Addressing the main challenges

The main challenges the IT sector in the oil and gas industry is currently facing are different from all others faced by the industry so far. The associated issues are very costly, extremely complex, and divers.

"These challenges cannot be solved by technology alone, and will require substantial change in enterprise management, culture, and information processing. No doubt, having the right IT components is one important factor," states Jens H. Schroeder, President and CEO of m:pro IT Consult.

The current challenges require good decisions and the collaboration to reach, communicate, and implement them. This involves that the key stakeholders and experts view, exchange, and react on consistent and reliable information to known quality. IT must help to overcome these challenges.

As a project services and software products company, m:pro enables petroleum refining, petrochemical and other industries to achieve total integration of information sources and applications, from business systems, ERP and supply chain management through to plant information, production planning, scheduling and operations decision support.

Facing the challenges m:pro focuses on three major areas:

Smarter data management and integration - for collecting, distributing, abstracting, aggregating, correlating, and translating data from all sources into information is essential. "The objective is to have the information ready in any dimension if and when required," emphasizes Schroeder.

Easy to use but powerful user interfaces - it is impossible to foresee all information requirements of all persons in all situations. The objective is to access and present the information in a highly interactive, intuitive, and common user interface. Fast navigation, drill down, and analysis tools also put the surrounding information at your fingertips.

Effective collaboration and workflow - with workflow as a building block, this level puts the areas above to work in a collaborative and documented fashion. The objective is to provide synchronous and asynchronous communication, conferencing, and co-ordination activity through a variety of devices and channels. "Do you remember your last visit to the opera? The conductor has not yet arrived but the orchestra is already seated. Each professional and skilled instrumentalist plays essential notes on his instrument. The dissonance strikes you. The conductor enters the hall and a moment of silence relaxes your ear. The program begins and you are overwhelmed by harmony and precision," explains Schroeder. Workflow acts like a conductor in the business: collaborating in harmony.

Operating Windows as a showcase

The Operating Windows application highlights integration, user interfaces, and collaboration practically working together. The solution requires data management and integration from various sources, presents the information to all kinds of users in a highly intuitive fashion, and acts as a collaboration and communication platform across functions and departments.

The application was developed for the early detection of process parameters drifts which may cause unexpected equipment or unit failures due to long term damaging mechanisms such as corrosion, erosion, cracking, creep, fatigue, etc. The application utilizes the results from risk based inspection workshops, safety analyses and reliability studies for the definition of parameter ranges process units should operate within. By controlling these "operating windows" and notifying operators and inspection personnel about violations, their duration and intensity, the application helps to keep an eye on potential problem areas, to avoid unplanned shutdowns and unnecessary costs.

"Do not give users just another monitoring application but provide a communication platform for them," demands Markus Muth, IT Project Manager of Bayernoil. That's why the fundamentally different base concept of the Operating Windows was their first choice for a smarter solution. The solution is suitable for different types of users, ranging from those who actually run the units to those sharing their expert knowledge with them.

Operating Windows setting the focus

The application keeps focus on damage potential not on insignificant limit violations and uses secondary conditions for special operating modes. The reduction of warnings, "false" warnings, and email volume reduces the risk to oversee important violations. And it most of all saves the time of personnel for corrective measures and the handling of only relevant information.

A wide range of functions, such as acknowledgement, secondary conditions, aggregation, and reporting, giving a better understanding of potential problem areas is provided by the application. Thus, correct notification adds benefit to the monitoring process. "It is rather useless and frustrating to simply monitor the violation of constraints. If such messages pop up, it will be already too late to do anything about it. You would want to know in advance," explains Muth. The improvement of communication and collection of expert knowledge becomes evident and helps to increase operator motivation to avoid and correct violations.

Operating Windows mastering the challenge

The seamless information flow enables a highly effective operating cycles: Everybody contributes and everybody benefits. Collaboration between the operator and other levels can take place: planning, monitoring, business, HSEQ, and maintenance. Any number of parameters can be monitored permanently. But bringing a smart focus on only substantial information generates the actual benefit.

"A contribution in increasing the yearly total refinery availability in at least 0.1% by implementing Operating Windows is doubtless achievable," declares Esteban Mann, Reliability Champion of Bayernoil. Bayernoil operates two refineries in Germany and has in the past decided to work with m:pro for m:pro's solution oriented, highly reliable, and flexible product line. The application already examines 500+ parameters and has been successfully integrated into their known and well accepted refinery information system called BORIS and allows knowledge transfer and communication between experts and operators. For them, the pioneering platform has already mastered a challenge.