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A listing in reverse chronological order of articles by:
High temperature stress analysis of metallic components must account for an inevitable decrease in room temperature minimum yield strength (Sy). Linear-elastic stress analysis is the norm for nearly all downhole metallic components and accurate results depend upon the use of reliable temperature deration factors. [Read more…]
The predictability of disruption as an innovation accelerator is a central component of the Anticipatory Organization Model, focusing closely on how Anticipatory Organizations and individuals can look at disruption and see enormous opportunities. [Read more…]
Steve Jobs envisioned a future state with computers on every worker’s desk. It will be a progressive culture where technology creates more opportunities for employees and a workplace without secretaries.
The future-state for Jobs was about “building tools that amplify a human ability”. He used the word “tools”, not “computers”, at the start of Apple’s life, which became hugely successful.
That is why Apple came up with the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes. These tools revolutionised the way we listen to music. Many people didn’t know they wanted an iPad until Apple showed them these tools. [Read more…]
The materials used in new equipment can pose a design risk. But what makes a material a design risk? And how is de-risking achieved for metallic and nonmetallic materials?
To satisfy design requirements for loading, corrosion resistance, and manufacturability, materials properties must be controlled. Design risk is high when material properties are not controlled and materials are not selected using best practices. And as stated in Equipment Risk, material stability is also necessary for long service life, meaning that mechanical and physical property response to elevated temperature and corrosive media is predictable or reasonably estimated. Thus, controls for material properties and selection are the basis of de-risking. [Read more…]
In June 2019, the Association for Federal Risk Management publish a document entitled: “Getting Ahead of Risks Before They Become Government Failures: An Imperative for Agency Leaders to Embrace Enterprise Risk Management”. The document states: “Agencies are under increasing pressure to perform their missions more effectively and efficiently, while the types of challenges that government confronts are growing more complex.
Agency leaders are expected to keep program and operations on track by getting ahead of risks before they turn into problems.” (1) [Read more…]
A decision point is a moment when a significant choice presents itself and the decision made will result in a significant change of course that cannot be undone easily. Moreover, that same choice or option is unlikely to reemerge in the future. The essential elements are that the decision is significant, non-repeatable, and non-reversible.
The problem is that decision points don’t always announce themselves as clearly as the examples above suggest. Sometimes, the decision point looks a lot like other, similar moments except the context or consequences are very different. At other times, the decision point might get overlooked, mixed in with other less critical choices amongst a flood of activity. So it can be easy to overlook or miss the decision point. [Read more…]
Your staff has a concept for a deepwater completion product. They say it is the solution offshore operators need. The concept contains many new components and seems risky. How mature is the technology?
Conducting a Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) answers these questions. A TRA assesses the maturity of the technology in a product and assigns it a Technology Readiness Level, or TRL. The higher the TRL, the more mature the technology, and the lower the risk. [Read more…]
Much is being written these days about the future of work and the problems it presents. This piece presents one way we could manage this constantly evolving situation.
The world is changing rapidly in so many ways, primarily, but not limited to technology, geopolitics and climate change. There is no attempt to assign priorities here; these factors are all intimately connected and affect the outcome in concert. [Read more…]
The point of risk management is to understand and react to the threats and opportunities that might affect your business. The problem is that risk management can often become dislocated from the mainstream business processes. Instead of being integrated into the organization, risk management takes place in a parallel but separate workstream: one that decision-makers dip into occasionally but generally look at as a specialized, technical process. [Read more…]
Critical is defined as “a situation or problem having the potential to become disastrous”. A system of physical well barriers is used in offshore wells to mitigate against a disastrous event. The United States Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) refers to Category 1 and 2 well barriers. A failure of a barrier can lead to a blowout or fluids spill into the ocean, either of which is high severity. Thus, it is customary in the upstream energy industry to refer to well barriers as “critical equipment”. [Read more…]
Disruption is a central component of the Anticipatory Organization Model, focusing closely on how Anticipatory Organizations and individuals can look at disruption and see enormous opportunities.
The untimely situation we currently face with COVID-19 is no exception; not only has every industry been touched by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown, every country has. There is literally no safe haven from this disease, and businesses both large and small have found themselves in a predicament unlike ever before. [Read more…]
In my previous post, I asserted that many companies are not good at managing risks and I’ll stand by that statement. They’re not good at identifying them, poor at pinpointing dependencies, don’t understand the interactions that create or exacerbate risks and fail to actively quantify and evaluate the effectiveness of their risk management programs. I believe that a number of disciplines should be applied to help address these issues.
Let’s talk about Enterprise Architecture. No! Don’t run away. We’ll keep it at a layman’s level and try to avoid the need to employ an electron microscope to voluminous diagrams of elements of your company’s structure in order to make any sense of it. [Read more…]
Tortuosity is defined as “something winding or twisted” or “full of twists and turns”.
Well tortuosity is typical of today’s unconventional wells (see Figure 1) and is now acknowledged to result in casing deformation such as collapsed inner diameters (“ovalized casing”). There is also growing awareness among shale operators that excessive tortuosity can predispose the casing to rupture which results in fracturing fluids going into the wrong stages. Rupture occurs in sections which are deformed and therefore more vulnerable to cyclic fracturing pressures, pressure-induced bending, and earth loads. [Read more…]
Coronavirus seems to be spreading quicker than previous pandemic potential viruses, i.e., H5N1, H7N1, SARS, Ebola, MERS, etc. Could this be the long awaited/anticipated threat realization, or is it becoming a media driven phenomenon? Needless to say, planners should be implementing some assessment analysis regarding the potential for impacting business operations. Here is a brief look back at one of my articles from 2006, entitled, “Pre-Pandemic Planning: Business Continuity Perspectives“, when Bird Flu (H5N1) was the hot topic:
The business community is “not adequately prepared” for a possible avian flu pandemic, says Secretary of Health & Human Services Michael Leavitt. As of July 24, 2006, there have been 231 confirmed cases in humans resulting in 133 deaths (a mortality rate of 57%). The virus has spread to 33 countries through wild migratory birds that have now infected domestic poultry (source World Organization for Animal Health). [Read more…]
Unless you are a person that firmly believes there will be a second wave – or even that there might be a second wave – the reactions and measures taken to the COVID-19 pandemic are starting to calm down and the world is beginning to unwind the measures that have been put in place; albeit to varying degrees and velocities and with little consistency.
On thing is for certain; this event will be studied for years to come as data is gathered, scrubbed, and harmonized so that proper analysis can take place. Unfortunately, another thing which is as certain is that the analysis will be politicized – with, unfortunately, a priority of placing blame being a primary driver of the analysis and the outcomes.
But it would be wise to remember; “Blame is for God and small children” – Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega in the movie “Papillon”. [Read more…]
