Developing Operational Procedures for Safe and Efficient Application of New Process Control Functionality on the Drilling Rig

Abstract

Introducing new control functionality on the drilling rig has an effect on handling of machinery and controls and on the overlying work process both on the rig and for off-site support. New operational procedures taking these factors into account are therefore required to ensure safe and efficient application of such new technology.This paper presents a new method for developing operational procedures for the driller when applying a system for automatic safeguarding and optimization of pump and pipe control in drilling operations. This method has been developed and subsequently applied through a lengthy study. A laboratory test environment has been used for this purpose, containing an advanced drilling simulator with the safeguarding and optimization functionality integrated.The method applied consists of three phases, all performed in the laboratory test environment. Initially, the measurable effect of use of the system on the driller's performance was evaluated in detail, using a set of test cases and a series of test-personnel from a drilling contractor. Subsequently the ability to drill a well section with incorporated incidents and exceptions was studied. Finally, operational procedures were developed in cooperation with the test-personnel, again using the test environment for testing and checking of procedures.In this development process the focus has been on varying system modes and on handling of system and drilling process exceptions, while taking into account the effect of human factors and the wider organizational context of work conduct.The authors believe that the method described is a suitable way to develop procedures for application of new control functionality on the drilling rig, and would recommend that such studies should be performed for new technologies to be applied in control of drilling operations.

Drilling-Systems Automation: Current State, Initiatives, and Potential Impact

“…In most cases, recommendations from these systems are delivered to humans (the driller, primarily) on human/machine interfaces (HMIs) on the rig floor that are separate from the main HMI that the driller uses to drill the well. An example is the practice of third parties displaying equivalent circulating density to the driller on separate screens in North Sea drilling operations, as observed by Iversen et al (2013). This HMI duplication is the result of organizational boundaries and lack of a reference architecture that extends industry Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) (which specify how software components should interact) so that external content is incorporated in the primary driller's display.…”

“…Promises of consistent, efficient, predictable, tireless, and error-free performance conjure visions of rigs of the future devoid of human crews, or at least rigs in which personnel safety and well-being are long-forgotten issues. In fact, Iversen et al (2013) noted that most errors when operating automated systems occur because of mode confusion (the automated system behaves differently than expected by the human operator). This is because of either human-operator overload, or a loss of situational awareness: The human operator is out of the loop.…”