Why It Pays to Be Tracked in the Oilfield
This post is the first in a series that outlines how RigUp leverages location services to empower workers in the oilfield.
At RigUp, our Managed Field Services solution uses technology to solve for many of the pain points caused by the need for on-demand services in the oilfield. When our systems are expected to track the movement of a million barrels of water every day, we know that location tracking will be involved.
In this post, we’ll focus on one particular aspect of the liquids hauling. I’ll start by reviewing the business goals we’ve identified for this opportunity. Then we’ll start with one persona to look at the problem narrative, identify problems with the status quo, and paint a picture of what’s at stake. I’ll finish by identifying our ground rules for approaching the problem.
Business Goals
Our first goal is for our mobile app to provide visibility and transparency into work as it is unfolding, ensuring operators know when to expect work to begin so they can coordinate timing and sequence of activities at the rig, identifying and unblocking critical paths.
Second, our systems and integrations must provide work verification so that all parties know exactly how much is done, whether the work quantity is measured in miles driven, hours on the clock, or barrels of liquid hauled. This takes guesswork and manual judgment out of the equation using evidence-based billing, unlocking vendor benefits like instant pay.
Finally, in conjunction with the first and second goals, we provide managed field services at a lower cost while executing with HSE excellence. The lower cost of delivery benefits operators by reducing operational expenses and it benefits vendors by rewarding quality with more work, leading to increased asset utilization leading to increased return on investment.
We arrived at the business goals through discovery and analysis of our customer’s problems. In the next few sections we’ll generate a deep understanding of the problem to drive the technical solution.
Problem Statement
Liquids hauling in the oilfield can take many forms, from taking away produced water — in some cases over 10 barrels of produced water per barrel of produced crude oil — to deliveries of purchased fluids, transferring liquids between tanks, or simply cleaning up small spills. Let’s focus on the liquids delivery use case.
Starting with a template for communicating and conveying the problem to internal product delivery teams — such as design and engineering — helps to cover all bases of a problem. I’ll leverage David Bailey’s framework developing a need narrative, which I have broken down into three sections: Persona, Problem, and Opportunity.
Persona: Who is in pain?
For ___[target audience], it’s a constant challenge to ___[general problem]. Every ___[time period], these people ___[perform a key activity] in order to ___[achieve a primary goal]. This is especially true if you’re a ___[niche].
Our main persona has a blend of domain expertise with project management skillset. He also leverage soft skills to work professionally with many different vendors in high-stress/high-stakes environment while maintaining accountability to the operator company.
Applying what we know to the template results in the following:
For completions consultants working on rigs in the oilfield, it’s a constant challenge to manage multiple vendors in order to execute a complex project with the ultimate goal of producing oil as quickly as possible.
Multiple times every shift, these people order liquids from hauling companies in order to inject into the well for one of multiple physical and chemical effects downhole in order to take all steps necessary to produce oil at the maximum rates.
This is especially true if they’re working in a remote location that is hours from hauling yards and other infrastructure.
Problem: What needs fixing?
The main problem they face is ___[primary functional problem relating to activity] which leads to ___[bad/worst case outcomes]. Today, their best option is ___[substitutes], but of course, they ___[the most common complaints of each substitute]. With ___[key trend], the problem will only get worse over time.
Let’s frame up the problem that we’re tackling here. This is a great opportunity to use the Five Why’s technique to help get to the root cause, which is crucial for considering all possibilities and thinking outside the box in the solution phase.
Applying our knowledge of the problem to the template (and leveraging 5 why’s), we get the following:
The main problem they face is trucks not arriving when expected, due to dynamic logistics challenges like traffic, delays in completion of previous jobs, delays in loading product, road issues, miscommunication, or simply over-optimistic dispatchers which leads to project delays, vendors and equipment waiting idle, and reputation risk.
Today, their best option is to call or text the hauling dispatchers on a regular interval to get arrival updates, but of course, they fear that that behavior can be seen as nagging, don’t always get an answer right away and even then, they are relying on their trust of the dispatcher without directly observing evidence.
With increased corporate pressure and application of lean management techniques to oilfield development and increased tracking and visibility to delays, the problem will only get worse over time.
Opportunity: Setting the stage for a solution
If only there was a(n) easier/better/cheaper way to ___[perform a key activity], then customers could ___[quantifiable impact on their primary goal] which would lead to ___[positive outcomes / emotions]. With ___[number of potential customers], there is a clear opportunity to meaningfully impact a huge number of people.
The final stage synthesizes the first two and sets the stage for a winning solution. It kicks off the solution process at the precipice of opportunity with a visionary statement, almost daring the product team to deliver it by establishing the impact we’ll have on the world.
At times it is important to take liberty with the narrative template, especially adding more context, meaning, and inspiration when it is time to build the solution:
If only there was a easier/better/cheaper way to ensure that liquid deliveries will arrive when needed, and at least be alerted if conditions arise that will lead to late liquid delivery arrivals, then customers could reduce the time that the project is delayed while waiting for hauling trucks to arrive which would lead to better reputation and better personal performance.
With thousands of consultants calling out work every single day and the overall impact of reducing inefficiencies in the energy sector, there is a clear opportunity to meaningfully impact a huge number of people.
Ground Rules
At this point, the problem is taking shape, but there are a few ground rules that should be called out while developing a solution with design and engineering.
If we decide to pursue smartphone-based location tracking, then we must be mindful of the privacy implications of users location data. Typically hauling drivers carry smartphones with them whether they are on the job or off and there are privacy considerations. While it is fair to ask for location tracking during work execution, tracking workers while they are not doing work with RigUp is unnecessary.
Second, high fidelity location tracking data will drain a smartphone battery (and data plans). This can leave people stranded, without a lifeline, and most likely hamper app adoption.
In review, the ground rules are, for app-based location tracking:
- Allow drivers to control when tracking is on or off
- Configure tracking so it doesn’t burn through battery or data plans
Next Time: Solution Phase
Location tracking — in some form — seems prime to be a major contributor to the business value proposition for Managed Field Services at RigUp, but questions remain. What do we mean by location tracking? How is it used by our target personas? And what are the challenges imposed by the reality of the oilfield?
In the next post we’ll break down technical constraints and use the problem narrative as a guide to dig into the details of how we developed a location tracking solution.
This post was inspired by Dave Bailey’s post on selling the problem before the solution.
