ConocoPhillips – Making logistical efficiency improvements
Submitted by ConocoPhillips
Impact
As a result of collaboration on all of these initiatives, we have successfully managed to reduce the company’s passenger cost per flight and at the same time increase seat utilisation. This is a typical example of how integrating our people and improving our work processes facilitated by the use of new technology can clearly benefit the company. Impact of best practice – a clear focus on delivery and where opportunities exist, we have either improved their efficiency or reduced their cost, resulting in: a cost/GPB per person reduction of 12%; an increase in seat utilisation by 7%.
Description of Best Practice
For ConocoPhillips and the rest of the oil and gas industry, one of the largest day-to-day costs incurred in the management of our offshore operations is helicopters. It’s something we can’t function without yet be complacent and assume that because it’s necessary we can’t make efficiencies and cost savings. This was the challenge faced by the logistics team within ConocoPhillips UK where effectively managing the safe flow of personnel to and from our North Sea operations was paramount.
Making improvements in how we use our available helicopter seats and decreasing the actual costs incurred by each flight was also necessary. The first step was to move the logistics operations team to a co-location alongside the integrated planning and materials front-line support group at Rubislaw House. Being based within the company’s cutting-edge Integrated Operations Centre meant new technology was at hand within the logistics hub. Not only did this allow better monitoring of conditions offshore, it also improved the ability of the onshore aviation team being able to visibility to track flights to and from the offshore installations.
A 7-day service to the company’s offshore operations is now in place, an obvious winner in a 365-day a year business. But could the logistics team continue to make these efficiency improvements, yet still work to reduce costs?
Tracy Morrison, UK Logistics Manager explains:
“By raising the awareness of the efficiency initiative within the group, implementing performance measures and reviewing our existing processes for tracking costs across the business, we have been able to focus clearly on delivery and where opportunities exist, we have either improved their efficiency or reduced their cost.”
The change to the offshore core crew rota from 2 weeks offshore/3 weeks at home to 2 weeks offshore/2 weeks at home brought an additional opportunity for the logistics team to make further improvements. Working closely with the helicopter providers, were able to modify flight schedules and reduce the overall number of flights required to safely service the ConocoPhillips offshore operations in the UK.
Contact: Sandra Duncan
sandra.duncan@conocophillips.com
