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continuously. So you have a real-time snapshot of what’s out there,” Riddell said.

ALL EYES ON DECK

When all hands cannot physically be on the rig, virtual visualization software is helping keep all eyes on deck at least. “If I’m sitting in a control room on shore, I can virtually go to the Gulf of Mexico with virtual visual- ization and get a snapshot in time with high-de? nition clarity,” said Glyn Thorman, senior consultant for ABB in Houston.

“I can see the problem associated with that piece of equipment and look at other details in the planning processes. This contrasts with having to get on a heli- copter or even having a video conference and relying on someone to take a picture.” The technology works like Google maps or Google street view, but in high de? nition with the zoom on. “Think of it as driving down the road; you’re at the driveway, and there’s a note on the door,” Thorman said. With this visualization feature, “you can zoom in and read that note. The de? nition and pixel strength is so high, if you’re sitting in Houston wanting to do structural repairs on the platform, you can zoom in on a data plate on a pump and read it. And there are mul- tiple camera locations where spherical images were the big picture of domains and to share that big pic- taken. The quality is so high, you’ll swear you’re actu- ture. We use visualization as a communications tool. ally on the platform.” Not only can virtual visualization So instead of text, we give people a diagram as a way help with repairs, it makes work safer and easier; it can of communicating. It’s faster, and it saves time and reduce personnel on board and see into areas where money for users. If you look at user preferences, it’s planners might have to get a permit to go physically. been shown over and over; people would much rather “The data on an asset could be several pages of look at a picture and let that guide them as opposed to information, and even on the rig you can have hun- wading into a database or research box.” dreds of assets,” Riddell said. “If you’re just looking

SEA DATA IN THE CLOUD at textual information and data or just searching a database, that becomes consuming and frustrating for Not only are assets on board becoming more virtu- users. Visualization offers instant access to complex ally maintained, the information about those assets domains.” can be stored virtually – on the cloud. Operators who

The system can also help have to deal with complex extraction methods and “ users who aren’t familiar with technologies running facilities on the ocean ? oor are

O perators, engineers, a rig. “We create a database so sometimes overwhelmed by all the different alarms they can search it and know from intelligent devices for safety, ? re and gas, instru- managers and executives by location what’s there and mentation, intelligent motor control, and condition- all have access tie it all back to their existing based monitoring. data,” said Walt Reed, senior “When we started in the oil and gas business, com- dashboards in the cloud, project consultant with ABB munications were remote and infrequent; we had to in Houston. “Because equip- think of bandwidth. Now we can see information on creating a system of ment changes, we have to do any operator screen and diagnose any faults we’re reshoots in certain areas. So allowed to,” said Adam Howard, Business Manager, checks and balances we have to keep the database Oil & Gas Solutions, EMEA, at Rockwell Automation, to ensure they will not current with users’ day-to-day Aberdeen, UK. documentation and standard The cloud has helped make immediately available overlook a critical detail.” operating procedures, say, for information to support the maintenance and ongoing startup and shutdown. You management of offshore assets. “The cloud is just

Adam Howard, Business Manager, can link these images to pro- a means of storing and accessing information to a

Oil & Gas Solutions, EMEA, cedures and you don’t have to mutually remote location,” Howard said. “We can

Rockwell Automation, Aberdeen, U.K go back out to the rig.” upload information from the control room and safety

The interesting part about systems to a virtual storage space so we can access visualization is “it integrates cognitive science with that information in real time.” computer science and business,” Riddell said. “We One big challenge with the cloud is this: “If we can haven’t spent enough time understanding the cognitive get access to that information, so can others,” Howard aspects of people’s jobs and their need to understand said. “And what we ? nd now is a signi? cant increase in oedigital.com 168

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