Twenty years. One perfect safety record

The Tuscarora Pipeline’s flawless record – where it matters most

When it comes to a company’s safety record, is perfection — real perfection — possible?

If your company is Tuscarora Gas Transmission, the answer is a resounding yes.

An interstate natural gas transportation system operated by TransCanada in California and Nevada, the Tuscarora pipeline has logged zero lost-time incidents in more than 20 years of operation. And the operation itself has never recorded a single safety event in its history.

"Not a scratch, scrape, puncture, or cut," says Kevin Walker, a multi-skilled technician who has worked at Tuscarora since 1995. "We haven't even sent anybody to the doctor."

“Safety has always been a key focus for the Tuscarora system. It's nice to reflect on the past 20 years and recognize our efforts were worth it." — David Montemurro, retired TransCanada management rep at Tuscarora

Safety isn't always about team size

Now, you might think that achieving a 100% safety record would take a huge team...not at Tuscarora.

Despite their small size, the Tuscarora team pulled together to achieve their clean record.

"Given the length of the pipeline and the small crew, we spend a lot of time working alone,"says Walker. "But any one of us, we always know where the other guy is headed. We know where people are, and they know where we are. You always know the team has your back."

Is a zero-incident record a reasonable expectation?

At TransCanada, underlying our overall safety program - from extensive training, to planning and execution — is the notion that we can, and will do better.

Our approach to developing safety targets is to set them such that we drive continuous improvement, year after year. And it seems to be working. In 2016 we scored a facilities safety award. That's about as close to perfect as it gets.

Learn more about our approach to safety in our CSR report.