Preventive Maintenance and the Drilling Contractor

Abstract

IADC Member Introduction No matter what state the drilling industry is in, significant cost savings, and higher profit margins are limited to only a few areas within control of the management of a drilling contractor. The primary area of cost control is labor, both in terms of rig manning levels and office overhead. Most all drilling contractors still in business today have experienced the harsh reality of cost reduction in this area. However, the rig must still operate, and do so with far greater efficiency than ever before. In terms of dollars, the only major area remaining to substantially reduce costs is in repair and maintenance. Although this can be handled in many different ways, one of the best methods is by having a well designed and implemented Preventive Maintenance (P.M.) System. Such a system can be defined as "a means by which repair and maintenance costs can be controlled both at the rig level, and by upper management, with information needed to make decisions." For offshore rigs, the number of pieces of equipment that require maintenance can reach upwards to 600 in number. This can translate into thousands of machines for companies with multiple rig fleets. Further, each machine requires different maintenance at varying frequencies, different skill levels, and is subject to different regulatory requirements, and environmental conditions. For this reason, computerized systems are necessary in order to minimize the overhead burden of administering the system, and to provide fast analytical capability. P.M. System Design P.M. System Design Basic design must incorporate the following features in order to maximize the effectiveness of any P.M. System:Closed Loop Communications - This simply means that there must be a free and continuous flow of information from management to rig, and rig to management. There must be no filters or buffers to dilute, change or otherwise misconstrue the information being passed. The loop must also be designed to include everyone in the chain of command; that each persons role be defined; that no one person is overburdened (bottlenecking); and that their role is compatible with the responsibilities of their position. These rules are very important during the implementation phase, so that learning curves are short, and so that natural resistance to change is overcome quickly. After implementation, these criteria remain important in order to sustain interest, and to make the concept of preventive maintenance an integral part of people's daily activities.Feedback - Other than the maintenance itself-this is one of the most important elements of an effective P.M. System. P. 347