Technology can be a blessing and a curse. Just ask any engineer that spends chunks of the work day navigating in and out of software programs while tackling engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) jobs.

There are Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, email and PDF files plus other software programs used depending on the job at hand. Then, there is the seemingly endless task of tracking changes, making adjustments, searching for documents and communicating changes. Each discipline does its work and passes it on to the next stage. Although the work is necessary, the process can be a time-drain.

“Basically, engineering in today’s industry is done by document transfer,” Vaseem Khan, vice president of engineering for McDermott International Inc., told SEN. “What we’re moving in those documents are data [and] it’s information, and the technology exists today to move data, not documents.”

McDermott, working with Dassault Systèmes’ 3D Experience platform, is piloting Project Lifecycle Management (PLM) technology. McDermott aims to simplify work processes into one integrated, agnostic engineering platform with the software. Data from the PLM is combined with 3-D modeling software, creating a digital twin.

“What our PLM system is doing, the Gemini project, is engineering by means of data management, not document management,” Khan said. “When I move data, that field knows exactly where the data are coming from. More importantly, when those data change the upstream and downstream parts know that a change has occurred.”

Khan used, for example, changing from a 4-in. valve to 6-in. valve. The supply chain is notified of the need for a larger valve, but the change prompts adjustments in other areas. The piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) and structural support needs to change, he said, noting the procurement staff also needs to be told to purchase a 4-in. flange.

Today that information is communicated by email or a PDF file, he said.

“Once Gemini is up and running it will be communicated by transfer of data,” Khan said. When the valve size is changed, the software will automatically trigger a P&ID flash that warns others of the change and the need for a fix. “It improves our quality. It reduces our waste. I don’t buy incorrect material, and it brings certainty to the project.

“I am now certain that my engineering is going to be correct. I am now certain that I am going to buy the right parts of fabricating. I am now certain that the parts I buy will fit together,” Khan said. “The platform is going to be agnostic so it doesn’t matter which software package we use.”

The technology, which features a real-time dashboard, can be put to use from the early stages of a project to decommissioning. The EPCI specialist is embarking upon the project as the oil and gas industry increasingly turns to technology to become more efficient in terms of operations and reducing costs.

Part of what makes this data management PLM technology unique is its ability to marry with 3-D models. The “platform of the future,” as McDermott calls it, is suitable for not only subsea assets and vessels but also operating platforms and onshore facilities.

“Every piece of information is in one place,” Khan said. “All you have to do is go to the 3-D model, which has PLM behind it, and click on what you want from the menu. If you want to be sci-fi, you can put on your 3-D glasses, walk through it and touch the pump. Data come up. … It gives you information instantaneously. You don’t have to go looking for it.”

The technology has information such as engineering documents, supplier documents, test records, regulatory certificates and inspection information, among other data—all of which will be accessible by the client, he added.

McDermott seems hopeful that the digital platform will standardize and simplify processes, while driving down costs. Owners and operators that “continually experience delays and additional costs due to missing, incomplete or poorly organized information at handover,” could benefit, according to the company, which noted the platform addresses handover and post-handover challenges such as:

  • Knowing what information is required;
  • File maintenance after operations have started; and
  • Incomplete or outdated 3-D models of the facility, to name a few.

McDermott plans to start the pilot project in fourth-quarter 2017, integrating the platform into its business. Phase 1 is scheduled for completion next year.

But Khan is already thinking about the next step: predictive analytics.

Phase 2 will package predictive analytics with the PLM software to pull in data, perform analytics and send back information to the 3-D model.

It could prove useful, for instance, in relaying information such as how long a bearing has been running hot, when the bearing could statistically fail and how long the oil will be good.

If the bearing has been running hot for two weeks and predictive analytics shows that statistically it will fail in four weeks but the oil is good for another two years, “you don’t have to shut down the machine for 30 days just to do an oil change,” he said.

“Imagine the savings of that,” Khan added. “If you don’t have to do a turnaround for another year, I can stretch it out. If my turnaround is 30 days every three years, that’s 10 days of additional production. Maybe I’m producing 20,000 barrels of oil per day. That’s 10 days of 20,000 barrels of oil per day—significant numbers.”

—Velda Addison