Knowledge Transfer Approach
WECC Knowledge Transfer Task Force
Tools & Methods to Survive Retirements and Departures
Monday 11-Mar-2019
Bob Case
Black Hills Corporation
NERC Compliance Manager
(605) 721-2716
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Agenda • Who is Black Hills Corporation (BHC)
• Who is Black Hills Energy (BHE)
• Who is Black Hills Power (BHP)
� Trick Question: essentially all the same
• BHC is defined by the Values we embrace
• Operations Overview
• NERC Internal Compliance Program
� Strive for everything being documented
� Strive for everything being readily accessible
• Concepts fit many organizations (or)
• How this approach fits into enterprise GRC
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We are a customer focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of exemplary service and a vision to be the
energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves over 1.2 million electric and natural gas
utility customers in nearly 800 communities in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and
Wyoming. The company generates wholesale electricity and produces natural gas, crude oil and coal. Employees partner to
produce results that improve our customers’ lives with energy.
UtilitiesGasArkansas
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Nebraska
Wyoming*
ElectricSouth Dakota
Colorado
Wyoming*
Non-regulated EnergyPower GenerationBlack Hills Electric
Generation
Coal MiningWyodak
Resources
*Utility supplies electric and
gas service to Cheyenne,
Wyoming and vicinity and
gas service to northeast
and northwest Wyoming
Overview
Natural Gas Utilities
Electric Utilities
Power Generation
Coal Mine
Corporate Office
Company Headquarters
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Black Hills NERC Internal Compliance Program
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Black Hills NERC Internal Compliance Program
Culture
Vision-Mission-ValuesPolicies Procedures
� ICP Program Approved by Corporate Compliance Committee
� Patterned after other BHC Group Compliance Programs
� Supported by a NERC Leadership Team (NLT)
� NTL has Defined Roles and Responsibilities
� Annual Internal Reviews
� Use OATI webCompliance� Standards Awareness� Evidence Archives� Tracking Progress
� Training� Annual NERC Refresher� Security Awareness� Annual NERC Culture Survey
� 80% of Questions can be answered on the friendly NERC Compliance web page
�Improving Life with Energy
�Be the Energy Partner of Choice
�Nine Company Values
� Corporate Code of Business Conduct
� NERC Compliance Dept is a Facilitator
� Compliance is Owned by Operations
� Compliance is Executed by Operations
� Compliance is Assessed by Operations
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Black Hills NERC Compliance Department
� 85 Standards
� 25 Primary Standard Owners
� 72 Subject Matter Experts
� 12 External Reviewers
� 86 NERC Leadership Team Members
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
Ben French
First President
of what is now
Black Hills Corp…
… and home of the friendly
NERC Compliance web page
Intended to answer 80% of
stakeholder NERC
Compliance Questions
“Ben” acts as the
front end to the BHC
Enterprise Content
Management system
(ECM)
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
A bit like “Cliff Notes”…
The BHC NERC Compliance
favorite links to regulatory
partners.
If NERC Compliance thinks
they are important, then all the
BHC supporting team
members should as well.
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
Regulatory websites have gotten much better over the past
decade, but still can be difficult to navigate
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
… can’t tell the players without a Program!
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
“Ben” is the real
compliance dept at
BHC. Those of us
with ‘compliance’ in
our title… just keep
it properly fed.
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
“Ben” acts as the
front end to the
BHC enterprise
content
management
system (ECM)
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
More BHC NERC Compliance "Process“ Tools
“Ben” acts as the
front end to the
BHC enterprise
content
management
system (ECM)
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
BHC Open Enforcement Actions - NRC-01-006
This is a record of all open and closed OEA's with a history of each OEA including
Reference #, Business Unit, Requirement & NERC ID#, Next Action, Status, and NOAV $ Exposure.
**Link restricted to the NERC Leadership Team
NERC Penalty Guideline
This is a statement of how NERC calculates violation penalties. Although this document hints at following FERC
policy, the computational basis of this NERC guideline is still the VRF/VSL $1,000,000 per day table.
FERC Penalty Calculator
This tool is a spreadsheet translation of the FERC 17-Sep-2010 Docket PL10-4-000 on likely financial consequences of
a violation considering actual and potential harm, and entity culpability.
NERC Enforcement Sanctions
This link identifies who has paid what in Penalties throughout NERC U.S. Jurisdiction
Note: Read the above link page carefully to find the specific links to the Public CIP or non-CIP Notice of Penalties.
Once there, users need to scroll to the right to find the $$$ amount of the penalties.
NERC Violation Statistics
Non-confidential violation statistics and other key compliance and enforcement metrics and trends as presented to
the NERC Board of Trustees Compliance Committee (BOTCC)
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The 80% Information Solution - Ben
“Ben” acts as the
interface for internal
NERC training
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Summary of BHC NERCKnowledge Transfer
• Prevent the need for retiree/job change knowledge transfer
• Keep job knowledge out of heads and into organization systems
� All the important bits are written down
• All knowledge is in a centralized data storage system
� Accessible to the right people at any time
• Knowledge is accessible through a user-friendly front end
• Once this knowledge transfer process is initiated, it becomes
self-perpetuating and a bit addictive
� But it does not happen overnight; rather evolutionary
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Next Steps / Opportunities
• Leverage this built-in knowledge pool for risk assessment
� Where are limited resources most needed?
• Leverage this built-in knowledge pool for situational awareness
� What needs to be updated & when & by whom?
� Where are there gaps in the knowledge pool?
• Leverage this built-in knowledge pool for training
� Structure outlines a ready-made training plan
� 80% of the answers… “Have you checked on Ben?”
• How might it get even better?
� Move beyond spreadsheets and Outlook Reminders to more advanced
data management platforms