Pipeline People
Jim Foster
SCADA Analyst
Published May 2007

As a SCADA Analyst for Alyeska, Jim Foster is responsible for the design and development of the software for the new control systems being installed as part of Strategic Reconfiguration (SR). SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. It is the main maintenance and operation system for TAPS. This software is essentially the “brains” for how the new system will operate following the complete upgrades of the new facilities.

Jim grew up in Nome, a community in northwestern Alaska located on the shores of the Bering Sea, as the second oldest of nine brothers and sisters. His father, Richard Foster, is the senior member of the House of Representatives, serving now in his 10th two-year term in the legislature. Jim graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University and is currently pursuing his Professional Engineer’s license.

Prior to the SR upgrades, the SCADA system on TAPS dated back to the 1980s and relied on human operators stationed along the pipeline to monitor the equipment. The new system uses automated and remotely operated systems, which are more efficient and reliable because they constantly monitor, collect and analyze information from an entire pipeline to help operators better understand, predict and manage actions up and down the pipeline. Jim has spent the past few years traveling to various locations along the pipeline helping replace the existing equipment at the stations with the new software.

Click here to view a short video profile and learn more about Jim and the work he does.