Annual meeting advances pipeline safety agenda

Enbridge representatives gather in Denver to discuss our U.S. Public Awareness Program

Meet in the middle.

That’s what you do, strategically, when your North American assets stretch from the northern reaches of Canada all the way into the Gulf of Mexico. And it’s exactly what a group of Enbridge employees involved in Public Awareness did last month when they gathered in Denver, Colorado, for the annual Enbridge U.S. Public Awareness meeting.

Employees from operations, management, safety, integrity, pipeline compliance, land services, communications, government affairs and other critical groups within our company came from as far north as Alberta and as far south as Louisiana and Mississippi to discuss our pipeline safety-focused U.S. Public Awareness Program – and the ways we can continue to reinforce and bolster its effectiveness.

“Spreading pipeline safety awareness is a group effort that’s best achieved by collaborating with other divisions, departments, business units — every organization within our company that has a stake in pipeline safety,” says Amber Olah, Enbridge’s U.S. Public Awareness team lead.

It’s this approach that makes our annual meeting a success. This isn’t the kind of gathering where participants are asked to hold their questions and comments until the end of the session. It’s a work meeting where sleeves are rolled up – and where everyone from vice presidents to operations technicians contribute to a healthy mix of ideas, questions, suggestions, constructive criticism and answers that refine processes and allow concepts to take shape.

Federal regulations that govern public awareness plans for pipeline companies require “continuous improvement” – and that’s something our internal stakeholders who assembled in Denver are always striving for. Many play key roles in Enbridge’s Emergency Responder Education Program and annual events like 811 Day and Emergency Preparedness Month, while others support Enbridge’s public awareness programs in the U.S. and Canada and advocate for those programs at an executive level. It’s a group that, together, has the power to help make Enbridge an industry leader in pipeline safety — our company’s top priority.

“Connecting people to the energy they need for their quality of life — safely and reliably — is our primary responsibility,” says Olah, “and educating the people who live and work near our assets about pipeline safety is a critical part of that responsibility.”