Using a CMMS to improve technician productivity in the Oil and Gas industry

Guest blog by Bergen Adair from SelectHub

How efficient is your maintenance team? Efficiency is especially important in the Oil and Gas industry where time is (a lot of) money and downtime can result in significant profit loss. Here are a few ways that utilizing a CMMS solution can make a big difference in your technicians’ productivity.

Use scheduled maintenance to increase accountability

A CMMS allows users to create scheduled maintenance for all kinds of work. This includes spur-of-the-moment tasks that need to be completed that day as well as routine maintenance occurring on a repeat basis.

A CMMS can send reminders to technicians’ mobile devices when a calendar event is upcoming, preventing them from falling by the wayside.

This is especially helpful in the Oil and Gas industry, where semiannual, federally mandated well inspections come with a long checklist of elements that need to be addressed. A CMMS lets users set tasks months in advance and include the necessary checklists on the calendar to ensure nothing is missed by technicians.

Assign the right work orders to the right people

A CMMS lets admins assign work orders to specific technicians, either manually or automatically. If your CMMS offers a detailed personnel profile for each technician, you’ll be able to assign work based on profile variables such as labour hours available, technician expertise, skill level, etc.

The ability to assign work to the most qualified technician is essential for the oil and gas sector, as each technician’s role is so specialized. A derrick worker won’t be qualified to perform the drill engineer’s tasks, and a motor worker shouldn’t be consistently performing basic floor worker tasks.

A CMMS also lets admins track work order progress through the pipeline, allowing them to better identify at-risk work where there could be inadequate resources or poor employee performance. This improves accountability and transparency on all sides of the organization and streamlines the work order process.

Reduce costly unplanned downtime

Unexpected downtime on an oil rig can be catastrophic. First of all, it puts a dent in your productivity—if the oil isn’t flowing, neither is the profit. Plus, equipment failure on a sensitive, dangerous machine like a fracking pump or oil well can result in explosions, leaks, fires and other safety hazards.

A CMMS prevents unexpected downtime through a combination of asset monitoring, maintenance facilitation and repair tracking. Routine maintenance reduces the likelihood of unexpected part failure by keeping technicians aware of general asset health. Repair tracking facilitates this awareness by keeping a detailed record of maintenance activities so technicians are always able to access that information at the push of a button.

Going a step further, asset monitoring utilizes advanced monitoring systems to track meter usage, part performance and other condition-based metrics. If a bearing begins to exhibit signs associated with stress—for example, heat from friction or visible wear and tear—the system can alert the drilling engineer that a problem might be imminent.

Keep your technicians safe

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, there has been a vast reduction in on-site injuries in the Oil and Gas industry in recent years, so it’s clear that there is a general trend of improved safety conditions overall. CMMS software can be a significant contributor to ensuring safety for your technicians.

Aside from ensuring work is assigned to technicians with the right skills, CMMS software also promotes site safety through asset tracking. Detailed asset profiles ensure everyone is aware of when maintenance was last performed and when it next needs to be done. Condition-based monitoring of asset component functions as a failsafe to alert the driller or other management if a part is nearing failure.

These features work together to create a smoother, more well-tuned operation with cohesion between technicians and the rig.

Computerized maintenance management software is a tool that can turn a good team into a well-oiled machine. As the Oil and Gas industry becomes more competitive and automated, running your operations with comprehensive software will ensure a tight ship. It works to keep your rig in better shape, keep your operation running smoothly and keep your techs safe.

Author bio:

Bergen Adair is a Market Research Associate at SelectHub who writes content on CMMS, FM, EAM, Business Intelligence and Enterprise Reporting. She has had a love of the written word since she started reading voraciously at three years old, and studied creative writing at Colorado State University and Swansea University. In her free time, she’s usually reading (or napping) in a hammock, hiking with her dog, or listening to horror and true crime podcasts.