Episode 449: Updated API RP 1168 - Pipeline Control Room Management with Vickie Cain
Release Date: 07/14/2026
Episode 454: Real-Time Data Management with Geoff Daily and Aaron Knabb
Pipeliners Podcast
On this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, host Russell Treat talks with Geoff Daily and Aaron Knabb of Bifrost, the MetaSCADA division of Techneaux, about moving SCADA data reliably across the enterprise. The conversation covers why a simple pull from the historian often isn't enough, how Bifrost's naming and namespace tools address the "what do you actually have" problem across disparate systems, and what a pipeline operator should look for when evaluating a data integration partner. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links...
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Episode 453: 811 Day with the Common Ground Alliance with Sarah Magruder Lyle
Pipeliners Podcast
On 811 Day, Sarah Magruder Lyle, president and CEO of the Common Ground Alliance and executive director of the Damage Prevention Action Center, returns to the Pipeliners Podcast to discuss the state of underground damage prevention. She and host Russell Treat cover the newly released DIRT Report, the Damage Prevention Institute's accreditation results, a new decal partnership with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, and plans for 811's 20th anniversary in 2027. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to...
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Episode 452: New API RP 1193 addressing Pressure Cycling Management with Aaron Dinovitzer and Robert MacKenzie
Pipeliners Podcast
In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, host Russel Treat is joined by Aaron Dinovitzer, an independent integrity management consultant, and Rob McKenzie, an engineering supervisor at Enbridge, to discuss the new API Recommended Practice on pressure cycling management. The conversation covers why the standard was developed, how operations and integrity management teams can use it to speak a common language, and practical strategies operators can apply to reduce fatigue damage on liquid and gas pipelines. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes...
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Episode 451: Leak Detection is Not Just One Problem with Jerad Stack
Pipeliners Podcast
In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, host Russell Treat talks with Jerad Stack, co-founder and CEO of Flowstate, about why "leak detection" means different things to different people in the pipeline industry. The conversation covers how Flowstate models pipeline behavior with physics-informed neural networks instead of traditional real-time transient or purely statistical models, and how that approach handles gathering systems, slack line, and the ongoing trade-off between sensitivity and reliability. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes...
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Episode 450: How the Texas 811 Guardian Program is Improving Damage Prevention with Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing with Kyle VanLandingham
Pipeliners Podcast
In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, host Russel Treat talks with Kyle VanLandingham, Director of Business Development at Texas811, about the Guardian program. They discuss how distributed fiber optic sensing is being layered onto existing 811 infrastructure to catch excavation activity that happens without a call to 811, why that "no-ticket" digging drives a disproportionate share of underground damage, and what it takes to deploy and scale the technology across Texas. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and...
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Episode 449: Updated API RP 1168 - Pipeline Control Room Management with Vickie Cain
Pipeliners Podcast
Russel Treat talks with Vickie Cain, who chaired the American Petroleum Institute committee that led the update to API RP 1168, the recommended practice for pipeline control room management. Vickie, who spent about thirty years as a pipeline operator before moving into consulting, walks through what changed in the new edition, including point-to-point verification, control room applicability, director/supersede procedures, backup control room testing, and shift turnover, and explains why each change matters to operators. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and...
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Episode 448: State of the Industry with Mark LaCour
Pipeliners Podcast
In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, Russel Treat talks with Mark LaCour, Director of ModalPoint and editor-in-chief of the Oil and Gas Global Network (OGGN), recorded live at the API Pipeline, Control Room and Cybernetics Conference. Mark, who delivered one of the event's keynotes, discusses shifting public perception of the oil and gas industry among Generation Alpha, the origins and growth of OGGN, and the long-term case for keeping the industry central to humanity's energy and space exploration future. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show...
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Episode 447: Normalizing Excellence with Walter Nusbaum
Pipeliners Podcast
In this episode of the Pipeliners Podcast, Russel Treat talks with Walter Nusbaum, keynote speaker at the 2026 API Pipeline Conference, about his framework for pursuing excellence as a way of life. The conversation explores how unaddressed hazards and violations can gradually normalize failure, using real world examples ranging from the 1999 Texas A&M Bonfire collapse to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster to illustrate concepts like latent error and enabling conditions. Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and...
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Episode 446: In-situ Mechanical Testing with Mona Haggag
Pipeliners Podcast
This week on the Pipeliners Podcast, Russel Treat talks with Mona Haggag about in-situ mechanical testing, a nondestructive technique used to determine the mechanical properties of pipe still in the ground. Mona, whose father pioneered the technology, walks through how the ball indentation method works, what it can and cannot tell an operator, and how the tool is being adapted for field use in high-stress and high-security environments. The conversation covers the history of the technology, practical field application, data security considerations, and where the technology is headed. Visit...
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Episode 445: Anniversary of the Bellingham Incident with Larry Shelton
Pipeliners Podcast
This episode of the Pipeliners Podcast commemorates the 27th anniversary of the tragic Olympic Pipeline rupture in Bellingham, Washington, which resulted in a catastrophic explosion and the loss of three young lives. Larry Shelton shares his insights from the incident and the conversation serves as a reminder of the responsibilities of those in the pipeline industry. On the 20-year anniversary of the Bellingham Incident in Bellingham, Washington, Pipeliners Podcast host Russel Treat welcomed retired pipeline professional Larry Shelton to share his first-hand recollections and reflect on the...
info_outlineRussel Treat talks with Vickie Cain, who chaired the American Petroleum Institute committee that led the update to API RP 1168, the recommended practice for pipeline control room management.
Vickie, who spent about thirty years as a pipeline operator before moving into consulting, walks through what changed in the new edition, including point-to-point verification, control room applicability, director/supersede procedures, backup control room testing, and shift turnover, and explains why each change matters to operators.
Visit PipelinePodcastNetwork.com for a full episode transcript and detailed show notes with relevant links and definitions to insider terms.