Solomon Associates has embarked on its 2010 Natural Gas Transmission System Performance Analysis (NGTS Study). The benchmarking study analyzes all aspects of participants’ operations, including onshore and offshore pipelines, compressor stations, and meter/regulation systems, and then identifies opportunities for improving work practices and business processes.

“Based on our highly detailed, data-based analysis of more than 30 transmission systems comprising 150,000 miles of pipe and 1,000 compressors and meter/regulation systems, Solomon Associates has developed metrics that enable us to compare the performance of diverse operators on a normalized basis,” said Hank Brolick, P.E., vice president of pipelines for Solomon Associates. “In this way, we help study participants clearly see the areas where their performance can be improved relative to their peers.”

Developed using a patented regression analysis, Solomon Associates’ Equivalent Pipeline Complexity (EPC™) metric is the industry’s most accurate methodology for normalizing operational performance data. The EPC encompasses factors that account for more than 90 percent of the controllable fixed-costs variability among operators, providing a comprehensive basis for reducing non-volume expenditures and driving margins.

“The NGTS Study gives participants perspective at two levels -- the big picture of where they stand relative to their peers, as well as the detailed analysis necessary to take an informed and targeted approach to operational improvement,” Brolick said. “We give our clients insights that help them manage fixed costs, maintenance costs, energy costs, personnel costs and work hours, among other variables in their operations.”

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