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Wintershall Dea has opened a new operations center for drilling and well in Stavanger

August 14, 2023 By epsis

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Wintershall Dea has opened a new operations center for drilling and well in Stavanger

The new operations center for Wintershall Dea’s drilling and well operations was opened in Stavanger earlier this summer. The center will be used in connection with follow-up of drilling operations from the Transocean Norge rig that Wintershall Dea has contracted to drill 11 wells in the period 2023 to 2027. The center is set up with modern A/V technology provided by Kinly to ensure the best possible interaction solution for the centre.

“This has been an exciting project where Wintershall Dea has been forward thinking when it comes to thinking about flexibility both inside and outside the room. This has meant that we have had to create an architecture that can change as needed”, says customer manager at Kinly, Birger Isdal.

“Our goal has been to set up a center that helps in a seamless way users to be able to interact effectively in the center – and between offshore and land. We have arranged for various tasks to be carried out, both with regular participants and guests”, adds Senior Solution Designer Frode Merkesvik at Kinly.

The delivery didn’t stop there. Wintershall Dea wanted a central solution where users could easily and flexibly fill all the screens in the room with relevant content from different applications. They also wanted access to this information from their own PCs outside the operations centre. For this, they have chosen Epsis’ Enify solution for structured work and information retrieval. The solution enables users to set up fixed activities and save these for reuse and further development. Through efficient use of screen space and associated activities, everyday life is structured.

“The center will support the operational activities within drilling and wells. With its flexible and smart technology solutions, the users’ execution of good work processes is strengthened,” says René Andersen, IT manager for Wintershall Dea and owner of the new centre.

The opening took place at the office in Stavanger with representatives from the entire drilling and well environment in the company.

“We look forward to using the new center for drilling and wells. We work with many different activities and are sure that the solutions the center offers will be an important aid to gain an increased understanding of the situation and make better data-driven decisions,” says Frode Angell-Olsen, drilling operations manager for Wintershall Dea’s drilling operations for Transocean Norway.

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Successful Pilot for Virtual Operation Rooms

June 1, 2023 By epsis

Epsis Archives for epsis

Reporting on a successful pilot for Virtual Operating Room

In November 2022, Epsis was awarded a pilot within drilling and wells in Equinor, where we were to investigate the opportunities of developing a Virtual Operation Room (VOR) within drilling.

The title was “From physical to virtual operating rooms” (Equinor awarded Epsis a pilot project – Epsis). The project aimed to create a scalable solution. Virtually enabling situational awareness and interaction as if you were together in a physical space. We have worked from concept development to product development and testing. Everything was done in collaboration with Sekal, Odfjell, SLB, and Equinor at Deepsea Aberdeen’s drilling rig.

What have we done?

In the first part of the pilot, a feasibility and requirements analysis was carried out with crucial operational personnel. We then narrowed it down to specific focus areas for the pilot. In addition, the project-initiated work with IT across all the companies to open up Microsoft Teams functionality that makes collaborating easier. Enabling this functionality was essential. It created a solution with different functionality to help in day-to-day operations. We tested the functionality and corrected errors. On 29 March, the solution went live. It happened at the same time as essential drilling operations were underway at Deepsea Aberdeen.

In sum:

  • We have designed a virtual room—a “room” where the team could quickly access all tools and information systems.
  • We have established a secure area for sharing information across companies and roles.
  • Additionally, “the room” provides functionality for effective dialogue about various operational tasks and questions.

The solution combines new functionality in MS Teams – Shared channels and Epsis’ product Enify. We have collaborated closely with the customer, and the users’ needs have played a decisive role, involving users from both onshore and offshore teams.

We have collaborated with a forward-leaning team from various companies who want to simplify the operations. In the pilot, we have supported meetings / synchronous interaction. But a virtual space must facilitate asynchronous interaction where everyone can inform and contribute at the right time. Such an environment can reduce the time spent searching for the right resources and make information available for a specific task when needed. It allows sharing information across companies in a secure area accessible to everyone, rather than sending large amounts of attachments by e-mail.
We are incredibly proud of what the team across such large companies has achieved so quickly, says Jan-Erik Nordtvedt, Epsis’ project manager in the VOR Pilot.

What has the team achieved?

  • Carried out a pilot that has illustrated some of the possibilities, utilizing existing technologies
  • Together, we have established an easily scalable pilot
  • We have tested the solution operationally, with positive feedback

Work is now underway to look at scaling the project. The tested solution could be the first step in creating a standard for Virtual Operating Rooms. A standard that is quickly scaled and makes it possible to onboard and train personnel across different operations rapidly.

Epsis is proud to have taken part in this pilot – it is motivating to help create solutions for the “sharp end” in operations.

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Filed Under: Digital Operation, News, Virtual operations centers

Equinor extends framework agreement with IFE, StepChange and Epsis

April 17, 2023 By epsis

Epsis Archives for epsis

Equinor extends framework agreement with IFE, StepChange and Epsis

Equinor has extended the framework agreement with IFE, StepChange and Epsi’s current digitalisation, operational improvements and integrated operations. The agreement currently applies for one new year.

“We are very happy to be able to continue the good collaboration with Equinor in this exciting field. This confirms that we can continue to carry out high-quality projects together with an innovative customer, and we are very proud of that! That we achieve more together is something we are passionate about. We look forward to an exciting year and congratulate everyone in the consortium on very good deliveries”

Eivind Madsen, CEO of Stepchange

The consortium consisting of IFE, StepChange and Epsis has for a number of years worked together within integrated operations, new digital working methods and making good change projects effective in a busy operational everyday life.

The strength of this collaboration is our joint expertise and ability to carry out effective operational improvements, bring the effect of technology into the operational environments, and improve working methods, all underpinned by IFE’s strong research environment.

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Filed Under: News

Protected: Choosing the Best Approach for Operations Center Initiatives: Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up

April 17, 2023 By epsis

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Embracing the Virtual-First Approach for Your Organization’s Operations Center

March 22, 2023 By epsis

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Embracing the Virtual-First Approach for Your Organization’s Operations Center

Organizations are finding new and innovative ways to streamline their operations as the world becomes increasingly digital. One approach gaining popularity is the concept of the “Virtual-First Approach.” In that approach, the focus is on how the collaboration flows and how we execute our daily operations. It focuses on “building” a virtual Operation Center environment first rather than a physical one.

Later, teams may want to develop one or more highly targeted physical aspects of the operations center. These centers are built based on actual feedback on the operational needs and the organization’s priorities. These are very different from the initial thinking. The organization realizes the benefits a “virtual-first” approach provides.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of this approach and provide instructions on how to implement it in your organization.

 The Virtual-First Approach for Operation Centers

Traditionally, organizations have built operation centers in the “real” world. They built them in dedicated office spaces first. Being part of numerous Operation Center projects, it is our experience that their overarching idea was to:

  • Get people together in the same physical area,
  • Break down the “silos” between disciplines, and
  • Improve team collaboration, and foster continuous improvement.

Organizations invest in real estate, design the layout, and build the infrastructure to support the operations when making centers.

This approach is often expensive and unnecessarily time-consuming in the more modern world. Massively improved collaboration tools have increased in recent years. The new collaboration tools have features to support better remote working and blended workforces of the modern work environment, including;  remote working and shift changes that have always been a core focus of operations center capabilies.

As these digital capabilities increase daily, it makes sense to take advantage of them. This digital capability provides a high probability for new opportunities to improve collaboration and operations. Virtually changing ways of working hold the promise of impactful changes to the operations,  minimizing disruption to operations. In contrast, changing the physical space will always disturb and may well disrupt operations.

Creating a Virtual Environment

With the virtual-first approach, organizations create a virtual environment focusing on the digital side of operations, concentrating on the performance of daily activities and how people collaborate. You can often create a virtual environment from your existing technology stack to support effective communications, information provisioning, and sharing, minimizing user training and support overheads.

Once the virtual environment is up and running, it can be tested in operations and optimized. The team can then assess weaknesses that physically co-located people can only overcome – this then becomes the scope for a “real-world” operations center, more focused on a known core need rather than a “best guess.”

In many cases, a virtual center will suffice. However, having people in the same physical space over time is sometimes a clear benefit. Even in cases where you establish a physical center, the virtual one will live on, as you are very likely to have team members that are not present in the physical center yet are essential to include in daily operations.

Benefits of the Virtual-First Approach

The virtual-first approach offers several benefits over the traditional method. Firstly, it is cost-effective. Creating a virtual environment is significantly cheaper than building a physical space. Organizations can save money on construction, infrastructure, A/V equipment, and labor cost.

Secondly, the virtual-first approach is time-efficient. Virtual environments can be created in weeks, while physical spaces take several months (if not longer) to build. It allows organizations to get their improved operations up and running much more quickly and start harvesting the value in such a way as to conduct the operations months earlier than with the traditional approach.

Thirdly, the virtual-first approach allows for greater flexibility and adaptability. Once a physical space is built, making changes is difficult and expensive.

In contrast, virtual environments can be effortlessly modified and updated to meet changing business needs and include new technology available at an ever-increasing pace within a controlled space that maintains focus on daily operations. It allows organizations to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and stay competitive.

Implementing the Virtual-First Approach

Implementing the virtual-first approach is about something other than operations centers. It is all about improving operations and establishing a culture of continuous improvement in your organization. Typically, we seek to develop these through an operations center initiative in the first place.

So, Virtual-First = Operations-First.

Implementing these projects within a live operations environment can feel like changing a plane’s engine in mid-air. It is challenging to do and fraught with new challenges. In operational businesses, we need to ensure that the operation can continue undisturbed while being improved. Here are a few key steps:

  • Select a platform for collaboration, communication, information storage, and sharing that will be available for all parties involved in operations.
  • Select a representative part of the operations and pilot the new working method operationally. Observe, implement, reflect, learn, change, and continuously improve until you feel good about the result.
  • Scale by incorporating additional focus areas of the operations following an agile implementation strategy until done.
  • Assess the needs for any physical space, and if necessary, create one that meets the organization’s needs.

Conclusion

The virtual-first approach to building operation centers is a cost-effective, time-efficient, and flexible approach that can help organizations streamline their operations. By creating a virtual environment first, organizations can test and optimize their operations before any physical construction occurs. It allows them to save money, time, and resources and quickly adapt to changing market conditions. The virtual-first approach is worth exploring if you’re considering building a new operation center; it may be all you need.

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Filed Under: Digital Operation, News, Operations Center, Virtual operations centers

Equinor awarded Epsis a pilot project

February 20, 2023 By epsis

Epsis Archives for epsis

Equinor awarded Epsis a pilot project. 

Epsis awarded a pilot project within drilling and wells entitled “From physical operating rooms to virtual operating rooms (VOR).”

The project aims at achieving equal situational awareness and interaction virtually as if working together in a physical space, and the idea is to develop an easily scalable pilot.

What does this mean?

  • We are designing the “room” where the team quickly accesses all tools and information systems.
  • We are setting up the “room” as a secure area where the team quickly shares information across companies and roles.
  • We are enabling the “room” with functionality to facilitate dialogue on various operational tasks and questions efficiently.

The solution combines new functionality in MS Teams – Shared channels and Epsis’ product Enify. The Epsis team facilitates the setup in close collaboration with the client. Most importantly, the users’ actual needs form the basis for building the solution – with users across four companies, onshore and offshore.

We perform functionality and operational testing during the pilot to help with the potential scaling and, most importantly, to create a solution fit for the operative team.

In record time, IT teams across four companies and an innovative client at the customer have opened up to test completely new functionality.
Operating personnel can now collaborate seamlessly across companies using their own company Teams. Within the Virtual Operation Room, they can access information across many systems with a single keystroke.The combination is innovative and effective, says Jan-Erik Nordtvedt, project manager and CEO at Epsis.

The Epsis team finds this project very exciting. We are passionate about creating solutions that give operative personnel what they need to simplify their everyday work. This project is an excellent example of that, where today’s working methods have moved to a digital workplace. The time has come to harvest the value of digital platforms to support a new digital way of working.

We look forward to trying this out operationally.

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Filed Under: News

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