Mobility as a Catalyst for Oil Field Services Development

Energy Business Review | Monday, April 01, 2024

The oilfield services industry has made significant strides in deploying advanced engineering tools for improved efficiency and safety.

FREMONT, CA: The oilfield services sector uses advanced engineering technologies to assure better, faster, and safer operations while prioritizing efficiency and safety. Despite the industry's focus on drilling wells and product extraction, technologies for managing field resources, allocating equipment, monitoring activities, and updating backend HR and billing systems lag behind generations. This contrasts with the previous emphasis on efficiency and safety within the sector.

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The poor state of oil field technology 

Upstream oilfield services often use manual backend systems like Excel worksheets and whiteboards. Mobile field resource management solutions can address these shortcomings by reducing administrative burdens, increasing operational awareness, and improving visibility, quality, and efficiency. Implementing these technologies can lead to an enhanced understanding of operations, better resource utilization, precise data gathering, and a comprehensive approach to work management. Additionally, deploying appropriate tools in the right locations and times can increase productivity and efficiency.

The solution is to introduce mobility solutions to backend fields.

Mobile devices are generally prioritized in service operations to optimize administrative duties, increase visibility, and improve operational awareness. They are also frequently perceived as resolving back-office problems and frustrations.

Resource management systems' mobility 

Mobile resource management solutions are essential for empowering field resources and supporting business processes in oil and gas fields. They should address field requirements and workflows, enable process controls and safety inspections, and eliminate unnecessary data. The ideal tool should be user-friendly, allowing only the required work information to be accepted.

Mobility solutions, not mobile devices, should be the main focus. 

Mobility-centric thinking frequently ignores the unique requirements of service operations, including oilfield services. Not every user or set of needs for a work can be served well by a single device. Since the world of mobile devices is changing so quickly, it is crucial to separate the device from the solution. The system should work with a range of gadgets and adapt to the changing needs of the mobility industry. Field supervisors, workers, operators, and maintenance staff should all have devices on them. This methodology guarantees that the solution stays feasible and flexible in response to the changing transportation environment.

Mobility solutions' advantages in oil areas 

Mobility solutions enhance resource connectivity, allowing visibility and data sharing. Crew leaders can assign shifts, send notifications, and track exposure hours, improving operational visibility. Users can access mobile solutions from laptops to ruggedized PDAs and smartphones. Power users often need multiple devices for the same information. Cell phones facilitate call-outs, access personal activity and location, streamline communication, and lower investment costs.

The secret is adaptability.

Mobile solutions must be adaptable to specific business unit characteristics and flexible in the user experience. Requirements change when new units are introduced, requiring more field data. Unlike traditional user experiences where they comply with offered solutions, quick and easy solution adaption is vital for rapid business needs and user confidence.

 

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