Competency Assessment and Certification

Proving your competence is vital to successfully advancing your career, whether you are new to pipeline engineering or climbing the corporate ladder. But what is competence, and how do you prove it? Competence is a combination of the ability to perform a task, understand and explain that task, the type, years, and supervision spent acquiring that knowledge, and the practices related to the job. Simply put, competence is a measure of skill, knowledge, experience, and behavior.

Discover how we keep you ahead of the curve by supporting you in assessing, demonstrating, and showcasing your pipeline competency.

Step 1: Assess your competence

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By means of a self-assessment, you can evaluate your skills based on the predefined Competency Standards Manual developed in collaboration with the Qualification Panel for the Pipeline Industry (QPPI).

The Competency Standards lists and defines over forty pipeline integrity competencies at awareness, foundation, practitioner and expert level. Following your self-assessment, you can take your professional development to the next level with the Competence Club's online training courses, which have been developed based upon the predefined standards.

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For pipeline integrity management teams, our baseline assessment provides a holistic insight into your teams level of competence inline with your objectives. The assessment is led by our subject matter experts and includes:

  • A review of your organizational structure, including an evaluation of the current roles and responsibilities.
  • An analysis of your organizations' systems.
  • Competency-based interviews with your workforce to assess and evaluate your team's knowledge in relation to our Competency Standards Manual.

Following the detailed appraisal of your team, we provide a competence report with recommendations and suggested training development programs to address identified skill gaps.

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Step 2: Prove your competence

In the pipeline industry, it is crucial for operators and contractors to have personnel who possess a suitable level of competence in education, training, knowledge, and experience. Certification is a way to demonstrate to employers and peers that you are competent and qualified to perform the tasks required by the Competency Standards Manual. 

We believe that ensuring the proper authority and autonomy for the certification body is of utmost importance to the credibility and integrity of the certification program. That is why we have commissioned the Qualification Panel for the Pipeline Industry (QPPI), an independent panel of qualified subject matter experts (SMEs), to develop all elements of the certification scheme. The QPPI certification board is responsible for ensuring the credentials of the Pipeline Integrity Engineer Certification Scheme meet the highest standards of ethical and professional practice for the industry.

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Our certification program has the same objective as in the USA standard ASME B31Q*: "… to minimize the impact on safety and integrity of the pipeline due to human error that may result from an individual’s lack of knowledge, skills, or abilities during the performance of certain activities."

Achieving a certification will signify that you will have the knowledge and understanding of best practices in pipeline integrity, and understand the effects and consequences of their actions, but will still require some supervision from a more qualified individual. This level of certification is defined as ‘foundation’ (F).

Our Pipeline Integrity Engineer Certifications offer eight different competencies to choose from, allowing you to become an indispensable member of the industry. 

These programs were designed for individuals working in pipeline integrity who either possess a degree from a recognized or accredited university, have at least four years of relevant work experience within the pipeline integrity field, hold an engineering degree from a recognized or accredited university, or have a professional engineering qualification such as PEng or CEng.

Determine your eligibility for our certifications or apply here:

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in Pipeline Engineering Principles (CS001F)
Individuals with a certification in Pipeline Engineering Principles can describe pipeline-engineering principles, discuss best practices, and explain their bases.

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in Pipeline Integrity Management (CS014F)
Individuals certified in Pipeline Integrity Management can define, and distinguish between, differing integrity management methods/techniques, particularly pipeline integrity management and systems, and can list the threats to pipeline safety, and the consequences of pipeline failure.
 

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in Pipeline Defect Assessment (CS020F)
Individuals certified in Pipeline Defect Assessment can describe pipeline integrity and pipeline defect assessments (for all types of defects found in pipelines) and can summarize and give examples of fatigue assessment.
 

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in In-Line Inspection Technologies & Procedures (CS022F)
Individuals certified in In-Line Inspection (ILI) Technologies and Procedures can classify and summarize ILI technologies and procedures.
 

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in In-Line Inspection Data Analysis & Reporting (CS026F)
Individuals certified in In-Line Inspection (ILI) Data Analysis and Reporting can explain ILI data analysis and reporting procedures.
 

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in Stress Analysis (CS030F)
Individuals certified in Stress Analysis can describe and review pipeline stress analyses.
 

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in Fracture Mechanics (CS032F)
Individuals certified in Fracture Mechanics can explain the history of fracture mechanics, its principles, models (elastic, elastic-plastic, and plastic), and differing models, defining the best assessment methods using fracture mechanics. Additionally, they can define and distinguish between the fracture mechanics and traditional approach to fatigue assessment.

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in Pipeline Defect Assessment (CS020F)
Individuals certified in Pipeline Defect Assessment can describe pipeline integrity and pipeline defect assessments (for all types of defects found in pipelines) and can summarize and give examples of fatigue assessment.

ANAB-Accredited Individual Competency Certification in In-Line Inspection Technologies & Procedures (CS022F)
Individuals certified in In-Line Inspection (ILI) Technologies and Procedures can classify and summarize ILI technologies and procedures.

*The following certifications are accredited for personnel certification by the largest multi-disciplinary accreditation body in the Western hemisphere, ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), according to ISO/IEC 17024.

  • Individual Competency Certification in Pipeline Inspection and Surveillance (CS005F)

Individuals certified in Pipeline Inspection and Surveillance can describe differing pipeline inspection and surveillance methods and compare the best methods.

  • Individual Competency Certification in In-Line Inspection Data Analysis & Reporting (CS026F)

Individuals certified in In-Line Inspection (ILI) Data Analysis and Reporting can explain ILI data analysis and reporting procedures.

  • Individual Competency Certification in Stress Analysis (CS030F)

Individuals certified in Stress Analysis can describe and review pipeline stress analyses. 

  • Individual Competency Certification in Fracture Mechanics (CS032F)

Individuals certified in Fracture Mechanics can explain the history of fracture mechanics, its principles, models (elastic, elastic-plastic, and plastic), and differing models, defining the best assessment methods using fracture mechanics. Additionally, they can define and distinguish between the fracture mechanics and traditional approach to fatigue assessment.

The Pipeline Integrity Engineer Certification Qualification

Pipelines often carry hazardous products such as natural gas and gasoline; consequently, pipeline standards and regulations stipulate that all staff working on a pipeline must be both competent and qualified at all tasks they perform. 

An individual is considered ‘qualified’ to perform the tasks related to the competencies when he/she has demonstrated these competencies for example, through assessment.  Accordingly, a ‘qualification’ is the outcome of an assessment and validation process when an organization (e.g., a university or professional body) determines that an individual has the necessary competencies to a given standard.

The Certified Pipeline Integrity Engineer Qualification establishes the minimum requirements for individuals working in pipeline integrity engineering.  It consists of eight core competencies agreed to by a panel of independent subject matter experts  essential for every Pipeline Integrity Engineer to possess:

  • Pipeline Engineering Principles (CS001F)

  • Pipeline Inspection and Surveillance (CS005F)

  • Pipeline Integrity Management (CS014F)

  • Pipeline Defect Assessment (CS020F)

  • In-Line Inspection Technologies & Procedures (CS022F)

  • ILI Data Analysis & Reporting (CS026F)

  • Stress Analysis (CS030F)

  • Fracture Mechanics (CS032F)

The Certified Pipeline Integrity Engineer qualification is designed to recognized engineers who have successfully demonstrated their competencies in these areas by receiving ANAB accredited certifications in these eight competencies. Upon completion, engineers will automatically receive endorsement of qualification status.

The objective of this Pipeline Integrity Engineer qualification program is the same as in the USA standard ASME B31Q  ‘ … to minimize the impact on safety and integrity of the pipeline due to human error that may result from an individual’s lack of knowledge, skills, or abilities during the performance of certain activities.’

Step 3: Become certified

Follow our simple 5-step-process to become certified:

Step 1: Choose your certification and review the eligibility requirements

Pick the certification you would like to pursue and review the Pipeline Integrity Engineer Certification Candidate Handbook for all the policies and procedures you’ll need to follow to apply, study, and sit for each exam. It will provide you with a comprehensive explanation of the application process, eligibility requirements, fees, examination content and more.

Step 2: Complete and submit your application

Fill out the online application form and upload the necessary eligibility documents. After completing these steps, proceed to pay the non-refundable application fee to finalize your submission.

Step 3: Schedule and study for the exam

Once your application has been accepted by our Certification team, you will be required to pay the exam entrance fee and organize your exam date. For support on studying for the exam, take a look at our ‘Preparing For Exam Day’ and the ‘Exam Blueprint’ sections within the Handbook to find out what you need to do to and study in preparation.

Step 4: Take the examination

Refer to ‘On Exam Day’ and the Protocol Document for Remote Invigilated Exams sections within the Candidate Handbook to learn what you can expect on exam day.

Step 5: Prove your competence with your ROSEN certificate

If you successfully pass the competency exams will be mailed a certificate and digital copy valid for five years, plus your name can be included in certificants registry.

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Need help?

Our certification team is on hand to support you from choosing the competency for you, to applying and taking the certification. Speak to our experts today.

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