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What is the PODS™ Association address and phone number?
Correspondence may be addressed to:
PODS Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 1726
Sand Springs, OK 74063
You may phone the PODS association at 918-246-9343 or toll free at
866-460-PODS (7637).
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How long has the PODS Association existed?
PODS Association was formally incorporated in August, 2000. The PODS
technical working committee first met in August, 1998.
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Why was PODS formed?
In 1998, a small number of application developers were asked by the
Gas Research Institute (GRI) to help speed the development of an expanded
ISAT data model. These individuals (the GRI Working Group) generously
donated their companies’ time, expertise and intellectual property
to extend the original ISAT data model by adding important functionality
and significantly expanding the original scope of ISAT. The effort
has taken a very pragmatic approach with the goal of developing data
model standards in the pipeline industry with an emphasis in the area
of geo-spatial GIS technology.
The main objective of the initial effort - called Pipeline Open Data
Standard or PODS (ISAT 2.0) - was to stimulate discussion and:
- support the need to form a self funding organization, consisting of
both pipelines and all the various applications developers, data vendors
and service providers representing more than just GIS platforms,
- suggest the adoption of a formal not-for-profit trade association
with bylaws, various types of memberships, and membership fees supported
by an annual budget,
- suggest an initial slate of officers as interim Board members,
- publish a timetable to promote discussion towards initiating the Association
- publish a "White Paper" report to present new ideas and
accelerate any technical discussions.
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How do I receive a copy of the PODS™ data model?
New PODS Association member companies receive the current release of
the PODS data model in Oracle 9i and SQL*Server 2000 DDL implementation
scripts and documentation. PODS members continue to receive new updates
and ongoing releases of the model as they are developed by the PODS
Technical Committee.
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What is Open about the PODS™ data model?
The word Open in the Association's name refers to several key mandates
of the Association:
- that the technologies used for model development strive to be
open and independent of platform or vendor,
- that membership be open to any company, association, agency or
individual,
- that membership direct the activities and priorities of the Association,
- that data model standards developed are non-proprietary,
- that members vote to approve the all proposed data standards,
- that funding is raised through membership fee, compliance fees,
and sponsorship by members.
The Intellectual Property (IP) of the PODS data model itself is owned
by the PODS Association, Inc. The PODS data model is not a public
domain data model and is only available to members.
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What do I receive for my membership in the PODS™ Association?
Only Voting Members have the right to cast a ballot in the model approval
process and for other substantial issues regarding the Association's
business.
All new members receive the most recent published copy of the approved
model and any interim models which may be distributed in the membership
period. The model distribution package includes DDL statements
(SQL92 Entry Level Standard) for Oracle RDBMS and SQL*Server, entity
relationship diagrams, table and column structures, primary and foreign
key constraints. Detailed comments are provided for most database
objects. Additionally, entity and attribute definitions are provided.
Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server or other common proprietary
software may be needed to view the entire Model. The text is in PDF
format.
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What about Documentation?
With the PODS 4.0 release, the Technical Committee has provided approximately
1000 pages of documentation in RTF and HTML format. More documentation
will be provided with subsequent releases as well as domain ranges
for code lookups.
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Who are the members of the Association?
The membership includes many categories within the gas and hazardous
liquids pipeline industry including oil & gas companies, service
providers, data and software vendors, regulatory agencies and research
organizations. The membership is international, with members from
all over the world. Pipeline membership includes Gathering, Transmission
and Distribution operators. View the Member
Roster.
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Is work group or committee work mandatory?
No. We believe that the greater the number of working experts available
to be involved in the workgroups, the more business driven the model
will be. Being involved in a workgroup is also an important means
to assure that your business requirements are met. Remember that these
work groups bring some of the foremost experts in their subject areas
together around one table; that in itself is an exciting activity
to be part of. It's also a great way to build your own network of
personal contacts for sharing solutions. Member companies are encouraged
to have several individuals participating, each on different work
groups. Learn more about our Work
Groups and Committees.
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If I get involved in a work group or committee how much time will
it involve?
There are no rules regarding the number of hours required when joining
a work group. Different roles within each work group require different
commitment levels. Work group members find the process of belonging
to a "virtual team" of experts a rewarding experience. Work
groups are encouraged to complete their tasks within a six month period.
Learn more about our Work Groups
and Committees.
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What is the difference between a committee and a work group?
A committee is a group of volunteers who are involved in decisions
at the governance or policy level of the Association. A work group
is a group of volunteers which are involved in the technology of modeling
a subject area. Learn more about our Work
Groups and Committees.
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Can I initiate a work group?
Absolutely; in fact, all work groups are started as a result of member
interest. Start-up of a work group begins with development of a charter
document that describes the intent and scope of the work group project.
The entire membership is solicited for participation and sponsorship
of the project, the Board of Directors approves the project and work
begins. In general, PODS™ Association prefers to see a mixed
representation from transmission companies, software vendors and data
vendors on each work group. Learn more about our Work
Groups and Committees.
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Where/how do the work groups meet?
Location and format are decided by the individual workgroups. Each
work group will have unique characteristics. In the past, meeting
locations have varied from city to city as required. Meetings can
be held in person, through teleconferencing, or via email. Learn more
about our Work Groups and Committees.
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If I'm not on a work group, how will I be informed about technical
changes?
The PODS™ Association also holds technical forums in various
cities to introduce and discuss the technical changes and directions
with the membership. Learn more about our Work
Groups and Committees.
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Does the PODS™ Association offer software or consulting services?
No. Many of our members are specialists in offering those types of
services to the oil & gas industry. We do not recommend or endorse
any particular member/firm and advise anyone looking for expertise
that they directly contact the individual firms.
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What is the news about PODS & APDM?
The PODS Association, ESRI, and APDM have signed a Memo of Understanding
that sets forth a framework for a close working relationship. Each
will maintain their autonomy while combining the PODS data standard
with the APDM template and thereby forming a working spatial component
of PODS called the PODS ESRI Geodatabase. The core classes of the
PODS ESRI Geodatabase will be a hybrid of the PODS Data Model standards
and the APDM template core classes, creating the ESRI spatial branch
of PODS.
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What is the news about PODS & Oracle Spatial?
The PODS Association and Oracle Spatial are developing the framework
for a close working relationship in order to create a working, Oracle
specific spatial application of PODS.
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What is a PODS Compliant model?
A PODS Compliant model is one where no objects are dropped, but new
tables and columns may be added. Please check the PODS
Compliance home page for more information.
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How can I achieve interoperability with the PODS model?
Interoperability is a multi-step standardization process. The first
step towards interoperability is to have a PODS
Compliant model. Other steps involve further standardization of
the model as well as data exchange standardizations. The Technical
Committee is currently setting standards and determining the best
process to achieve interoperability.
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Is the PODS Model copyright protected?
Yes, all versions of the PODS Model are and always have been copyright protected under United States copyright laws. The copyright is listed with the Library of Congress.
