unlocking the potential
Written by Jarryd Du Preez, MIET
Did you know that many oil and gas companies still don’t have effective digital management systems in place to manage their Ex-inspections campaigns? Digitisation of Ex Inspection Systems is one of the slowest markets to adapt to the many benefits that advanced technologies can offer.
In today’s rapidly advancing, digitised, AI world, there are still many companies who use outdated methods when managing hazardous area Inspections – this should be a thing of the past, yet so many companies still rely on “manual” methods.
The oil and gas industry is a huge market and while we develop alternative sustainable solutions, this market is essential to life as we know it. Let’s take a closer look at the sort of challenges facing the industry digitisation and why it’s having a slower transition over other industries.
- Lack of Knowledge
There are many standards and regulations set out for the international market from governing bodies like the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Many operatives within this industry do not however, have the correct competency requirements, as set out in these standards to perform their responsibilities correctly. In fact, more often than not even using ‘manual’ methods – recent history shows adherence to the required standards is not being followed correctly. Meaning the demand for improvement in inspection regimes is often highlighted during audits but not acted upon thereafter.
If fully compliant inspections were enforced and standards followed correctly, the time taken to perform inspections would drastically increase and the comment “how can we do this more efficiently”, would become a priority!
- Suppressed Demand
Due to this suppressed demand, companies creating effective digital inspection and hazardous area management systems are faced with a limited market making it less business attractive since developing these systems can be costly.
However, these digital systems create a reduction in manpower costs. The costs of these systems, minus substantial labour costs, means the total cost of a digital inspection will always be much less than any form of ‘manual’ management.
- Willingness To Change
Personnel react to change differently and often the first reaction of change is the fear of the unknown. Humans tend to not adapt quickly to change, this is another reason why companies have difficulty implementing these systems. The work force will naturally give some resistance to change. However, this should not last long and once the benefits become more evident, then acceptance starts to set in, benefits can be seen, and full integration can commence.
Digitisation Key Benefits
Digitisation can provide huge benefits like better work efficiency, greater accuracy, improved security, greater flexibility, and faster resolution of corrective actions. Many of these systems will autonomously collate all your data and display it on easy-to-read dashboards, giving the responsible people a live overview of project status.
Digitisation and statistical analysis can be like radar or a microscope, as they enable you to see things you wouldn’t normally see. This means that you can hit the target without much reconnaissance and be much more effective and efficient.
All these gains made through digitisation contribute to two headlining factors which massively affect this industry:
- Safety
Because these systems give management a visual understanding with guided algorithms, it allows them to have more time to make critical decisions and lead their teams with more confidence than ever before. This efficiency gained will directly result in a safer working environment for all, as this saved time could be used to address other safety concerns.
- Cost/Efficiency
Largely due to the reduction in administration time these digital systems dramatically reduce costs. Inspections records are automatically available, RFID tags reduce time taken to locate the equipment that is being inspected, no more time spent flipping through files to find the IECEx or ATEX certificates. It’s all available in a few short clicks from a single device in your hand.
EUTEX Provides Digitisation Success
At EUTEX we pride ourselves on being Ex Compliance technology early adopters. Since 2012 we have been carrying out hazardous area inspections whilst providing digitised evidence of compliance with our state-of-the-art inspection digital processes, this we believe revolutionizes the way inspections are carried out.
With our digital systems, we eliminate the need for large amounts of paperwork and manual data entry, significantly reducing the chance of errors and increasing the speed and accuracy of inspections, making it faster, more accurate, and more efficient than ever before.
Digital Ex solutions, not only saves companies time and money, but can also track project process, record changes, and helps ensure compliance with standards, codes, directives, and regulations, giving our clients unprecedented visibility and control over operations.
If you choose to partner up with EUTEX on Hazardous Area Compliance, as well as being at the forefront to Ex Compliance software and hardware technology – you can be sure of having:
Your project(s) managed by competent certified industry experts
Your campaign carried out by competent certified inspection teams
The impartiality and integrity you would expect from and IECEx Certified Service Facility
A set of deliverables that ensure a complete accurate dossier of compliance
