Spot faster when it is the software's fault - Athens Group

Friday, July 06, 2012

Oil and gas drilling contractors and operators staff are making progress at being able to spot when software is the root cause of equipment failure, according to a survey by Athens Group.

When asked about progress in training staff to spot when software is the root cause of equipment failure, 70 per cent said there was "some progress" and 4 per cent said "good progress" in the 2012 survey, compared to 53 per cent and 6 per cent in 2011.

Athens Group is a Houston company which helps oil and gas companies manage control systems software. It surveyed staff at drilling contractors and operators, to find out where they believe most progress is being made.

In this year's survey, 27 per cent said they thought "good progress" was being made in getting software implemented earlier in the drilling rig newbuild cycle, compared to 16 per cent last year. However four times as many drilling contractors reported that no progress was made (29 per cent versus 7 per cent)

When asked if there was progress in standardising equipment user interfaces, 9 per cent said "good progress" and 48 per cent "some progress", compared to 18 per cent and 33 per cent last year.

Almost twice as many operators reported that some progress was made in standardising user interfaces (54 per cent versus 29 per cent)

Not every factor was going in the right direction. When asked if contractors and operators were making progress in sharing the costs of risk mitigation, 4 per cent said "good progress" and 33 per cent "some progress", compared to 6 per cent and 36 per cent last year.

When asked if there was progress in implementing an industry-standard calculation method for non productive time, three times as many drilling contractors reported that no progress was made (44 per cent versus 14 per cent).

Athens Group offers to send the full report, published in July, to anyone who requests it.