GAS HCA TOOL

How accurate are your Class Location and HCA–MCA determinations?

Conventional, manual methods for sliding mile Class Location and High Consequence Area (HCA)–Moderate Consequence Area (MCA) analysis are extremely time consuming and can suffer from inaccuracy and lack of reproducibility. G2-IS’ new Gas HCA Tool increases HCA–MCA and Class Location accuracy by eliminating inefficient manual processes. The Gas HCA Tool gives you the power to rapidly and efficiently produce results that are consistent, reliable, reproducible, and defendable.

Quickly calculate Class Location and HCA-MCA status

G2-IS’ Gas HCA Tool breaks calculation of Class Location and HCAs-MCAs into a set of tools. Each tool then performs a specific task and can be linked together in ModelBuilder (ArcGIS Pro) to complete Class Location and HCA-MCA calculations.

Tools are customizable and include a set of parameters for configuration. Users can also select different tools in ModelBuilder. By default, the Gas HCA Tool will provide a set of models for calculations that can be used as a base for customization.

Intuitive analysis interface

Since the 1970s, oil and gas operators have been required to perform Class Location analysis to help understand the consequences of failure as a function of population density along a given pipeline. Class Location and HCA-MCA analyses are critical to the design, operation, and asset integrity of the pipeline.

G2-IS’ Gas HCA Tool is a comprehensive software suite that performs Class Location determination using the sliding mile algorithm and calculates HCAs, using either Class Location results (method 1) or the Potential Impact Radius (PIR) formula (method 2). PIR-based MCA analysis (including road data conditioning) is also included. The software fully supports analysis of both transmission and regulated gathering lines.

Improved productivity and consistency

The Gas HCA Tool increases efficiency by automating Class Location and HCA-MCA analysis, improving accuracy and reproducibility to reinforce manual analysis. Powerful dynamic segmentation functionality provides output that clearly indicates the number of structures and/or identified sites impacting any given pipe segment, while highlighting segments that qualify as an HCA or MCA.

Configuration settings unique to your integrity management plan can be saved for future use to drive consistent results and support time-based delta analysis along the pipeline. The Gas HCA Tool maintains its own project database and allows you to pull pipeline data from any database. Results are generated as geospatial features, easily exported into tabular formats, and readily imported into your GIS database.

Meeting diverse user needs

Regulatory requirements around Class Location and HCA-MCA analysis create complex implications for how you manage your pipeline. This affects Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) levels, integrity management and assessment plans, as well as protection of the local community and environment. G2-IS’ Gas HCA Tool integrates seamlessly into your IT environment and the Esri platform, giving direct access to tool functionality from the desktop and the command line, either as a scheduled service or as a REST geoprocessing service.

End-to-end Class Location and HCA-MCA services

The Gas HCA Tool works directly inside both ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Pro, which provides increased flexibility over stand-alone applications. It is data model independent and works with unstructured data sources, as well as all popular pipeline data models.

In addition, G2-IS can provide end-to-end Class Location and HCA-MCA services, helping to collect, update, and digitize all the information required for the HCA-MCA analysis. Elements of the service can be customized to your individual needs, including:

Digitization of existing sites and structures using available imagery
Preconditioning of digital road data sources for use in MCA analysis
Creation of electronic field data collection data import template(s)
Field survey and verification of structures and identified sites
Collaboration with field facilities and the community to gather relevant identified site information
Geocoding of addresses
Provision of the Gas HCA Tool as a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution
Performance of Class Location and HCA-MCA analysis as a service

Key features:

Flexible model parameter configuration interface
- Data model independent
UPDM, PODS, and APDM integration
- Identified sites, gathering places, and structure locations
- HCA-MCA results
- DOT Class Location results (clustered and unclustered – run simultaneously)
Ability to trace to every structure or identified site
- House count-based consequence index for risk integration
Options to account for centerline and structure accuracy
- Potential Impact Radius (PIR) adjustment
- Buffer structures and buffer identified sites
- Accepts point and/or polygon structures or identified sites/gathering places

Benefits:

Results are consistent, reproducible, and defendable
Far more efficient than time consuming, costly manual analyses
Greatly reduced cycle time, facilitating what-if analysis on the fly
All results are stored in a structured personal or file geodatabase
Provides an extremely granular understanding of consequence for risk analysis

Who Benefits:

Pipeline Integrity Engineers: accurately assessing and documenting asset classes
GIS Managers: providing efficient tools and data for Class Location and HCA management to integrity and operations teams
Integrity Managers/Directors: visualizing risks and planning remediation with valuable spatial insights about the environment and the community
Compliance Engineers: prioritizing work procedures for assessments, repairs, and additional integrity-related activities and ensuring compliance with codes and rules
Executives: using reports for reviewing the financial impacts of pipelines with the largest amounts of HCAs and MCAs

Pipeline Software developed by pipeliners!

Our team has extensive experience in pipeline industry data models, regulatory requirements, and operations. Talk with G2-IS experts and let us help you unlock the value of your existing platforms!