The Headache Of Third Party Damages (Part 2)

The Headache Of Third Party Damages

It is good to be optimistic but let us get realistic. No matter how much you try to stop; somebody somewhere will damage your gas pipeline and you will have to run and put all your energy in fixing it. That ‘somebody’ is universally referred to as ‘third party’.

Here is my perception about the ‘perception’ people in society have about third party damages –

If an electric cable or water pipeline gets damaged leaving you in dark or without water, general reaction from people is,

“You see, one has to be careful while working near electric cable or water pipeline. It has direct impact on our lives.”
“Why don’t people working around electric cables or water pipeline get information before they dig?”
“These people working on road damage electric cable and water pipeline and we have to suffer. People who damage electric cable or water pipeline should be punished.”
Blah Blah…

But if a gas pipeline gets damaged by a third party, there is a high probability that general reaction from people will be one of the following –

“These gas companies don’t follow safety guidelines.”
“Their gas pipelines are just below the surface and don’t have enough top-cover.”
“These gas companies don’t protect their pipelines”
“There is a complete lack of safety.”
…
Yes, it is an ‘inconvenient truth’ ;-) that unlike other utilities, a gas utility is held accountable when a gas pipeline gets damaged. Regardless of this perception, ‘third party damage’ is a headache of gas distribution companies. 

In my subsequent posts, I will share some of my thoughts on how we can avoid third party damages and leverage technology in doing so.