With the fluctuation of oil prices lately, it’s natural for organizations within the oil and gas industry to worry about the uncertain times. As oil and gas producers examine questions about locking in demand and thriving during a period of oversupply, questions of efficiency improvements and business model adjustments are at the forefront.
A common mistake that companies make during difficult times, is to focus on cost-cutting measures. Typically, employees and the knowledge they possess is often the first casualty of any downturn. In order to succeed long term, an organization must protect the institutional knowledge that is critical for continued success and growth. The oil and gas industry has demonstrated the ability to be inventive by integrating new technology to address this problem. As an example, many organizations are using the current downtime to implement a knowledge management system to capture and archive important process and procedures information. As the industry recovers, these systems will guarantee employee learning and productivity improvements from the field to the boardroom. Simply stated, are you prepared to thrive in a business environment that is volatile and uncertain? While there are real challenges within the industry, opportunities exist to adjust and prosper into the future. For more information on how Accupoint can help you manage these uncertain times, contact us today. New technology continues to overwhelm and amaze us as faster and smaller devices with specific software continue to make a major difference in how we live our lives and conduct our work.
Unfortunately, access to new technology alone does not guarantee improved results. We've all heard stories of someone we know with a phone that doesn't understand how to do the simplest of tasks. Or of the company that purchased new computer hardware and software but never utilized it because the employees were fearful and uncertain of how to use it. Here are two helpful reminders when considering purchasing and installing new technology. First, the education and training of the workforce is just as important as the equipment itself. New technology touted to save your staff time and energy cannot work if the staff doesn't fully understand how to use it. Training and support are required. Be sure to factor into any purchase decision the ability for users to ask questions and then be willing to consistently evaluate if the software is working as it was intended.
The second consideration is a focus on mobile technology. The benefits of mobile computing are numerous and include: data capture in the field, ease of collaboration from multiple locations, and better decision making. This in turn improves efficiency, communication and profitability. Many organizations understand these benefits, but are not fully embracing it in their day to day operations. For more information on Accupoint's mobile solutions and our ability to empower employees and increase productivity in the manufacturing, energy and service industries, please contact us today. In today’s world, the only constant is change. As the pace of technological innovation quickens, organizations must develop effective ways to adapt their core business models. This fact is especially true in the energy sector, where legacy infrastructure and strict regulations make it challenging to stay on the cutting edge of digitization.
After all, it’s hard to transform a well-established energy company into a Silicon Valley-style tech company overnight. While large corporations like Shell and BP are working tirelessly to make this transition, most firms don’t have the resources of an international conglomerate at their disposal. Thankfully, there are a number of innovative solutions that can help any organization improve how they approach technology. One of the most promising trends for the energy sector is digital oilfield technology, which has the potential to revolutionize the industry. Let’s explore what a digital oilfield is and how it can benefit your company. What Is A Digital Oilfield? By definition, digital oilfield is a concept that enables organizations to maximize productivity, reduce cost, and minimize the risk associated with operations. When imagining a digital oilfield in action, it can be tempting to envision a high-tech operations center with hundreds of computer screens manned by dozens of experts. However, the inner workings of this new approach to oil and natural gas management are far more intricate. How Does A Digital Oilfield Work? In practice, a digital oilfield isn’t a physical location, but rather a collection of sophisticated hardware and software that helps to digitize the day-to-day operations. A typical technology stack includes sensors to monitor oil and natural gas extraction sites, servers to store incoming data streams, and software to analyze and interpret the information collected. Through this technology, digital oilfields empower decision-makers with up-to-date business intelligence, which can pay dividends for any organization. In fact, there are several impressive benefits associated with implementing a digital oilfield, including improved compliance, increased productivity, and responsive maintenance for critical systems. How Can Digitization Benefit Your Company? In the world of business, there are numerous benefits associated with digitization. When it comes to oil and natural gas processes, key benefits include:
As we have seen, digital oilfield technology provides organizations with some great benefits. If your company is looking to adopt digitization technologies, please contact the Accupoint team to find out how to the first steps. The global economy has produced a business environment that is becoming increasingly globalized and commoditized, forcing companies in all industries to look for viable modalities that ensure that they are able to develop and sustain a competitive edge. Indeed, companies in the oil and gas industry have not been able to escape the need to be more competitive, which begins with effectively creating long-term solutions that facilitate an increase in gross profit. Some of the most effective methods for increasing profit are through increasing operational efficiency and the reduction of fixed costs.
Understanding Operational Excellence In its simplest form, operational excellence can be understood as an integral component of organizational leadership that places great emphasis on multiples principles, tools and systems that work toward the sustainable improvement of identifiable central performance metrics. Achieving operational excellence, however, is quite challenging, especially when considering the increased complexity in the area of extreme remote operational environments. One of the most effective approaches that many companies in the petroleum industry are implementing is the complete integration of all processes and assets into an all-inclusive management system. In doing this, the potential for a more effective and efficient operational process, results in improvements to operational costs. Using Methodologies that Keep the Operational Process Connected One thing that we place substantial gravity on is not allowing the complexity of remote environments to foster disconnects between mechanisms and entities that control performance. When it comes to quality management, we integrate more than 64 operational modules into a single seamless, online management system. By connecting all of our client's compliance requirements with one comprehensive solution, we provide a highly detailed perspective of their operational compliance in all key areas. Integrated approaches to asset and operational management initially began with a goal of improving Process Safety Management (PSM) — with the primary focus being on HSE system efficiency. Due to the fact that oil and gas companies often operate in hostile environments, using hazardous materials and processes, it is imperative that these processes are effectively managed with a high level of precision and specificity in order to successfully avoid significant process-related accidents. This need for precision and safety resulted in the development of PSM programs and procedures that are normally housed within an HSE system. Now the idea of integrated processes has been taken to an entirely different level as we work to implement safety and operational efficiency into one single integrated process, through which all variables and components of the operational process can be monitored and managed, even when functioning in extreme and remote environments. Maximize Productivity While safety is always at the forefront of any operational process, we understand that time is money, and when time is being wasted on operational processes, the company is hemorrhaging money. As the nature of operational processes continue to increase in complexity, the ability to manage these processes through multiple mechanisms has become increasingly difficult — making it necessary to develop integrated process applications through which the entire operational system can be effectively managed. When high-paced operations require that API Spec Q1 and/or API Spec Q2 standards be met in multiple processes that are functioning simultaneously, integrating all required standards into one measurement mechanism helps to simplify the compliance and efficiency process. When there are multiple processes that must be managed through separate systems, it is easy to have a disconnect where there are intersecting mechanisms, but integrated solutions help to resolve this issue. We are able to facilitate operational excellence at a level that ensures that our clients are able to develop and sustain a competitive edge as well as maintain quality and safety compliance standards. For more information on how Accupoint Software can help your organization improve operational excellence please contact us today. Over the last decade, worldwide shale production has expanded, producing more than 40 billion cubic feet of dry shale gas per day, according to research from BP. The search for clean alternatives to coal has pushed demand for gas across the globe. Established shale producers may soon need to scale up in order to meet the demands of this growing market.
In order to ensure their place in this growing market, shale providers should consider the following industry problems and solutions: 1. Equipment and technology demands. By developing advanced drilling technology and techniques small energy companies that wish to take advantage of the healthy shale market and scale up their workflows must pursue similar strategies. Tracking the cost and productivity of old and existing equipment can help companies make informed decisions about what should be upgraded, and when. When it comes to meeting customer expectation, equipment management is paramount, and centralized control of maintenance schedules and downtime tracking ensures that providers will meet production obligations and avoid costly downtime due to equipment failures. 2. Supply chain and vendor management. Shale industry supply chains differ from those associated with more traditional energy products. Upstream workflow components center on complex infrastructure and require wide degrees of support, including specialized waste management and transportation services. The average shale pad contains more than 20 moving operational parts, all of which must operate together. Configuring supply chains of this magnitude is no easy task. Constructing processes on an as-needed basis can institutionalize inefficiencies and cause problems down the road. Communications solutions that push for point of contact cooperation with vendors and suppliers go a long way to developing effective processes that foresee future growth, and management resources that build upon vendor feedback capitalize on provider expertise and promote mutually beneficial relationships. 3. Workforce training. Specialists from a variety of industries must collaborate to get shale extraction sites up and running. From the construction teams to drill operators, these workflows are critical to operations. Companies ramping up their shale operations need to cultivate and expand their talent pools to meet the needs of this industry niche. In the current employment market, upskilling existing talent maybe the only workable solution. Oil and gas organizations can divert workers from verticals with declining prospects and retrain them for work in shale production teams. This move allows energy firms to boost their shale output without investing immense amounts in hiring and recruitment. Internal solutions that standardize training procedures and ensure constant upkeep of current training demands can weaponize a company’s current employee pool to meet the market and consumer demands. Together, these strategies can help businesses in the oil and gas industry take advantage of the continued acceleration and intensification of the shale gas revolution. To find out how Accupoint Software can help maximize your company’s growth potential, please contact us today. |
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