Shell – Facility Risk Review

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Submitted by Shell

Impact

Reduced occurrence of high-impact surprise events and their associated integrity and reliability impact.

We have implemented this process across our portfolio in 2014 and have witness a significant reduction in the occurrence of the most significant integrity and reliability related events.

 

Description of Best Practice

We have implemented a process for more pro-active and holistic risk management of technical risks during the Operate phase of the asset lifecycle. The process rigorously prioritises key risks and leads to higher quality integration of technical knowledge and insight into business decision making. The process lends itself particularly well to late-life assets where prioritisation of resources, as well as pro-active management of high impact risks (integrity and reliability) is particularly relevant.

Key components of the process and the associated infrastructure are:

  • the role of dedicated risk screener in the asset
  • a central database
  • a structured process to bring different discipline input together in an efficient way
  • an approach to engage staff and leaders in the company to  increase awareness, common understanding and skill in risk management
  • an approach to engage staff and leaders in the company to  increase awareness, common understanding and skill in risk management

 

Time and cost of internal tank inspections lowered by Cyberhawk

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Cyberhawk Innovations has improved the safety, time and cost of inspecting cargo oil tanks on operational FPSOs using Remotely Operated Aerial Vehicles (ROAVs).

Maersk Oil, which owns and operates the Gryphon FPSO in the UKCS, traditionally inspected cargo tanks for integrity, damage assessment and class certification using rope access technicians who were suspended on ropes to inspect the tank structure, focusing on areas of high stress such as stiffeners, brackets, bracing, webs and stringers.

However, carrying out a visual inspection of the tank using Cyberhawk’s ROAV – Cyberhawk mobilised an experienced two-man ROAV team consisting of an ROAV pilot and inspection engineer – garnered many benefits.

Human risk factors presented by rope access such as working at height for sustained periods and in confined spaces were reduced. The inspection of the critical components of the tank was completed within a day, in comparison with rope access which would usually take between three and four days and significant cost savings were made. In turn, Maersk Oil could identify and more efficiently plan for any possible contact based inspections in both this and other tanks.

This inspection technique can now be applied to all large internal tanks, on vessels such as FPSOs, bulk carriers and tankers.

Malcolm Connolly, Cyberhawk’s technical director and founder, said: “We and Maersk Oil were keen to develop an effective ROAV inspection method for FPSO cargo oil tanks as well as other tanks and storage vessels. Not only have we removed one of the most significant risks associated with tank inspection, working at height, but we have also highlighted the significant cost and time savings achieved by ROAV inspection.”

Shell – Optimum frequency to perform well integrity tests

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Submitted by Shell

Impact

  • Reduced planned losses associated with nominal fixed period well integrity testing frequency
  • Increased level of assurance on well integrity
  • Increased ability to pro-actively manage well integrity

Description of Best Practice

We have developed a method for deriving appropriate Christmas tree and downhole safety valve test frequencies using a statistical model. The model is based on actual historical valve integrity test data gathered in the field. Provided sufficient data is available, the method allows for test intervals to be set based on real and actual performance data (where available) and move away from fixed-term guidance in an appropriate and risk-based manner.

Contact: Wessel de Haas, Shell

BP – Improving offshore efficiency through continuous improvement workshops with key offshore contractors

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Submitted by BP

Impact

The actions taken as a result of these workshops have made a real impact on our offshore efficiency.

For example, in January 2015 we began working with Cape, BP’s main scaffolding, insulation and painting provider, to identify opportunities to increase efficiency of painting operations.

Research showed it was taking 10.4 hours to paint each square metre of pipework on our platforms, two hours more than the KPI target. The team found that due to the small number of paint and equipment stores on the platform, painting teams were walking up to 10.5km on a typical job.

Additional equipment storage stations were therefore positioned around the platform for easier access, with time savings per job estimated to be 40%.

Changes were also made to the spray pumps being used, which has reduced the time taken to effectively apply the paint.

Description of Best Practice

BP is working with its key offshore contractors to identify opportunities for continuously improving offshore efficiency. One project focused on reducing the time taken to paint pipework led to time savings of 40% per job.

Improving levels of productivity offshore is one of our key focus areas to enable us to increase our competitiveness. We have been working collaboratively with a number of our key offshore contractors to understand the barriers preventing higher levels of productivity on maintenance activities across our platforms.

Through continuous improvement workshops with our contractors we have been able to identify specific actions we can take to utilise technicians’ time more efficiently.

Such actions include:

  • Better control of materials offshore – locating the materials required for a specific job close to the work site, thereby reducing the time spent walking to and from material stores.
  • Increased focus on planning of work scopes – ensuring the right permits, materials and people are in the right place at the right time.
  • Increased time for supervisor site visits – leading to better supervision of work and faster resolution of issues.

Contact: Sarah Hodgkinson, BP

BP – Reducing costs of hired equipment offshore

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Submitted by BP
Impact

Through implementing these changes, BP expects to generate a significant reduction against hired equipment no longer required.

Having been successfully implemented on one platform, this solution will be rolled out across BP’s North Sea assets.

Description of Best Practice

BP identified a Region-wide trend of hired equipment remaining offshore long after use, generating charges to BP for every day spent offshore. On one platform for example, just one piece of equipment generated £48K in overdue charges.

A project team set about quantifying the extent and root causes of the problem, with a view to significantly reducing overspend.

Following the review, they put in place a number of changes to ensure improved management of hired equipment:

  • Simpler process for registering all hired equipment – improving the visibility of costs.
  • New tagging system to clearly identify status of hired equipment – providing a coherent method for managing and tracking hired equipment from the initial order right through to return to vendors.
  • Increased collaboration with on and offshore SPAs – ensuring only that equipment which is required is sent offshore.

Contact: Sarah Hodgkinson, BP

WorleyParsons- Track and Trace

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Submitted by WorleyParsons

Impact

Cost Efficiency for Customers
Track and Trace offers a direct cost benefit to the industry.  This is evident from a Flotel campaign in 2014 which resulted in savings of circa £750K for the customer through reduction of non prodcutive time offshore, no material losses and therefore no reorder costs.  The technology provided cost and schedule predictability thus mitigating project delivery risks.

Considering the number of projects operating in the UKCS and facing similar material management challenges, the potential for cost savings for the industry with the use of this technology will be substantial.

Potential for more
While WorleyParsons has successfully utilised this on a project basis, it is commonplace in other sectors to use it to manage inventory and logistics at a cross enterprise level.  For example a major retailer will typically manage global inventory, order requirements, enterprise stock levels, all material movements, and point of sale order fulfilment for hundreds of stores, from several geographically diverse distribution centres in a globally integrated Supply Chain.

The potential exists for similar enterprise wide control of material logistics management across multiple projects, customers and stakeholders within the Oil & Gas Sector in order to deliver even greater efficiencies

WorleyParsons and DAI can present to the ETF the significant transformative change in efficiency that has been achieved to date by using this technology and best practice from other industry sectors. In addition, and from direct experience, we can highlight further efficiency gains which the technology has enabled in those industries.

We are aware of the Efficiency Task Force activity on digital warehousing and would like to investigate any potential efficiency savings in working Track and Trace and digital warehousing together.

Description of Best Practice

WorleyParson’s Track & Trace programme controls and tracks the movement of materials across the globe.  Delivered in partnership with DAI, it is a proven technology and has the capability of being extended from its current ‘per project’ focus to a ‘cross enterprise’ focus, and potentially a ‘cross sector’ focus.

Track & Trace Programme – Summary of Current Position

Track & Trace has been deployed on ConocoPhillips Alder, Talisman Montrose Arbroath Area Redevelopment, BP Clair Ridge Hook Up and Talisman HUC projects.

DAI’s mature, cross industry proven product is used by ASDA, Tesco, DHL, Adidas, Coca Cola, among  others, to manage business critical material logistics functions across their internal and external supply chains.

Track & Trace has been developed specifically to meet the unique Oil and Gas sector challenges.  It tracks the movement and status of materials and tools across the global supply chain from supplier to point of installation offshore.

The solution ensures that the right materials get to the right place at the right time with the right certification and are correctly issued for use against the right job cards / work orders.  In doing so it provides real time visibility of progress to stakeholders.  It also integrates with existing procurement and project management systems for improved planning and management decisions based on real time inventory status.

Track & Trace mitigates project delivery risks by limiting schedule impact due to key material losses.  It reduces material re-orders, manual data errors, warehousing inefficiency, material contingency purchases, mis-identification, mis-use, material reconcialiation costs and non certification.

The factors noted here work together to ensure that Track & Trace helps in reducing cost, time, and wastage – whilst increasing safety, effciency, predicatability and integrity.

Furthermore, at the end of the project the delivered asset has a full auditable history in place for every component part.  This can then feed forward into Operations and Maintenance, and through eventually into decommissioning.

Initial results from the Talisman MAR project 5 month flotel campaign show 99.96% of project materials being receipted and  issued offshore, on schedule, along with complete certification records. (i.e. 4998 out of a total of 5000 line items)

Contact: Roy Choudhury, WorleyParsons

BG Group – launches efficiency drive by reducing ‘dead’ time and empowering workforce

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Submitted by BG Group

Impact

Expected to significantly reduce ‘dead time’ on installations.

Description of Best Practice

BG Group intends to make its offshore platforms more efficient by significantly reducing ‘dead time’ on installations and empowering the offshore workforce to carry out scheduling and planning.

By enabling employees offshore, rather than logistics coordinators based onshore, to manage materials, plan projects and schedule jobs, the right parts, people and processes should be in place when a job is due to begin. So-called ‘dead time’, common when tasks are delayed, should reduce and efficiency increase.

The company has embarked on the second phase of a £300 million investment in its London and Everest platforms, 140 miles east of Aberdeen.

The North Everest platform has produced since the early 1990s and investment is required to enable it to safely produce to 2025 and beyond. Operating costs must also come down to ensure that it remains economic for as long as possible.

Read the full BBC story here.

ConocoPhillips – sharing in the supply chain

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Submitted by ConocoPhillips

Impact

Third party operator faced a very costly delay in imminent drilling operations (three months) in the absence of the equipment that was shared.

Description of Best Practice

Who hasn’t had a neighbour knock on your door to ask if they can borrow something?  A lawnmower, rake or a power tool perhaps.  But borrowing a riser equipment system costing £1.5MM?

That was the request that ConocoPhillips received on Wednesday 2 September.  The request came through the supply chain and was ultimately for a third party operator.   The supplier to the third party operator had suffered a manufacturing delay and needed the equipment imminently for ongoing operations over the next six months.

ConocoPhillips reviewed its needs and assessed that it did not need the equipment in the requested time frame.  With the right attitude and cooperation between all parties the necessary arrangements were put in place within the week.  The riser equipment was mobilised with no delays incurred in the third party operations.

Lawyers are very often the last party in the chain when it comes to negotiating agreements and occasionally are seen as a bottleneck in the process.  In this case, in the absence of a standard agreement, they moved quickly to draw up something fit for purpose.

External Affairs Manager Barry King comments: “I was only briefly involved when the request came in but I was curious to find out how it had concluded.  I asked a few questions and was so pleased with the behaviours and outcome that I felt the need to share the story with others.”

Contact: Barry King, ConocoPhillips (U.K.) Limited

The role of the QC

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Submitted by TechnipFMC

Impact

The main focus of the project so far has been to gain an understanding of the here and now, what works well or not so well, what are the challenges that we face and what are the potential opportunities.

This has been carried out in a structured manner that will allow the project to move to the next stage; this being to analyse this VOC and data, and there is huge amount to work through, and define and assess the improvement opportunities across the six specific areas.

Only then will we start to define and agree the changes and improvements that we should make. The results of the analysis and recommendations for change will form the next article on this project.

Description of Best Practice

“Quality cannot be inspected into a product or service; it must be built into it.”

W Edwards Deming

The use of QC inspection is an accepted process that has not been challenged in terms of where it adds or can add real value to a clientThe comparatively low cost of QC resources vs the cost of an error in fabrication or manufacturing process is seen as worth paying even though the assurance provided by this resource can be difficult to quantify.

Evidence from other industries suggest that end of line inspection by itself adds little value if not combined with  feedback to the production or fabrication areas to identify and fix the root cause of issues.

Project Overview

Through the Sea Change programme at Technip, Natalia Peyre is leading a Business Excellence project that will ensure the UKBU QC function adds more value both to the client and to Technip.

This is a broad, strategic project that along with defining and delivering consistent QC processes will challenge the existing, accepted thinking around the QC role and where it can add greater value

Project Goals

The aims of this project as defined at project start-up are as follows:

  • For Technip UKBU to have a QC function that is adding greater value to client projects and associated processes
  • To have a consistent approach to the use of QC resources across UKBU projects
  • To deliver processes that consistently make best use of Technip’ QC resources
  • To identify and remove areas of duplication, for example where supplier, client or regulatory bodies QC resources are all present at an inspection
  • To define Quality Engineer and QC Inspector responsibilities

It is worth noting that as the project progresses, additional goals may be added or existing goals amended.

Adopting a greater emphasis on cross industry collaboration, there will be opportunities to share findings and opportunities for improvement with suppliers, clients and regulatory bodies.  The duplication of QC effort being an obvious example.

To kick the project off, and in keeping with our UKBU Business Excellence approach, Natalia has interviewed a number of key stakeholders across the QC process; from current Quality Engineers through to Project Managers and senior UKBU Managers.

This Voice of the Customer (VOC) approach has delivered a wide range of data, information and opinion that has allowed Natalia to understand the key challenges and opportunities that exist.

Analysis and consolidation of this VOC has enabled the project to be split into six focus areas, as detailed below:

  1. The end to end QC process, from the creation of an inspection and test plan through to final reports
  2. The roles and responsibilities of QC resource
  3. Training and competency requirements
  4. The duplication of QC deliverables at suppliers, whether that be duplication of Technip resources or supplier, client or regulatory bodies.
  5. The relationship, gaps and overlaps across our QC and QA roles
  6. A risk or criticality based approach to QC, whether that be product, process or supplier based

Alongside the qualitative data gleaned through the VOC process, Natalia has also started to capture quantitative data from our systems.

This will help us understand specific details such as numbers of inspections carried out by projects over a specific time period, which suppliers we work with and what types of QC work is actually being delivered. This can only help to inform any future changes or improvements to the QC role.

Contact: Ceri Harris, Technip UK Limited

TOTAL – Clarity and visibility improve efficiency

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Submitted by Total

Impact

To date this initiative has resulted in:

  • a 12% improvement in plan achievement and 26% improvement in executed hours on Alwyn North platform
  • a 40% reduction in category A backlog hours
  • a significant improvement in the efficiency of scaffolding erection and dismantling

Description of Best Practice

TOTAL E&P UK Limited (TEPUK) has implemented a simple visual management tool on site that has enabled significant efficiency gains to be made on maintenance activities.  A visual planning board is used by disciplines and supervisors as the focus for scheduling, discussing and preparing activities on a current-day and day-ahead basis.

Individuals are able to manage their time more effectively, with fall-back and next-job or next-day preparation work available if the active task is interrupted.  Teams are split between scheduled activity and breakdown support which allows more efficient utilisation of resources and improves response time to unplanned events.

By locking in ‘field tour’ time on site, supervisors are measured daily on their attendance with the technicians out on the plant.  This valuable interface had disappeared from the supervisor’s schedule due to the increasing demands of email and PC activities.

Finally, a team performance and measurement indicator helps to uncover the root cause of any blockage to planned and scheduled tasks.  Technicians are encouraged to highlight this root cause and collectively these are reviewed to seek continuous improvement initiatives going forward.

Contact: John Catlow, TOTAL E&P UK ltd