This white paper outlines a proposal by BMC Management Consulting LLC to establish a contractor safety recognition program aimed at natural gas contractors implementing safety management systems, specifically scaled versions of API RP 1173. The program seeks to bridge the gap between contractors’ efforts to improve pipeline safety and utilities’ hesitance to formally recognize these efforts due to liability concerns. The initiative is designed to motivate contractors, enhance safety culture, and strengthen utility-contractor relationships without utilities assuming direct liability for safety outcomes.
