An empirical study of mobile-device use at Norwegian oil and gas processing plants

Abstract

Mobile devices have been used for at least 5 years in the oil and gas industry. The interaction-design challenge is to develop a holistic view of operator-device interaction in hazardous areas to ensure that this mobile technology best serves the goals of both its end users and the oil and gas organizations. Introducing mobile devices can change the environment, the workers and even the industry's objectives. In this paper, we provided insights into work practices and mobile-device use at two Norwegian natural-gas processing plants. Using methods inspired by ethnographic and interaction-design research, we investigated how operators used their mobile equipment in the field, and we explored the extent to which mobile-device use improved procedures and satisfied users' needs. In contrast to many other studies on mobile-device use, this study drew upon empirical observations of real operations in hazardous environments.

Human Centric Digital Transformation and Operator 4.0 for the Oil and Gas Industry

“…In order to be deployed in hazardous environments and explosive areas, new designs need to use appropriate materials and encapsulate product components. These elements demand more time and efforts from the developer to optimize the industrial design as well as handle the shortage of electronic component providers [68], [69].…”

“…Although the ergonomics and user interface have been accounted for in the design of wearable devices, the field deployment still raises many concerns about the operatordevice interaction [188], [189]. The working conditions of the O&G industry are different from other industries, as petroleum environments include extreme noise, weather, and danger [68]. The introduction of any electronic device needs to satisfy strict examinations of the inherent health, safety and environmental risks before deploying it in the explosive areas.…”

“…Given these difficulties, the deployment of new interacting technologies such as touchscreen [190], virtual reality keyboard [191] and fingerprint [192] are questionable. The small screen of industrial tablets (e.g., Tab Ex 01 with 8" screen [193]) also limits text presentations and visual content for information display [68], [194]. These challenges have been motivating researchers and developers to improve the interaction design of industrial wearable devices.…”

“…Consequently, the employment of new technologies cannot achieve a return on investment as expected. This issue has motivated many researchers to upgrade the GUI design in terms of transparency and explicability of automated system computation [68], [198]. This research attempts to determine optimal GUI design and formulate design recommendations, which affect the effective deployment of wearable devices [196].…”