Privacy Policy
Introduction
This privacy policy (“Policy”) describes the information practices regarding how the Pipeline Simulation Interest Group, through its corporate entity, PSIG, Inc., (“PSIG”), collects, uses, discloses, or transfers the Personal Information that you share with us or that we collect about you when you become a PSIG member, attend one of our events, visit our websites, or use our mobile applications.
We care about the protection of your Personal Information and this Policy also describes your data subject rights and choices regarding the Personal Information that you provide to us. Please read this Policy carefully before providing Personal Information to PSIG.
Key Terms
It would be helpful to start by explaining some key terms used in this Policy:
| We, us, our, PSIG | PSIG, Inc. |
| Personal Information |
Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
An ‘identifiable natural person’ is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person. |
| Special category Personal Information | Personal Information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs or trade union membership; genetic and biometric data; and data concerning health, sex life or sexual orientation. |
Group Company Structure
PSIG is an independent group and is not affiliated with any other organization. It is administered by an executive council and operates in an unstructured, informal manner. PSIG does not have a designated establishment within the European Union. The place of central administration for PSIG is 945 McKinney, Ste #106, Houston, TX 77002, USA.
PSIG is a non-profit organization formed in 1969 and designated under IRS revenue code 501(c)(6). Its purpose is to facilitate the interchange of information and to advance the state of the art in modeling, simulation, optimization, steady-state and transient flows, single and multiphase flows, and related subjects as applied to fluid pipeline systems. To this end PSIG organizes and hosts an annual meeting at various locations around the world.
Accordingly, the Personal Information that we collect in furtherance of these objectives enables us to provide timely and relevant information and content based on individuals’ technical interests and geographic locations. This Policy will provide information regarding your choices and rights regarding how we use this Personal Information.
The scope of this Policy includes Personal Information collected through PSIG websites and subdomains, PSIG mobile applications, events, conferences, workshops, symposia, seminars, email correspondence, and any offline mechanisms including paper-based correspondence and forms. Additionally, the scope of this Policy includes Personal Information submitted to PSIG in pursuance of employment opportunities. Separate privacy policies exist for PSIG employees, consultants and contractors, where appropriate. Some PSIG affiliates, if and when constituted, may have their own privacy policy.
Collection of Personal Information
Personal Information that we collect directly from you
General – We collect Personal Information such as your address, email, telephone number(s), and other contact demographic and billing information.
Pursuing Employment at PSIG – We may receive Personal Information from you including, but not limited to, resumes, CVs, cover letters and other correspondence when you provide this information in pursuance of employment at PSIG.
Visiting Our Website – You may visit our website without registering, however Personal Information such as your name, address and company or affiliation name may be collected through completion of the “Contact Us” form. This Personal Information is provided by you on a voluntary basis and can be modified at any time through any of the communication channels listed under Contact Us at the bottom of this policy.
Conference Registration – In order to register for our annual conference, you will be required to provide Personal Information through the registration forms hosted on our web site. Personal Information collected for your registration includes, but is not limited to, your name, address, phone number, email, job title and company/affiliation name. We may also ask for your birthdate for identification purposes.
PSIG Membership – Membership of PSIG occurs when you register for our annual conference. No further Personal Information, other than that necessary for registration at the conference, is required. Membership of PSIG lasts for a period of 5 years. During that time we will contact you via electronic, or other, means with information regarding the activities of PSIG.
Associate PSIG Membership – Associate Membership of PSIG occurs when you express an interest in PSIG either by (i) a direct written request to be kept informed of PSIG activities or added to the PSIG mailing list, (ii) by checking the “Add me to the PSIG mailing list” check box when requesting information by completing and submitting the form on the “Contact Us” page, or (iii) submitting a paper or a paper abstract for our annual conference or any other conference or event organized by PSIG, or (iv) register for a seminar, workshop, tutorial or short course hosted and/or delivered by PSIG.
Education, Events, and Publications – In order to keep our members up to date with educational opportunities, events and publications we will periodically send out emails to our membership. All PSIG correspondence, other than receipts and order confirmations will provide you with an opportunity to unsubscribe if you no longer prefer to receive future correspondence. You may choose to opt out of receiving correspondence by email; however, please note that PSIG may still process this Personal Information to contact you in connection with PSIG official business where we are not relying on your consent for the processing.
Amendment and Deletion of Personal Information – All Personal Information collected by electronic means through online registration pages, email, text messages, etc. is provided by you on a voluntary basis and can be modified at any time through any of the communication channels listed under Contact Us at the bottom of this policy. To have Personal Information permanently deleted contact privacy@psig.org, however, keep in mind that deleting Personal Information having registered for the annual conference will cancel your conference registration.
Personal Information that we automatically collect
Internet Protocol (IP) Address – psig.org automatically records the IP address of your computer when you access the site as well as the time and date of access. This information does not identify you personally, nor does it contain your name or email address.
Website Usage – Additionally, we use a third-party vendor to track PSIG website usage traffic. Personal information is collected via third-party cookies, but the information is provided back to PSIG in aggregate form only. This enables us to continue to analyze our web content and usage patterns while keeping the information anonymous within PSIG. Furthermore, this information is kept in server logs that are separate from customer personal information for further protection. We may also track certain Personal Information using third-party analytics providers.
Cookies – When you visit our web site, we may place a cookie on your computer that will allow us to track your visit to our site and help us to improve the site. The cookies will not provide PSIG with any personally identifiable information about you.
Personal Information that we may collect indirectly
General – It is not the practice of the PSIG to collect Personal Information indirectly.
Third-Parties – While it is not our practice to buy details from external providers of marketing lists, there may still be occasions where we receive data about you from a third-party.
Special Category Personal Information
It is not our intention to collect or process Special Category Personal Information. However, if we believe that it is necessary, we will only do so with your explicit consent.
How We Use your Personal Information
We will only use your Personal Information if we have a proper reason for doing so, e.g.:
- to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
- for the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract;
- for our legitimate interests or those of a third-party; or
- where you have given consent.
A legitimate interest is when we have a business or commercial reason to use your information, so long as this is not overridden by your own rights and interests.
In more detail, we process certain types of Personal Information for the reasons below:
General – We use Personal Information about our members and attendees of our events in order to provide these individuals with services and goods in performance of our contract with them.
IP Address – PSIG may use your IP address to personalize information to the location from which you are browsing, for the purpose of diagnosing problems with the PSIG server and to administer the website.
PSIG Membership – PSIG uses Personal Information in support of and to provide members with information in connection with their membership and with goods and services in which they have an interest, such as announcements regarding the annual conference, as well as events, and other products and information of interest to you. We have a legitimate interest in processing Personal Information for these reasons.
Date of birth is used for the purpose of identification and policing of age restricted events and venues. Credit card information may be collected and provided to a payment processor in order to facilitate billing but is not stored. We have a legitimate interest in processing Personal Information for these reasons.
Annual Conference – The Personal Information PSIG collects is used to allow PSIG to communicate with you regarding the annual conference and allied events, process your transaction effectively and efficiently, and plan future events, programs and services to better serve you. We have a legitimate interest in processing Personal Information for these reasons.
Pursuing Employment at PSIG – Personal Information collected in pursuit of employment is used solely in connection with employment applications. Resumes and CVs are kept for up to one year after the position has been filled. We have a legitimate interest in processing Personal Information for these reasons.
How We Share Your Personal Information
General – We do not sell Personal Information to anyone and only share it with third-parties in accordance with this Policy to facilitate PSIG business and services.
PSIG Membership – PSIG does not share member Personal Information with data processors with regards membership administration.
Events and Conferences – We share your Personal Information to facilitate events and conferences that you choose to attend including sharing your Personal Information with hotels, catering companies, and payment processors. Attendee Personal Information allows data processors to provide relevant services for a specific event or conference. Exhibitor Personal Information is provided to vendors to enable event facilitation.
Personal Information related to any transaction or purchase that you have made (such as event registration) is reconciled with a data processor.
Publications – The Personal Information of authors is carefully gathered during the publication process and shared with data processors in order to build out a comprehensive library of content for purchase or download on OnePetro® online library. Photos of speakers and event attendees are sometimes made available publicly in online/print materials for promotional purposes and/or to recognize those individuals.
Security and Third-Party Links
Security – The security of your Personal Information is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. As such we make no warranties as to the level of security afforded to your data, except that we will always act in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations. We will ensure that in our contracts with data processors we are given all appropriate guarantees as to the use and security of your Personal Information and that the Personal Information may not be processed other than in accordance with our instructions.
It is important that you keep your PSIG data and account profile information private in order to further protect your Personal Information.
Third-Party Sites – PSIG links to third-party sites. These sites contain privacy statements that govern the use of your Personal Information when you are using their websites. PSIG does not have any responsibility regarding the processing of your Personal Information on these external websites. Please be sure to review the privacy policies on these third-party websites before sharing your Personal Information with them.
Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to accomplish the purpose for which it was originally collected (or as otherwise set forth in this Policy,) – unless we are required to hold the information in order to meet additional legal or regulatory requirements.
Personal Information provided for membership via conference attendance, or through a direct request to be added to the PSIG email distribution list, will be retained in order to communicate planned future conferences for a period of at least 20 years of lapsed membership. We will not retain any more Personal Information than we need to identify if and when you were formerly a member of PSIG. You always have the right to request us to delete your record entirely (see below).
Personal Information including your name, job title, company name and email address that has been provided for membership via conference attendance may, with express consent, be available to other attendees within the PSIG conference app (or other PSIG managed conference communication vehicle). This information will be used to facilitate person-to-person communication during the conference. Such information will only be available for a period of 4 weeks after the conference.
Your Choices and Your Rights as a Data Subject
You have the right to obtain from PSIG confirmation as to whether or not we hold Personal Information concerning you in our databases. You have the right to access any Personal Information that we hold on you (with certain restrictions) and, in addition, you maintain the rights below:
| Access | The right to be provided with a copy of your Personal Information (the right of access) |
| Rectification | The right to require us to correct any mistakes in your Personal Information |
| To be forgotten | The right to require us to delete your Personal Information—in certain situations |
| Restriction of processing | The right to require us to restrict processing of your Personal Information—in certain circumstances, e.g. if you contest the accuracy of the data |
| Data portability | The right to receive the Personal Information you provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and/or transmit that data to a third-party—in certain situations |
| To object |
The right to object:
§ at any time to your Personal Information being processed for direct marketing (including profiling); § in certain other situations to our continued processing of your Personal Information, e.g. processing carried out for the purpose of our legitimate interests. |
| Not to be subject to automated individual decision-making | The right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) that produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you |
Transfer of Data to the US
We have our main office in the United States (“US”). Personal Information that we collect from you will be processed in the US. We collect and transfer Personal Information to the US only with your consent, to perform a contract with you, or fulfil a legitimate interest of PSIG in a manner that does not outweigh your rights.
Children’s Privacy
PSIG services are not designed to target children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 16. If we become aware of Personal Information that was inadvertently obtained from children under the age of 16, we will eliminate this Personal Information immediately from our databases.
Changes to This Policy
This Policy was last updated on the date indicated below. Your continued use of PSIG services after any changes or revisions to this Policy shall indicate your agreement with the terms of such revised Policy.
This Policy has been updated and is in effect as the date indicated below. PSIG reserves the right to change or update this Policy from time to time so please check back regularly to stay informed of updates.
Contact Information – Questions, Concerns or Complaints
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact PSIG:
- by general mail at PSIG, Inc., 945 McKinney, Ste #106, Houston, TX 77002, USA
- using our website contact form available at www.psig.org
- by email, using privacy@psig.org.
Information for International Members
PSIG is the Data Controller for the purposes of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). Data subjects in the EU are encouraged to contact us regarding questions, concerns, or interests in exercising data subject rights as per the GDPR. We hope that we can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your information. If not, contact the Information Commissioner at ico.org.uk/concerns/ or telephone: 0303 123 1113 for further information about your rights and how to make a formal complaint.
Date of Policy
August 27, 2018