Major changes are taking place in the Energy sector. The need to meet increasing customer demands and the ability to improve health by reducing the likes of carbon emissions is underway. The adoption of competitive, flexible and more reliable solutions is required as is the necessity to maintain sustainability, security and affordability.
But as the world’s energy requirements change so do the measures needed to ensure conformity of standards and regulations. And with emerging technologies evolving, the question arises how will the industry manage the transformation?
A change in landscape
In 2019 the landscape has already changed far beyond earlier predictions. Using technologies to extract, produce, transport and storage of imported natural gases (LNG), reducing carbon emissions (CCS), utilising renewables (CHP) and biofuels.
But with each new development, the technological challenges become harder to manage. Supply chains get longer, new players enter the market and there are growing concerns over cybersecurity.
Many government institutions, manufacturing and industrial plants are already receiving more of their energy from wind farms and solar panels. And as domestic customer demand increases so does the rollout of smart meters. Everyone has a part to play.
New players
A market that was once dominated by large corporations, has seen the emergence of smaller companies. This has helped to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. But as the market diversifies so does the risks and the challenges.
A broader range of energy technologies is reshaping the economy to meet our fundamental electricity, heating and fuel requirements. To ensure these demands are being met safely, strict adherence to regulations and standards must be maintained.
Each party has a care of duty to operate within a legal framework, in accordance with conformity and certifications to keep both workers and the public safe from harm.
Concerns that are being addressed:
1. Older technologies – Risk assessments have been well documented, categorised and in the most part mitigated. New developments pose a different set of risks. Hazards once seen as a major concern are now overshadowed by unforeseeable issues. At each developmental stage these threats need to identified, tested, managed and controlled before they are released into the market.
2. Speed and costs – With any ambitious change the speed and costs associated can be detrimental. Not all newer technologies will be supported. All methods need to be tested and certified before they are utilised. Workers need to be retrained, skills and credentials updated to safeguard them when going about their work.
3. Governing bodies – Continue to remain neutral, monitoring changes by establishing new frameworks to align with this new economy. Procedures are being updated to enable third parties to keep a watchful eye as the world increases its energy capabilities. Concerns over security and other issues such as greenhouse gas emissions need to be individually and effectively managed.
4. Public demand – To get consumers on board with change, they need to be educated. Regulators need to be upfront about the risks involved for the sector to provide convenient, cost effective solutions to homes. The public needs reassurance that the process is being governed and that all measures are being utilised to mitigate incidents.
5. Data Capture – Due to technology advancements the ability to extract data from computerised machines has become an integral part of learning. Large amounts of relatively new industrial information need to be analysed. Retrieval and sharing of data has to be seen as a collaborative effort with the aim of reuniting the sector.
6. Security – The world in which we live has seen the widespread issue of security alerts. As technology advances so does the risk associated with cyber-attacks. The ability to safeguard systems and customer data preventing security breaches such as outages is a top priority.
TIC Market
Testing, Inspection and Certification
By ensuring that standards and legislations are met, independent Testing, Inspection and Certification companies (TIC Market) will continue to play a vital role in shaping the regulation for this new landscape. Inspectors will work across a wide spread of sectors providing quality and safety controls through conformity assessments.
Safety measures are no longer being considered as a bolt on during the maintenance and operations stages, they are infiltrating through the entire process. Providing supply chain certifications, industrial site inspections, product testing and management of system auditing and certification are just some of the methods being used by TIC companies.
Compliance
This high level of assessment provides a cost-effective method of ensuring compliance across the industry. From consumer protection to aiding government agencies and manufacturers to improve efficiencies and adhere to standards.
The TIC council, which consists of 90 member companies representing countries from all over the world. The council provides a unified independent voice working to provide the highest standards in safety, quality, health, ethics and sustainability.
As the scope of energy requirements increases so does the need for conformity. Together both the TIC Council and TIC Inspectors work to ensure compliance of public and industry safety across the sector.
Conclusion
As the world enters greener times the speed at which technology will be used is being highly monitored. Hazards and major incidents are on the top list of priorities. Industry standards are being aligned to address and to help mitigate unforeseen disasters.
Greater knowledge and training are being introduced to ensure inspectors are able to cope with the diverse range of technologies. Drones are one example of the technological efforts being introduced to inspect and maintain areas where potential fatalities may have occurred in the past.
It’s an exciting time to be part of this transforming economy. With safety at the forefront, efforts are being introduced to ensure that the public, corporations and workers can benefit from this ever-changing environment for the world’s energy requirements.