Professional Documents
Culture Documents
In modern industry, quality is often discussed, but frequently misunderstood. The perception of qualitywhat
it is and isntvaries widely from individual to individual and company to company. Oilfield service quality has
received increased attention during the past decade as oil and gas operators strive to maximize hydrocarbon
production and recovery at the lowest possible cost. This article illustrates how one drilling contractor,
Sedco Forex, is infusing a quality culture and mindset in its organization to provide the best possible service.
Ellis Duncan
Ira Gervais
Channelview, Texas, USA
Yves Le Moign
Sunil Pangarkar
Bill Stibbs
Montrouge, France
Paul McMorran
Pau, France
Ed Nordquist
Dubai Petroleum Company
Dubai, UAE
Ted Pittman
Perth, Australia
Hal Schindler
Dubai, UAE
Phil Scott
Woodside Offshore Petroleum Pty. Ltd.
Perth, Australia
For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Jean
Cahuzac and Charles Nielsen, Sedco Forex, Montrouge,
France; Mike Mannering, Sedco Forex, Singapore; Alan
Whitmore, Sedco Forex, Aberdeen, Scotland; and Steve
Prensky, journalist, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
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Oilfield Review
Spring 1996
The drilling industry has evolved significantly in terms of work scope and the division of responsibilities between oil companies and service suppliers. Much of the
change has been driven by the proactive
initiatives in drilling contracting that
emerged early in the 1990s.3 Instead of the
drilling contractor simply executing the task
of drilling a well according to the specifications of the operator, a new way of doing
business emerged. Closer communication
links were established, and a coordinated,
joint decision-making process was adopted
for well planning. This has led to a better
understanding of client needs and expectations than ever before, creation of benchmarks, and an improved image and credibility for the contractor who has become a true
partner in an operational team.
Today, the focus is on reorganizing the
way tasks are performed and toward reengineering the management structure and
1. Crosby PB: Quality is Free. New York, New York,
USA: Mentor (1980): 15.
2. Crosby, reference 1: 69.
3. DeWardt JP: Drilling Contracting in the Nineties,
paper IADC/SPE 19902, presented at the IADC/SPE
Drilling Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, February
27-March 2, 1990.
21
Generation 4:
Quality management
Generation 1:
Overengineering
Generation 3:
Quality assurance
Generation 2:
Quality control
nThe evolution of quality. The approach to quality has changed dramatically over four
Quality management
Quality assurance
Quality planning
Policy
Objectives/goals
Quality manual
Regulations
Standards
Controls
Procedures
Quality control
Supervision
Reviews
Inspections
Measurement
Performance
monitoring
Change control
Reporting
Auditing
Quality improvement
Identification of
chronic waste
Measurement of
nonconformance
Individual
commitment and
involvement
Quality improvement
project-by-project
archy. Quality
management links
all aspects of planning, control and
improvement into a
continuous system
for ensuring conformance to established standards.
(Adapted from Juran).
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Oilfield Review
nThe Trident III. This cantilever jackup is currently equipped to operate in water
up to 250 ft [76 m] deep.
Spring 1996
23
nElements of the
Well-defined
Teamwork
Proactive
Consistent
Systematic
Awareness
All-pervasive
Employee
and client
oriented
Conviction
Commitment
Conversion
culture requires passage through the phases of conviction, commitment and conversion. The result is a mindset geared toward creating
a climate of zero defects.
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Oilfield Review
Spring 1996
nContinuous
Present
situation
Present situation
revealed
Implementation
Formulating
and planning
Focusing
Data
gathering
Identifying
strategies
Action
Choice and
commitment
Analysis
New
situation
improvement.
Analyzing the status quo highlights
opportunities for
improvement.
Optimal solutions
for achieving
improvement are
defined and then
implemented and
monitored to
ensure that results
meet expectations.
Preferred
situation
25
bishments in Rotterdam.
reconfigured semis.
during the subsequent drilling phase of the project, when umbilicals would connect the semis to
the derrick sets; reconfiguring the subsea BOP
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Oilfield Review
and cuttings.
realized:
crane barge.
Use of a tender-assisted configuration, with key
Spring 1996
27
28
Results
versus
objectives
Inspections
and
assessment
HSE plan
Communication of HSE plan
Worksite/base risk
Minimization mechanisms
Emergency response
HSE meetings
Permit to work
Checklists
Rig up 3rd party
equipment
Authorization for
exemption
Modification
proposal note
STOP program
Accident
risk
data base
Accident
report 2nd
analysis
Adequacy of plan?
Company
policies and
procedures
Compliance?
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Safety first District HSE STOP program, Compliance Field Q-HSE
16
culture
plans
SMS concept Q-HSE audits instructors
14.5
SL commitment
14
to halve rate in
5 years
12
10.2
9.7
10
7.8
8
7
6.1
5.2
6
4.9
4.5
3.5
4
HSE objectives
ment system in
Sedco Forex. This
system combines
the basic policies,
procedures, tracking mechanisms
and compliance
assessment methods
to form a comprehensive system
which has been a
useful foundation for
a quality culture.
nSafety performance
2
0
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
Oilfield Review
Operations
Planning
committed to improve its offshore well construction performance on the Northwest Shelf of Aus-
Remove or
refine process
(what if)
Reporting
Track
against plan
Develop
theoretical
well
Assign time
estimates
Finalize plan,
develop
technical
limit
Develop
ways to
remove
Expertise
Analysis
Identify
deviation
from plan
TQM
feedback loop
ology, based on asking the question What is possible? instead of How can we improve? The
approach had a central philosophy: targeting the
technical limit, a level of performance judged as
Review
offset data
Identify
magnitude
of blockers
Team
building
Expertise
roller system.
nications.
Everything we did targeted process optimization and control. It has been enormously satisfying
Spring 1996
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Quality
management system
Quality manual
Measurement
Communication
Continuous
improvement
nQuality management system. The quality manual collects the key aspects of the system that include measurement, communication and continuous improvement.
Product
Fit-for-purpose
design
Conformance
Follow-up
Process
People
Consistency
Optimization
Controllable
Satisfaction
Ownership
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Oilfield Review
Rig
supervisors
Rig superintendents
BEST 1
Rig
engineers
Staff
engineers
Rig managers
District
managers
Project
managers
Management 1
Communication skills
Train the trainer
IT module
1
2
1
1
TQM awareness
Management 2
Sales training 1
Sales training 2
BEST 3 - Finance
Financial analysis
BEST 3 - Project mgt
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
as needed
2
1
1
1
1
as needed
as needed
Bidding workshop
Advanced mkt seminar
Advanced mgt seminar
Presentation skills
Recruiting skills
1
2
2
as needed
2
as needed
as needed
as needed
as needed
as needed
as needed
as needed
as needed
as needed
as needed
Courses run by Sedco Forex Courses shared with sister Schlumberger companies Outside courses
1
2
as needed
BEST
nManagement training matrix. The matrix outlines priority courses and essential supple-
mental programs for training rig personnel and regional management in quality, providing instruction on improving supervision, problem identification and communications.
For Sedco Forex, the engineering department is one of the sites that has achieved
ISO recognition. But here the approach was
initially directed at analyzing existing practices and developing innovative approaches
to improve the quality and deliverability of
new products and techniques. The goal was
to have a practical, workable system in
place, rather than to achieve ISO certification. However, in the drive to set up a quality system, ISO became viewed as the most
effective means to this end. Certification
was a natural outcome of the process.
Examples, ranging from electronic documentation to improved field support and
shipyard construction and repair, highlight
how recently introduced products and procedures are helping achieve more for the client.
If youve ever been on a drilling rig,
youve seen the overwhelming number of
printed technical and procedural manuals
needed to support day-to-day operations.
One engineering project focused on replacing these bulky, hard-copy manuals with
electronic documentation on CD-ROM
saving storage space and streamlining the
massive effort to keep them updated.
Spring 1996
The first corporate documentation CDROM was sent to all rigs in December 1995
after pilot testing in four field locations in
the Middle East and Far East. Each rig has
been equipped with CD-ROM readers. A
single CD contains 11 operations, Q-HSE
and training manuals; 20 marine operations
manuals; maintenance policies and procedures; and other location- and disciplinespecific documents, for a total of 1664 files.
Documents are linked; searches by key
word and topic can be conducted; and a
variety of navigation tools make finding key
information straightforward and efficient.
The contents of the CD will be updated and
expanded regularly.
This approach to documentation ensures
access to the most current information and
improves the productivity and efficiency of
rig workers by providing the data they
require to perform their jobs, thus reducing
errors, downtime and losses.
A second area of quality improvement has
been in field support. Historically, when a
problem arose on a rig, an engineer would
ask for help from a contact in the engineering department. There were many potential
pitfalls with this approach: the person might
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nThe Jacintoport distribution center. The facility was the first within Sedco Forex, and the first of its type anywhere in the USA, to receive ISO 9002 certification.
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Oilfield Review
port facility.
all auditable.
Spring 1996
gives quantitative measures of the performance of rig and personnel in several categories, summarized by an overall rating.
The SQA provides the basis for regular meetings with clients on quality improvement.
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companys culture.
[1000
m 2]
nWell-control training
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Oilfield Review
Overall performance, %
nService Quality
100
Overall average
performance
82%
90
80
Highest
scoring rig
93%
Lowest
scoring rig
76%
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Rig 1 Rig 2 Rig 3 Rig 4 Rig 5 Rig 6 Rig 7
theory, classroom lectures, homework and practical exercises, the rig and well provide a controlled environment for hands-on training in the
180
152
84
180
137
76
180
136
76
168
154
92
180
167
93
176
135
77
180
138
77
Client perception
SQA
the opportunity to witness and participate in disassembly and major overhauls of both surface
equipment and downhole tools during hands-on
training sessions.
Closing the
loop with
clients
In addition to new trainee induction and wellcontrol schools, the center schedules a variety of
other courses. These include drilling technology
Performance review
Quality teams
courses, covering both the fundamentals of casing and cementing, directional drilling, drill bits,
drillstring design, hydraulics and solids control,
as well as advanced work on formation evaluation and well design. In addition, there are
marine courses on the stability of offshore rigs
and procedures for moving and operating off-
Client forum
shore rigs.
For many years, Sedco Forex has been a recognized industry leader in training field personnel. Never has this been more evident than today,
as reflected in the dedication shown by the training staff at Pau.
Spring 1996
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