1. Training the Next Generation of Pipeline
Engineers: Distance Learning and
Accreditation
P Hopkins, M Unger
[Presented by R Arshad]
Penspen Ltd., UK
October, 2011
Phil Hopkins
Copyright Penspen © 2011

2. Presentation
Introduction
Knowledge Management
Pipeline Engineers and Engineering
The Need for Education and Training
The Future
Copyright Penspen © 2011

3. Objective of Presentation
■ Explain the need for
education and training our
staff in the pipeline business.
■ Highlight the shortage of
education and training
courses
■ Show a ‘way forward’.
Copyright Penspen © 2011

4. Training by Penspen
We have an international
reputation in training courses.
We present about 20 courses
around the world, each year.
We have trained over 4000
engineers worldwide.
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5. Penspen: University Teaching
■ Penspen has always worked
with universities.
■ Masters programme started Aberdeen
in 2001 by local companies in
North East England at
Newcastle University.
■ Penspen took lead. Newcastle
■ 42 students in 2010-11.
London
MSc in Pipeline Engineering
Copyright Penspen © 2011

6. Penspen: University Teaching
■ Masters programme in
Subsea Engineering and
Management started in 2009.
■ Penspen assist with
lecturers and materials.
MSc in Subsea Engineering
Copyright Penspen © 2011

7. Learning: The Future?
■ What will our workplace look like in 10
year’s time?
■ How will we be ‘learning’ in the future?
■ Will we still be...
■ attending residential classes...?
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8. Learning: The Future?
■ Residential, full time training/education
courses seem... dated?
■ Why not use the internet, social networks,
iPads, etc.?
■ As everybody under the age of 35 already
does...?!
■ Education and training needs to fit in with
today’s modern worker.
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9. Learning: The Future?
■ The future for learning is...
■ Your mobile device will
become your office, classroom
and organiser.
■ Social media literacy will be a
job requirement.
■ The corporate curriculum will
use video games, simulations,
etc., as delivery modes.
■ Your training and education
will be based around your
timetable, lifestyle and job.
Copyright Penspen © 2011

10. Presentation
Introduction
Knowledge Management
Pipeline Engineers and Engineering
The Need for Education and Training
The Future
Copyright Penspen © 2011

11. Knowledge: from Data & Information
■ Education and training gives you ‘knowledge’
■ Knowledge is ‘information in action’
■ It includes data, information, skills, experience,
lessons learnt, etc.
Value to company
Knowledge
Information
Data
More human interpretation, awareness, etc..
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12. The Knowledge Process
■ The path to engineering competence has four three steps:
Relevant academic/trade
Educate
qualifications
Industry-specific
Industry-
Train
training
Knowledge
Management
Field experience
Mentor
& mentoring
Continuous professional
development Ready
Copyright Penspen © 2011

13. The Knowledge Process
■ The path is mainly ‘practical’:
Relevant academic/trade Theoretical
Educate
qualifications
Industry-specific
Industry-
Train Practical
training
Knowledge
Management
Field experience
Mentor
& mentoring
Continuous professional
development Ready
Copyright Penspen © 2011

14. The Path to Competence... is Blocked....
■ The path to competence is blocked...
Relevant academic/trade
Few academic
Educate
qualifications
courses
Few accredited
Industry-specific
Industry-
Train courses
training
Knowledge
Few staff Management
Field experience
Mentor with time
& mentoring
Few structured
Continuous professional courses
development Ready
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15. Knowledge: Importance
■ We are not educating or training our workforce!
■ We need a radical change!
■ We need to manage our knowledge different.
■ We need to change how we educate and train.
■ Old thinking: Knowledge is power
■ New thinking: Sharing Knowledge is power
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16. Knowledge: Importance for Competing*
■ Education and training make business sense:
■ companies compete based on the knowledge of our staff.
Your Organisation
Innovative Innovator
Knowledge
Leader
Advanced Viable
Knowledge Competitor
Laggard
Core
Knowledge At Risk
Core Advanced Innovative
Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge
Competitors
Copyright Penspen © 2011 *Michael H. Zack, ‘Developing a Knowledge Strategy’, California Management Review, Vol. 41, No. 3, Spring, 1999, pp. 125-145

17. Presentation
Introduction
Knowledge Management
Pipeline Engineers and Engineering
The Need for Education and Training
The Future
Copyright Penspen © 2011

18. The Oil Business is Wealthy
This demand for energy means oil and gas are valuable and
expensive commodities.
The price of oil is steadily increasing:
$US/barrel
100
2008:
80 Peak = $134
Average = $93
60 Low (Dec)= $32
40
USA Spot Price Averages
20
0
1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
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19. The Energy Future is Fossil Fuels
World energy demand will grow by 36% between 2008
and 2035;
Fossil fuels will remain the primary sources of
energy, and account for over 50% of the increase
in total primary energy demand.
Global oil demand will rise from 84 million barrels of
oil per day (mb/d) in 2009 to 99 mb/d in 2035.
So... we will need pipelines for many years.
Copyright Penspen © 2011 IEA Data, 2010

20. Pipelines are Big Money....
There are about 3,500,000 km of high
pressure oil and gas pipelines around
the world.
So what?
Well... we must keep the oil and gas
flowing.
If we stop a pipeline... ouch....
Consider a big oil pipeline:
1,000,000 barrels of oil per day.
Assume barrel of oil = $67:
$50,000/minute, or
$67,000,000/day, or
$24,500,000,000/year...!
Copyright Penspen © 2011

21. The Need for Pipeline Engineers
There is an increasing shortage of skilled
staff in pipeline engineering.
There is an increasing requirement to rapidly
develop younger engineers.
There is an increasing demand from society
to demonstrate ‘competence’ in engineers:
this is needed to ensure we have
demonstrably good staff caring for our
pipelines; and,
sadly, pipeline failures will occur, and
we need to show that our staff are
demonstrably competent.
The only way we can show – demonstrably –
competence, is by an accredited, examined,
course. Nothing less.
Copyright Penspen © 2011

22. Presentation
Introduction
Knowledge Management
Pipeline Engineers and Engineering
The Need for Education and Training
The Future
Copyright Penspen © 2011

23. Need for Training: Ageing Staff
The oil and gas business has an ageing staff profile.
The age profile for a modern, technology company would be:
25 high-tech companies,
consultancies
20
percent
15
10
5
0
20 45 65
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24. Need for Training: Ageing Staff
The oil and gas business has this age profile:
20
percent 15
10
5
0
20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65+
20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65+
24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64
age of staff
We need to rapidly train our existing workforce to replace the
‘boomers’.
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25. Need for Training: Nationalisation
This age profile is international.
The Middle East/Asia will need rapid training to replace retiring
expatriates with nationals:
Nationals ? Expatriates
Number of Staff
21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63
Age
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26. Need for Training: Safety
We are experiencing serious and deadly pipeline failures:
These ‘needs’ give us a clear conclusion: we need rapid,
accessible, international education and training programs.
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27. Goal of Training: Competence
■ This training must have a clear objective...
■ Pipeline staff must be ‘competent’.
■ A definition via UKOPA* is:
■ ‘A Competent Person should have practical and
theoretical knowledge as well as sufficient experience of
the particular machinery, plant or procedure involved to
enable them to identify defects or weaknesses, and to
assess their importance in relation to strengths and
functions of the machinery’
■ So, we need both:
■ practical (training, and on-job experience); and
■ theoretical
■ learning programmes for our engineers.
Copyright Penspen © 2011
*www.ukopa.co.uk. Taken from Brazier v. Skipton Company (1962) His Lordship Winn J.

28. Presentation
Introduction
Knowledge Management
Pipeline Engineers and Engineering
The Need for Education and Training
The Future
Copyright Penspen © 2011

29. Global Demand for Training/Teaching
■ Our experience is:
■ Staff/companies do not want long
residential courses;
this is not cost-driven: it is
time-driven.
■ Staff want to learn at their own
pace, and at work/home.
■ Companies want courses to be
accredited.
■ The new (X, Y) generations in work
today want to be educated in the
same way as they communicate with
their friends, book a hotel, and buy a
pizza – via the internet.
■ On-line distance learning is the
future.
Copyright Penspen © 2011

30. Training/Teaching: The Past?
■ Existing residential university courses, and residential
industry training courses are both important and essential.
■ But these will not supply our needs in the short or long
term, nor appeal to many of our younger, newer staff.
■ Time to change...
Copyright Penspen © 2011

31. Training/Teaching: The Future
Flexible
Distance
Learning Learning On-line
Accredited
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32. Training/Teaching: The Future
Home/Office
Social
24/7 Learning Networks
Phone, pc,
tablet
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33. Training/Teaching: The Future
Industry led
Industry Industry
financed Learning needs
University
delivery
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34. The Start: Northumbria University
■ Penspen approached Northumbria University and
enquired about partnering on a distance learning initiative
for Master level courses in pipeline engineering.
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35. The Certificate: Content
■ Produced a Post-graduate Certificate in Pipeline
Integrity Management by online distance learning.
■ Resides in School of Computing, Engineering and
Information Sciences.
Module title ‘Credits’
Pipeline integrity assessment 20
Onshore pipeline engineering 20
Risk management of pipelines 10
Materials and corrosion 10
TOTAL 60
An MSc is 180 credits
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36. The Certificate: Distance Learning Delivery
All things
academia Postgraduate
Certificate
in
Pipeline Integrity
Management
All things
distance learning
Copyright Penspen © 2011

37. The Certificate: Launch
■ Certificate in Pipeline
Integrity Management
commences in 2011 at
Northumbria University.
■ Penspen will initially
supply all materials and
lecturers.
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38. The Certificate: Registration and afterwards...
■ Students register at Northumbria.
■ When fees are paid, they will be
registered, and Penspen will send
them a welcome pack, and password
to the distance learning website.
■ Student will take one Module at a
time, and pay a fee for that Module.
Student has Module for 13
weeks.
A Help Desk will provide
technical and IT support.
The student will be examined at
the end of the Module.
Student then moves onto next
Module.
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39. The Vision
■ Our vision is to supply a complete suite of learning
programmes for the industry.
■ This Certificate is a pilot study.
■ Its success depends on our industry’s response to this
pilot study.
■ Over to you….
Copyright Penspen © 2011

40. Thank You for Your Attention: Close
Thank you for your attention
Contact Points:
Penspen Training
Michelle Unger
Units 7&8, Terrace Level,
St Peter’s Wharf,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 1TZ, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 191 238 2200
Fax: +44 (0) 191 275 9786
email: integrity.ncl@penspen.com
www.penspenintegrity.com
Copyright Penspen © 2011