The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System: A Systems Engineering Case Study

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) was constructed between 1974 and 1977 in response to the 1973 oil crisis. It conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska to the port of Valdez in the southeast, a distance of over 800 miles (1,300 km). Building the pipeline system meant dealing with a multiplicity of complex design and management decisions that involved engineering, environmental, political, legal, security, financial, and other issues. A decision was made to run most of the pipeline above ground, supported by permafrost, which engendered an innovative and creative set of solutions. An interesting major concern was to find a way not to interfere with the annual caribou migration. Security was (and is) a big issue. Some unanticipated risks also arose, some with unintended consequences. This paper examines the responses to myriad challenges, examining it from a systems engineering and systems thinking viewpoint. Questions for discussion are suggested so that this can be used as a case study in a course on systems engineering or systems thinking.