Join a proven program that reduces risk by enabling sharing and collaboration on on priority areas to improve operational performance.
CEPA Integrity First Partner
Leading performance improvement
Our programs have gotten better thanks to self-assessment and third-party verification.
Integrity First
Member
Integrity First enables Canada’s transmission pipeline operators to collaborate and share their knowledge to increase safety, reduce environmental impact and improve socio-economic performance.
Integrity First Partner is a new membership category for oil and natural gas producing companies that operate transmission and gathering pipelines.
Integrity First has helped cut incidents in half in the last five years. We want you to share in these benefits as an Integrity First Partner.
Integrity First Partner builds on the success of Integrity First to reduce risk, improve performance and build trust. As an Integrity First Partner you get access to:
- A proven program that continuously improves performance in key areas.
- An established program, giving you the opportunity to join other industry leaders on a path to zero incidents.
Becoming an Integrity First Partner will deliver a number of benefits to your organization.
- Accelerate and sustain improvement through a systematic approach.
- Access to leading industry practices.
- Smooth integration into your existing programs.
- Efficiency through operational excellence.
- Build trust and confidence with the public, government and regulators.
- Connect with your industry peers. We don’t compete on safety, but instead work together to continually improve industry performance.
What becoming an Integrity First Partner means
As an Integrity First Partner, you will participate in the fundamental elements of Integrity First. Through your membership you are making a commitment to continual improvement, rigorous standards, performance disclosure and on-going independent verification.
Through Integrity First, member companies work collaboratively to share their knowledge and innovations to drive industry-wide improvements as they relate to pipeline safety, environmental protection and socio-economic practices. It also allows companies to hold each other accountable.
Integrity First enables pipeline-operating companies to work together to do the things that make our industry trustworthy – focusing on safety, information sharing and responsible operations.
How Integrity First improves performance
Integrity First establishes a systematic approach enabling participating companies to collaborate and improve performance in areas vital to your company’s success:
Following the Integrity First cycle, participants identify opportunities to improve,
implement change, review results and repeat.
Integrity First Priorities
Integrity First includes ten priority areas. Integrity First Partners will follow the Integrity First Cycle for five of these priorities. In addition to the five priority areas for Integrity First Partners safety management, security and environmental stewardship will be available as optional priority areas at no additional cost.
P – IF Partner priority OP – IF Partner optional priority
Emergency management – P
Be well prepared to quickly and effectively respond to pipeline incidents.
Pipeline integrity – P
Design, construct, inspect and maintain pipeline systems to protect people and the environment.
Control room management – P
Enhance the safe and reliable operation and continuous monitoring of pipeline systems.
Damage prevention – P
Work with landowners, communities and industry to avoid unintentional impacts to pipelines.
Water protection – P
Preserve water quality and the aquatic environment.
Safety management – OP
Protect workers and the public during pipeline construction and operations.
Security – OP
Safeguard workers, the public, our systems and property from threats.
Environmental stewardship – OP
Preserve the land, atmosphere and wildlife through sustainable environmental approaches.
Indigenous relations
Build respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples to foster mutual understanding.
Land use and access
Work productively with landowners to limit land use impacts and improve access to pipeline rights-of-way.
The Integrity First Hub
The Integrity First Hub is a secure, web-based tool that increases the adoption of Integrity First and accelerates improvement in Integrity First. The Hub is a repository for Integrity First information and provides participants a single point of access to:
- Real-time reporting on Integrity First activities
- The Integrity First resource library
- A record of their self-assessment results
- Company and industry benchmarking and-reporting
Integrity First enables sharing of lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid.
Integrity First
Member
Integrity First stages
An Integrity First Partner starts at stage 3 in the Integrity First cycle.
INTEGRITY FIRST PRIORITY IDENTIFICATION
Integrity First priorities, such as pipeline integrity management or emergency management, are identified through research and feedback gathered from the public and industry.
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Guidance document design and development subject matter experts from CEPA member companies come together to outline criteria that improve the industry overall. The criteria progresses through maturity levels for a specific priority area.
Self-assessment
Companies participating in Integrity First use the guidance document to assess their current systems, processes and practices within this priority area. An Integrity First Partner will conduct self-assessments on a subset of safety and environment priorities.
Third-party verification
Third party verification of self-assessments is conducted to increase trust, credibility, and consistency of the company and industry.
Action planning for continual improvement
Verified self-assessment results are consolidated and analyzed for each priority to identify potential areas of improvement and to share leading practices among members. Action plans are developed to improve performance. CEPA facilitates the execution of action plans including the sharing of leading practices.
Reporting
Participating companies will regularly report on their performance and activities in this area to increase the accountability and transparency of the industry with the Canadian public.
Integrity First cycle
This cycle is repeated and refined for each priority, providing a collaborative and structured approach to industry-wide continuous improvement.
Integrity First doesn’t replace existing management systems at companies, but rather, helps participating companies accelerates improvement through adoption of leading practices and holding each other accountable.
Integrity First facilitates industry collaboration, and allows members to focus on meaningful priorities.
Integrity First
Member
How to become an Integrity First Partner
Integrity First Partner implementation is straightforward and enables you to leverage the benefits immediately.
There will be support as you integrate Integrity First into your operations.
As an Integrity First Partner, you will be expected to fulfill important obligations:
- You must be fully integrated into the established Integrity First cycle by the end of the third year.
- Will be required to complete self-assessment and verification for many priorities under the Integrity First Safety and Environment Principles (as scheduled in any given year).
- May elect to integrate additional priorities.
- Must achieve and maintain a maturity level 3 (continually improving) after verification.
- Will be subject to same terms and conditions as CEPA members for failing to achieve/maintain maturity level 3.
- Will be bound by any future Integrity First related decisions made by the CEPA Board of Directors.
Becoming an Integrity First Partner is good for your company, the industry and Canada.
When we get better together, everybody benefits. A safe, well-respected pipeline infrastructure is vital to a better energy future for Canada. For more information, contact Patrick Smyth
Integrity First is an ideal way for companies to collaborate on safety, combining the best ideas to get better together.
Chris Bloomer
President and CEO,
CEPA