Shawn Cummins
ATCO Energy Systems
Edmonton,Alberta
19
years of professional experience
Dynamic Damage Prevention Coordinator with expertise in public speaking, leadership, and regulatory compliance. Proven track record in developing community outreach programs and enhancing safety protocols.
Work History
Damage Prevention Coordinator
2 Years 8 Months- I am currently the SME for Transmission ground disturbance questions, working to update WP 00520 as well as keeping up to date on all the AER, AUC and OHS regulations.
- on call for Supervisor position in Edmonton, trained in house on how to respond and implement our emergency procedures in the event of an emergency.
- Developed and implemented community outreach programs to promote safety awareness initiatives.
- Trained in-house staff on Ground Disturbance Level 2
- Analyzed incident reports to identify trends and recommend preventative measures.
- Collaborated with Ops Groups to respond to Unauthorized Activities around Transmission Lines.
- Built and put on presentations for the ground disturbance community centering on how to work around buried ATCO assets
- I would speak at damage prevention events and presentations to promote safety and public awareness. Venues vary from small to large crowds of 10 to 350 people.
- Assisted Transmission projects with how to work around Orphaned wells and defunct pipelines.
- Helped find a way to identify Mystery or unclaimed pipelines when they are found in ATCO ground disturbance projects.
- Worked with ATCO Electric to help solve disputes between pipeline companies, often working hand in hand with the AER to come to an agreed-upon resolution.
- I do orientations for new locators that are contracted to locate ATCO assets both through our vendors and the ALP program.
- I take calls that come into the ATCO call center from various places and assist in answering questions around crossing agreements, ground disturbance, and all sorts of best practices around buried utilities
- Put on presentations for Fire departments, looking to enhance the collaborations between ATCO and the Fire Fighters responding to hit lines, fires and explosions. going over our work procedures and the hidden dangers that we have come across in the past.
- Built a cost tracking charge number to help get a better understanding of how much money ATCO spends on abandoned HP lines. This is to help make a case to remove abandoned lines instead of leaving them in place, as the costs of crossings over a lifetime add up!
Transmission Operator
3 Years 8 Months- Monitored transmission systems to ensure operational integrity and compliance with safety standards.
- Coordinated equipment maintenance schedules to minimize outages and improve service reliability.
- Participated in emergency response drills, reinforcing readiness and compliance with regulatory requirements for safety management systems.
- Led training sessions for new operators, promoting adherence to safety protocols and operational best practices.
- Collaborated with engineering teams to troubleshoot issues, ensuring swift resolutions and minimized downtime.
- Completed Transmission Crossing agreements in the city of Edmonton, often scheduling very complex crossings so I can be on site when needed.
- Participated in ILI's and Leak repairs
- Helped to start the FES program
- Change Champion for ArcFM and OFS when they first rolled out. Tasked with training the West ops area on how to access and utilize these new programs and mapping systems in the field.
- worked through COVID, finding innovative solutions to the challenges that COVID would bring to a joint work site with multiple contractors coming and going.
- Educated the group on how to rebuild and maintain many of the regulators of control valves in the Transmission system, saving the group time and money on bringing in an outside consultant.
Distribution Pressure Control Operator
8 Years- Operated and monitored regulators in gate stations, district stations, reg boxes, and bottle trailers to ensure the optimal pressures were maintained.
- Analyzed real-time data to identify operational anomalies and implemented corrective actions promptly.
- worked with the Innovations group to create a renewable natural gas machine and install it at 1 gate in the HERD yard.
- Worked with the Innovations group to build two portable CHP (combined heat and power) units and install them. Proved that natural gas could be used to heat our glycol bath heaters and also power the electronics year round.
- Coordinated with maintenance teams to schedule and perform routine inspections of equipment and systems.
- Worked on call as a pressure control operator, covering everything north of Red Deer.
- Responded to major outages with bottle trailers, both CNG and rented LNG units. Set up and maintained the units on site making sure the supply was enough for the cities and houses which were experiencing a natural gas outage.
- Helped build the newest versions of bottle trailers as well as the older versions, tubing in the gas lines and installing the regulators and reliefs
- Trained on all kinds of regulators (Pietro Fiorentini, Mooney, Rockwell, Axial Flow, Fischer, etc), both foreign and domestic in design. trained by Spartan on valve maintenance and control valve operations.
- Trained on line heaters, both bath style and vacuum sealed boiler systems. responsible for the maintenance and repairs of these units.
- Trained to bend stainless steel tubing.
- Worked with engineering and oversaw the entire build process of Gate stations, Distribution stations, and Reg Boxes. Coordinated with the weld shop to have pre fab delivered and a welder to finish the installation. Coordinated with Crane companies to help rig large pipe spools in place and proceeded to do the bolt up and torque of every above ground flange and fitting.
- trained on using cobra crane attached to the 2 ton service body trucks.
Distribution Operator
4 Years 11 Months- On call for the edmonton area, taking hit lines and dealing with emergencies
- Disconnect and cut back distribution services on the fly. often taking the cap off the tee and quickly installing an expandable stopper in the tee while the main is live! how far we have come from those days... I would coordinate the compressor truck, form cuts, dump trucks, back hoes and plate trucks to make sure the multiple disconnects per day went smooth. I would also coordinate with dispatch to get permits pulled and inform the city when the holes would be filled with filcrete (After I ordered it) and be ready for paving.
- Respond to hit lines as the lead hit line crew for 3 years, often working 16 hour days to restore service to the ATCO customers. in charge of making the hazard and ensuring everyone signed on and followed the work procedures.
- Operate machinery, everything from mini dump trucks and mini excavators, to skidsteers, to backhoes, trackhoes, crane trucks and drill trucks.
- operated the compressor truck for a year, in charge of going to every site that needs jack hammering, form cutting or purging done and making making sure these tasks were completed on time.
- Executed safety protocols to minimize risks during operations.
- Collaborated with team members to streamline distribution processes.
- Monitored inventory levels, ensuring timely replenishment of supplies.
- Ran the Alteration truck for a year, dealing with customer alterations ( altering the gas lines so they can build a new deck or garage) and cut backs. used tampers, and ensured 100 percent compaction. used mini excavators, and ditch witches as well as gopher shots (pneumatic HDD, done with ATCO owned equipment) to keep the backfill and intrusion on the customers day to day life to a bare minimum.
- trained on fusions, locate equipment, and mueller squeeze equipment.
Education
High School Diploma
Skills
Public Speaking
I have had many positive reviews of my many public speaking events.
Leadership
I have a lot of experience having to lead projects and employees during my nearly 20 years at ATCO.
Communication
I can have hard conversations with people who are in the wrong
while keeping it informative and not accusatory. this is a learned skill that takes practice.
Training
I am certified by Global Training
not only to train ATCO employees on GDL2
but in Train the Trainer level 1
Unauthorized Activity
I have taken training on how to deal with UA's on Transmission lines
and I have hands-on experience dealing with upset or non-responsive ground disturbers in the field.
Regulation
I know how the ATCO system supplies gas to people
having worked in nearly all aspects of the Natural Gas business unit.
Risk assessment
with training in Tap Root and experience with Emergencies. I have been called to weigh in on many Transmission issues and help assess the risks as well as provide alternate paths forward.
Timeline
Damage Prevention Coordinator
ATCO Energy Systems
11.2023 - CurrentRead More
Transmission Operator
ATCO Energy Systems
03.2020 - 11.2023Read More
Distribution Pressure Control Operator
ATCO Energy Systems
03.2012 - 03.2020Read More
Distribution Operator
ATCO Energy Systems
04.2007 - 03.2012Read More
Lakefield District Secondary School
High School Diploma
Read More