CASE NO. INT-G-22-07
UPDATED DIRECT TESTIMONY OF HART GILCHRIST FOR
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS COMPANY
March 9, 2023
RECEIVED
2023 March, 9 2:09PM
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION
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GILCHRIST, DI
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS
Q.Please state your name and business address. 1
A. My name is Hart Gilchrist. My business address is 555 South Cole Road, Boise, Idaho 2
83709. 3
Q.By whom are you employed and in what capacity? 4
A. I am the Vice President of Safety, Process Improvement and Operations Systems of 5
Intermountain Gas Company (“Intermountain” or “Company”), Cascade Natural Gas 6
Corporation, and Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., all subsidiaries of MDU Resources 7
Group, Inc., as well as Great Plains Natural Gas Co. (a division of Montana-Dakota 8
Utilities Co.) collectively the MDU Utilities Group. 9
Q.Mr. Gilchrist, would you please summarize your educational and professional 10
experience. 11
A.I have been working in the natural gas industry and at Intermountain for over 28 years. I 12
have been the Vice President of Safety, Process Improvement & Operations Systems 13
since July of 2018. My responsibilities include Safety, Technical Training, Safety 14
Management Systems, Work & Asset Management, GIS, and Quality Management. Prior 15
to this role I was the Vice President of Operations for Intermountain and have held 16
numerous positions in operations for the company. 17
I have bachelor’s degrees in finance and marketing from the University of Idaho 18
and an MBA from Boise State University. I serve or have served on the United Way of 19
Treasure Valley board of directors, Boise State University College of Business and 20
Economics Advisory Board, College of Western Idaho Foundation Board, American Gas 21
Association Managing Committee, Northwest Gas Association Board and Boise Chamber 22
of Commerce Advisory Board. 23
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GILCHRIST, DI
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS
Q. What is the purpose of your testimony in this proceeding? 1
A. I will provide support for the Company’s Pipeline Safety Management System (“PSMS”) 2
and related Work and Asset Management system. 3
Q.Why is the PSMS Needed? 4
A. Safety Management Systems have been successfully adopted by many high-risk 5
industries like airline, chemical, and nuclear. In 2015, the pipeline industry completed 6
the development of a framework for Pipeline Safety Management System (“Pipeline 7
SMS”) designed specifically for pipeline operators. Created at the recommendation of the 8
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”), this American Petroleum Institute 9
(“API”) Recommended Practice (“RP”) was developed by pipeline operators, for pipeline 10
operators. 11
API RP 1173 is the culmination of a two-year effort by pipeline operators, state 12
and federal regulators, and other engaged stakeholders collaborating to advance to the 13
goal of zero incidents. Along with ensuring that safety is the top priority, the practice has 14
been recognized by both NTSB and the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety 15
Administration (“PHMSA”) for the positive contribution it has made in furthering safe 16
operations throughout the industry. 17
The benefit of the program to Intermountain’s customers and all stakeholders is to 18
advance the safe operation of the natural gas system.19
Q.Can you describe the Company’s PSMS? 20
A. The Company’s PSMS is modeled from the pipeline industry recommended practice 21
of RP 1173. Intermountain has internally branded the program Achieving Continuous 22
Excellence (“ACE”). The program is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Adjust (“PDCA”) 23
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GILCHRIST, DI
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS
continuous improvement framework designed to proactively identify pipeline safety risks 1
and take action to mitigate the risks. Intermountain is fully committed to the ACE 2
program to proactively and continuously improve pipeline safety. 3
Q.What is the expected cost of the PSMS? 4
A. The costs vary from year-to-year but are primarily internal labor costs to support the 5
program. The company has a 5-person department dedicated to the advancement of the 6
program and support of the overall utilities’ efforts. Intermountain’s share of these labor 7
costs are allocated proportionally. 8
Q. How mature is the program and what are the results thus far? 9
A. The program has reached a level three maturity (fully implemented) out of five levels. 10
The maturity model is based upon an industry collaborative Pipeline SMS Maturity 11
Model. To gain a level three maturity, Intermountain has successfully implemented the 12
program and has scored the program based on the 10 essential elements and 256 shall 13
statements associated with the RP API 1173. The 10 essential elements are: 14
1. Leadership and Management Commitment 15
2. Stakeholder Engagement 16
3. Risk Management 17
4. Operational Controls 18
5. Incident Investigation, Evaluation, and Lessons Learned 19
6. Safety Assurance 20
7. Management Review and Continuous Improvement 21
8. Emergency Preparedness and Response 22
9. Competency Awareness and Training 23
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GILCHRIST, DI
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS
10. Documentation and Record Keeping 1
Within each of these elements, Intermountain has compared its implemented 2
program to a subset of shall statements to determine the maturity of the program. This 3
translates into a fully implemented program. 4
In terms of results, one important part of the program is the identification and 5
management of risks. To highlight an example, Intermountain has identified inaccurate 6
operations systems data as a risk to the company. The construction process is on paper 7
today and requires field personnel to fill out records accurately and in turn the back-office 8
manually enters the information on paper into key operations systems. This process is 9
prone to errors and delays. The Company is taking multiple steps to mitigate this risk, 10
with one of those steps being the implementation of Intermountain’s Work and Asset 11
Management (“Maximo”) system, described later in my testimony, and electronic 12
construction processes. The process to collect field data becomes driven by smart forms, 13
GPS, barcode scanning etc. Capturing data at the source accurately and then 14
automatically integrating it into key operational systems, greatly improves the process. 15
This translates into employees being able to make safe operating decisions in the field by 16
having accurate and timely field maps and information. 17
The ACE program monitors risks and works with stakeholders to reduce risks 18
through process, technology, quality, and operational control improvements to name a 19
few. The program not only improves the safe operation of the system but it also assists 20
with making processes smarter and more efficient. 21
Q.Please describe Intermountain’s Work and Asset Management System (Maximo). 22
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GILCHRIST, DI
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS
A. Maximo is an integrated software solution storing assets, work orders, work order 1
tracking information, and maintenance schedules. Intermountain is in the second phase of 2
a three-phase and five-year implementation of Maximo. The first phase was for 3
maintenance work and was implemented in 2019-2021. The maintenance phase included 4
equipment maintenance and all gas compliance maintenance (e.g., corrosion control, leak 5
survey, atmospheric corrosion survey, patrolling, measurement, and equipment 6
maintenance). The second phase is construction and is being implemented in 2022-2024. 7
This will include the full lifecycle of construction – initiate, design, estimate, 8
plan/schedule, construct, close out and documentation of construction work. This will be 9
a full electronically driven construction process integrated to core systems, reducing 10
touchpoints and data entry. The final phase is the implementation of transmission 11
electric, electric generation and environmental and is scheduled for 2025. 12
Q.Why is Maximo Needed? 13
A. Maximo provides the following benefits: 14
Aligns operations business processes across the enterprise. 15
Replaces fragmented and unintegrated operations technology systems and processes 16
with one unified work and asset management system which improves efficiency of 17
implementation and support. 18
Reduces touch points, data entry and redundancy. 19
Gains enterprise-wide insight into asset tracking, construction, maintenance, 20
compliance, and costs. Drives consistent workflows across the enterprise, improving 21
work product results. 22
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GILCHRIST, DI
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS
Improves the user experience with consistent field data entry technology, lowering 1
training needs, and limiting confusion and errors. 2
Improves overall quality using smart forms, integrated solutions, high accuracy GPS, 3
bar code scanning and electronic workflows. 4
Q. What is the expected cost of the Work and Asset Management project? 5
A. The estimated cost of the Work and Asset Management system for gas and electric is 6
approximately $33.07 million over a five-year period. The in-service cost portion 7
allocated to Intermountain is approximately $4.15M through the end of 2022. 8
Q. What alternatives did the Company consider when deciding to implement Maximo? 9
A. The company did due diligence when selecting Maximo. An exploratory team was 10
formed in 2017 and evaluated the implementation of work and asset management systems 11
across the gas and electric utility industry. It was determined Maximo was the best 12
choice because it is a lower cost solution, the system integrates well to disparate systems, 13
and Maximo is mature and proven compared to other Work and Asset Management 14
systems. The company visited other utilities to learn best practices for implementing 15
Work and Asset Management systems. This information was used to develop the phased 16
approach and to leverage internal resources to develop expertise to support the system 17
going forward. The strategy has worked thus far through the successful, on time and on 18
budget implementation of Phase I. 19
Q.What are the future plans for Maximo? 20
A. Maximo and supporting technology stacks will provide improvements to overall 21
operations through electronic and automated work processes for maintenance, 22
compliance and construction work. The system will be implemented, integrated, 23
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GILCHRIST, DI
INTERMOUNTAIN GAS
enhanced, and upgraded over the course of the coming years. These improvements will 1
ensure the system is performing and meeting the requirements of the business to enable 2
the safe operation of the gas distribution system. 3
Q. Does this conclude your direct testimony? 4
A. Yes, it does. 5