07:21
Faizan
There are all types of organizations within the oil and gas business. Most of them providing services and products towards the exploration and enhancement of oil and gas production.
Exploration costs, the services, and products supporting exploration are increasing more than ever. The need to obtain operational excellence has never been greater.
The majority of these oilfield organizational types are applying Lean Sigma methodologies in order to reach operational excellence. Almost all of these organizations seek improvement within the same business categories; 1) Safety 2) Environmental 3) Process design 4) Supply chain management.
There are some fundamental Lean Sigma tools which, when applied correctly, and with leadership support, will provide the needed results for these business categories. Some lean sigma tools will benefit more than one category.
Safety and Environmental
5S - Organizing the workplace for efficiency, effectiveness, and cleanliness provides the platform for any safety and environmental program. A workplace properly sorted, straightened, and swept will enhance even the best in class safety and environmental programs. A workplace is anywhere work applications are executed. Workplaces like the storing of hazardous materials, the transfer of hazardous material, the cab and deck of trucks, maintenance shops, drilling floor, derrick platform, pipe storage, control rooms, wash bays, dispatch office, administration offices, etc. The sorting, straightening, and sweeping will provide efficient and correct access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), proper labeling and disposing of hazardous materials, tools available at the time of need and close to the application, DOT, EPA, OSHA, and ISO procedural compliance. When something is out of place, like a chemical that could react with another, a valve that should be closed, a cable that may cause a tripping hazard, a truck load not secured properly or too heavy, a gauge indicating a measure out of specification, and even a critical process step that has been skipped, a 5S workplace will highlight and prevent these possible safety or environmental incidents.
Standard Work - This Lean Sigma tool works alongside the safety and environmental training program. The standard work training process starts with the identification of important steps, key points, and reasons for the key points by precisely observing people performing tasks as they are completed today. Only the important steps become part of the standard work document which facilitates learning. Then during the observation process "key points" essential to performing each important step, safely, with quality, and efficiently will be documented. Finally, the reasons for these key points are also documented. For example, in the process of transferring a hazardous material from a drum to a tank the first important step; Review the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), Key Point - Understand required PPE for handling, Reason for Key Point - Prevents injury from chemical that might get on exposed parts of skin. There can also be other key points for each important step and for this example it might be how to dispose or clean up any spilled chemical. Once these standard work documents are completed by observation and validated by experts all appropriate work positions can be trained. As new key points and reasons are found or developed by employees a new standard is set and employees can be re-trained on these new found improvements. This standard work training process can be a safety and environmental improvement program by itself as employees will immediately take ownership.
Exploration costs, the services, and products supporting exploration are increasing more than ever. The need to obtain operational excellence has never been greater.
The majority of these oilfield organizational types are applying Lean Sigma methodologies in order to reach operational excellence. Almost all of these organizations seek improvement within the same business categories; 1) Safety 2) Environmental 3) Process design 4) Supply chain management.
There are some fundamental Lean Sigma tools which, when applied correctly, and with leadership support, will provide the needed results for these business categories. Some lean sigma tools will benefit more than one category.
Safety and Environmental
5S - Organizing the workplace for efficiency, effectiveness, and cleanliness provides the platform for any safety and environmental program. A workplace properly sorted, straightened, and swept will enhance even the best in class safety and environmental programs. A workplace is anywhere work applications are executed. Workplaces like the storing of hazardous materials, the transfer of hazardous material, the cab and deck of trucks, maintenance shops, drilling floor, derrick platform, pipe storage, control rooms, wash bays, dispatch office, administration offices, etc. The sorting, straightening, and sweeping will provide efficient and correct access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), proper labeling and disposing of hazardous materials, tools available at the time of need and close to the application, DOT, EPA, OSHA, and ISO procedural compliance. When something is out of place, like a chemical that could react with another, a valve that should be closed, a cable that may cause a tripping hazard, a truck load not secured properly or too heavy, a gauge indicating a measure out of specification, and even a critical process step that has been skipped, a 5S workplace will highlight and prevent these possible safety or environmental incidents.
Standard Work - This Lean Sigma tool works alongside the safety and environmental training program. The standard work training process starts with the identification of important steps, key points, and reasons for the key points by precisely observing people performing tasks as they are completed today. Only the important steps become part of the standard work document which facilitates learning. Then during the observation process "key points" essential to performing each important step, safely, with quality, and efficiently will be documented. Finally, the reasons for these key points are also documented. For example, in the process of transferring a hazardous material from a drum to a tank the first important step; Review the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), Key Point - Understand required PPE for handling, Reason for Key Point - Prevents injury from chemical that might get on exposed parts of skin. There can also be other key points for each important step and for this example it might be how to dispose or clean up any spilled chemical. Once these standard work documents are completed by observation and validated by experts all appropriate work positions can be trained. As new key points and reasons are found or developed by employees a new standard is set and employees can be re-trained on these new found improvements. This standard work training process can be a safety and environmental improvement program by itself as employees will immediately take ownership.
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