Making Money with Mobile Workforce Management

If your projects typically yield $1 million or more in hard-dollar benefits and have a three- to six-month payback, then life is good. But if you would like to experience such gains regularly, then you might consider implementing in-the-field decision-support systems, which can result in tremendous ongoing cost savings and operational improvements.

Mobility solutions accelerate and sustain new work process improvements and provide a framework for field workforces to execute best practices, and most major U.S. refineries are either planning to implement or have already implemented them. Shell Oil, for example, is deploying a mobile workforce solution that will bring operating data from all of its global downstream assets into its enterprise decision-support tool. Chevron and Valero Energy have deployed a similar system across their wholly owned refineries, and ExxonMobil has implemented a mobile framework across its three business streams: upstream, downstream and chemical.

Mobile solutions typically implemented by petroleum companies involve a handheld computer or PDA running software tools and applications that process and transmit device-specific information to data historians, operators or enterprise decision-support systems. The IntelaTrac Mobile Workforce and Decision Support system from Invensys, for example, is a suite of products, including configurable software and ruggedized mobile hardware solutions, that enable workflow, procedural and general task-management capabilities typically involving plant operations, maintenance management, production tracking and compliance applications. These tools help operators, field engineers and supervisors create inspection and regulatory procedures; assign, schedule and execute rounds; and report findings with assigned levels of criticality and severity.

When some Chevron maintenance workers start their rounds, for example, they grab a PDA instead of a clipboard. As they check equipment, they enter data which is transmitted into process historian systems when the PDA is docked in a cradle, from which IntelaTrac software synchs the data with real-time process data from the control systems for viewing by operators and engineering. If a piece of equipment is not operating correctly or efficiently, field workers can collaborate with other personnel to take the optimal corrective action then and there. For example, control room operators can prompt field workers for on-the-spot diagnostics and field workers can speak with maintenance staff or others to receive focused direction.

“Today’s mobile solutions aren’t just about moving part of the control room into the field. The IntelaTrac suite represents a new breed of advanced workflow solutions. These solutions enable process plants to capture field information in real time and use it immediately to improve operations, add reliability and reduce costs,” said Harry Forbes, senior analyst at Boston-based ARC Advisory Group.

Downstream Mobile Solutions
The most dramatic savings to date have been downstream. Estimated savings are in the $2-3 million range per 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), a result of closing operating performance gaps through improved mechanical availability.