Panel Peer Review of PHMSA Pipeline Safety Research Projects: 2019
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Since 2006, in accordance with mandates from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) Pipeline Safety Research and Development (R&D) Program has held annual peer reviews of active Core Program research projects that are designed to maintain research data quality. PHMSA holds these reviews virtually via teleconference and the internet, saving both time and resources by foregoing physical meeting spaces. Virtual teleconferences facilitate attendance from Canada, Europe, and all U.S. time zones, making it easier for panelists, researchers, project cosponsors, and Agreement Officer Representatives (AORs) to participate.
The annual peer review continues to build on a strong, systematic evaluation process that was developed by PHMSA's Pipeline Safety R&D Program and certified by the Government Accountability Office. The 2019 peer-review panel, which was made up of 6 academic representatives, reviewed 17 projects using the following 6 evaluation criteria:
- Is progress being made towards project objectives and project management for both the budget and the schedule?
- Is there a plan for technology transfer or the dissemination of results, including publications, reporting, and/or patents?
- How much end-user involvement is incorporated into the scope of work?
- Is the project work being communicated to other related research efforts?
- Are the intended results consistent with scientific knowledge and/or engineering principles?
- Are the intended results presented in such a manner as to be useful for identified end users?
The rating categories assigned by the peer-review panel are "Ineffective", "Effective", "More Than Effective", and "Very Effective." The average score for the 17 projects assessed during the May 2019 review was "More Than Effective".
The greatest project strengths that were identified were in the areas of technology transfer, end-user involvement, and project communication, while maintaining project schedule was indicated as the area needing the most improvement.
| Very Effective | 4.5 to 5.0 (8 Projects) |
| More than Effective | 3.0 to 4.4 (16 Projects) |
| Effective | 1.9 to 2.9 (0 Projects) |
| Ineffective | 0.0 to 1.8 (0 Projects) |
| Average Program Score | 4.2 |
| Evaluation Criteria | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Is progress being made towards project objectives and project management for both the budget and the schedule? | 3.9 | More than Effective |
| 2. Is there a plan for technology transfer or the dissemination of results, including publications, reporting, and/or patents? | 4.1 | More than Effective |
| 3. How much end-user involvement is incorporated into the scope of work? | 4.2 | More than Effective |
| 4. Is the project work being communicated to other related research efforts? | 4.0 | More than Effective |
| 5. Are the intended results consistent with scientific knowledge and/or engineering principles? | 4.1 | More than Effective |
| 6. Are the intended results presented in such a manner as to be useful for identified end users? | 4.1 | More than Effective |
| Program Summary | 4.1 | More than Effective |
| Project | Rank | Contract | Project Title | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 729 | 1 | 693JK31810003 | Validating Non-Destructive Tools for Surface to Bulk Correlations of Yield Strength, Toughness, and Chemistry | 4.8 | Very Effective |
| 739 | 2 | 693JK31810011 | River Scour Monitoring System for Pipeline Threat Prevention | 4.6 | Very Effective |
| 727 | 3 | 693JK31810001 | Improvements to Pipeline Assessment Methods and Models to Reduce Variance | 4.4 | More than Effective |
| 747 | 3 | 693JK31810014 | Evaluation of Well Casing Integrity Management for Underground Storage Wells | 4.4 | More than Effective |
| 748 | 4 | 693JK31810013 | Tools for Predicting Gas Migration and Mitigating its Occurrence/Consequence | 4.3 | More than Effective |
| 728 | 5 | 693JK31810002 | On-Board Power and Thrust Generation for the Explorer Family of Robots for the Inspection of Unpiggable Natural Gas Pipelines | 4.2 | More than Effective |
| 730 | 5 | 693JK31810005 | External Leak Detection Body of Knowledge | 4.2 | More than Effective |
| 734 | 5 | 693JK31810009 | Improved Tools to Locate Buried Pipelines in a Congested Underground | 4.2 | More than Effective |
| 736 | 5 | 693JK31810010 | ORFEUS Obstacle Detection for Horizontal Directional Drilling | 4.2 | More than Effective |
| 746 | 6 | 693JK31810012 | Modernize the Assessment of River Crossings | 4.1 | More than Effective |
| 731 | 7 | 693JK31810006 | Consistency Review of Methodologies for Quantitative Risk Assessment | 3.9 | More than Effective |
| 732 | 7 | 693JK31810007 | Performance Gap Comparison of Process Safety Management Consensus Standards and Regulatory Requirements for LNG Facilities | 3.9 | More than Effective |
| 733 | 7 | 693JK31810008 | Review of Control System Testing Frequency | 3.9 | More than Effective |
| 740 | 8 | 693JK31810017 | Risk Assessment and Treatment of Wells | 3.8 | More than Effective |
| 741 | 8 | 693JK31810004 | Cost Benefit Analysis of Deploying or Retrofitting External Based Leak Detection Sensors | 3.8 | More than Effective |
| 745 | 9 | 693JK31810015 | Tubing and Packers Life-Cycle Analysis for Underground Gas Storage Applications | 3.3 | More than Effective |
| 743 | 10 | 693JK31810016 | Reliability of Subsurface Safety Valves | 3.2 | More than Effective |