Safety

Safety Drives Everything We Do

With a commitment to be the safest provider of natural gas services, the safety of Atmos Energy’s employees, customers, and communities has always been our number one priority. Safety is at the core of what we do. It's a value reflected in our Vision, it is essential to our culture, and it is evident in our people, processes, procedures, and practices.

Operational Safety

Category Hours
Safety Huddles 85,503
Safety Training 9,108
TOTAL 94,611

Atmos Energy is responsible for operating over 79,000 miles of natural gas pipelines in more than 1,400 communities. There are many roles and responsibilities that contribute to operating efficiently, effectively, and reliably and many factors that all Atmos Energy employees consider when performing their jobs. However, none is as important as safety.

Our commitment to safety is rooted in AtmoSpirit principles. Our focus on Employee Safety, System Safety, and Public Safety drives our procedures, practices, training, oversight, and assurance activities.

Safety isn’t just what we do, it is who we are.

In my more than 35 years at Atmos Energy, my position has changed, but my focus has always been on safety. I am inspired by the unwavering commitment of our employees to protecting their coworkers and their communities. It is a shared vision that unites us.

John McDill, Senior Vice President of Utility Operations

Pipeline Safety

Pipelines are the safest mode of energy transportation and are highly regulated by both federal and state requirements. Over the years, the landscape of the natural gas industry has changed substantially, with new technologies, evolving customer needs, and increasingly stringent safety regulations. These changes advance natural gas's safe transportation and delivery to customers and communities. Atmos Energy’s holistic approach to safety includes focusing on our system's long-term safety and reliability. In fiscal year 2022, we directed approximately 88% of our capital spending toward the continued modernization of the safety and reliability of our distribution, transmission, and storage systems.

Training For Safe Operations

Atmos Energy field employees receive extensive in-person, virtual, and hands-on training and participate in our Pipeline Safety Management System that provides continuous feedback.

Through our robust safety and technical training programs, our employees acquire the skills to perform their work safely. We utilize experienced Field Mentors in our operating divisions to support the delivery of hands-on safety and technical training, utilizing both virtual and in-person training sessions. In fiscal year 2022, employees completed over 94,000 hours of safety training. In 2022, we marked over 2 million hours of training at the Charles K. Vaughan Center since its opening in 2010. Learn more about our training and Atmos Energy Essentials in the Employees section of this report.

Safety Metrics

To assist in measuring our successes and finding opportunities for improvement, we evaluate our safety performance using a variety of metrics. Our current Recordable Injury Rate (RIR) and Days Away/Restricted/Transfer Injury Rate (DART) have both decreased when compared to 2016. In addition, our Reportable Motor Vehicle Collision Rate (RMVC) outperforms the American Gas Association (AGA) industry average for vehicular safety.

Recordable Injury Rate (RIR)
(per 200,000 hours worked)
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

4.07

 

3.82

 

3.02

 

2.96

 

2.42

 

2.40

 

2.77

 
2016201720182019202020212022
Days Away/Restricted/Transfer Injury Rate (DART)
(per 200,000 hours worked)
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0

2.14

 

1.99

 

1.56

 

1.64

 

1.36

 

1.44

 

1.47

 
2016201720182019202020212022
Reportable Motor Vehicle Collision Rate (RMVC)
(per 1,000,000 miles driven)
5.8
5.6
5.4
5.2
5.0
4.8
4.6

5.48

 

4.97

 

5.36

 

5.12

 

5.61

 

5.51

 

5.52

 
2016201720182019202020212022

AGA Peer Review Program

To reinforce our commitment to safety, Atmos Energy actively participates in the AGA’s voluntary Peer Review Program, which aims to support continuous improvement in safety and other important aspects of the natural gas industry. Each year, we collaborate with industry peers to discuss best practices and identify key areas and opportunities for improvement. Atmos Energy joined 10 other natural gas companies to pilot the Peer Review Program in 2013 and develop the foundation for what has become a nationwide industry effort to advance safety further.

Reducing Third-Party Pipeline Damage

With increasing public infrastructure projects and expanding economic development, damage to our pipelines resulting from excavation remains a primary safety risk. We continue to be a champion for damage prevention by promoting to our customers, communities, and excavators safe digging practices and the importance of contacting 811 through proactive awareness efforts. These efforts include community events, social media, and public relations activities.

Our robust, multi-channel safety awareness strategy includes proactive public awareness campaigns, community events, media, and continued relationships with regulators, city leaders, and first responders. Additionally, we communicate natural gas safety information to our customers and the public through bill inserts, on-hold messaging, signage, and customer e-mails.

Atmos Energy’s Damage Prevention Ambassador program empowers employees to actively monitor our system and make stops at excavation sites to educate the public and promote safe digging practices, including contacting 811. If our Ambassadors find that the excavators have an invalid or expired 811 ticket, or their excavation plan includes the use of mechanized equipment within the utility tolerance zone without first exposing the utilities, they will ask the excavator to cease digging immediately. In these cases, digging will not resume until utilities have marked their lines, as required under state law. In calendar year 2022, our Ambassadors performed 48,000 stops and distributed more than 23,000 pieces of literature to excavators and home owners. This is one more way we put our safety vision into action.

Over the past five years, due to strong economic development and population growth in our service territories and our damage prevention awareness efforts, the number of locate tickets we have received has continued to trend upward, but the number of damages caused by third parties per locate ticket has trended downward from 2.68 in calendar year 2018 to 2.56 in calendar year 2022.

Public Safety, Emergency Preparedness, and Emergency Response

Our First Responder Natural Gas Workshops provide emergency response teams with detailed information and procedures to work around natural gas and carbon monoxide safely.

We coordinate with local fire departments and other first responders to assist in emergency responses during a natural gas leak.

We prepare and maintain local emergency plans for specific operating areas, and local supervisors conduct annual reviews of these plans. We also conduct tabletop exercises and emergency plan refresher training to confirm readiness and preparedness. During an emergency, our Incident Command System (ICS) provides guidance and instruction to Atmos Energy Emergency Responders, who follow the “H-E-L-P” action procedure—Determine Hazard, Extent of Hazard, Protect Life, and Protect Property. More information on our first responder partnerships can be found here.

We partner with regulators, local community groups, and first responders to advance pipeline safety awareness and emergency response efforts.

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