随着电子技术的蓬勃发展，油田工具追踪将逐渐实现无纸化的目标，这对于油气开发中大量使用的铁制工具和设备（如管串、泵等）来说非常重要，能够大幅提高作业效率。 来自 | Joshua Hedrick 编译 | 惊蛰 影子 油气行业建立在大量的手工劳动基础上，而设备和管串的主要材料-钢铁，一直是需要追踪的项目之一。跟踪油田铁质资产是一项艰巨、耗时、耗力的过程，以美国Well Services公司的历史数据来看，笔和纸是进行数据跟踪的主要工具。在所有的作业现场，手动记录过程需要三名员工三到四天时间。此外，记录工作不仅时间紧任务重，同时也充满了人为错误，记录员可能会误记或漏掉某一项。记录过程中，通常需要一个人读取序列号，另一个人输入信息。 人工查看设备序列号也是一项重大挑战，序列号可能被泥浆覆盖，也可能压在地面，难以阅读。此外，当设备堆叠在一起，必须将其移动才可以查看和记录序列号，这并不是一件容易的事。类似的情况经常出现在现场，手动录制非常困难，并且容易出错。 从合规性和安全性的角度来看，为了防止出现问题，公司还必须保留每件设备的证书，保证能够在短时间内完成检索。Well Services保留了所有证书的拷贝，除了难以维护之外，该维护系统还造成了混乱的问题。如果检查人员要求提供特定设备证书，工作人员则必须中断日常工作来梳理现场文件。此外，对于保留的纸质副本来说，丢失或损坏也时常发生。如果所请求的证书无法找到，甚至可能导致停机问题。每个运营商都知道停机会浪费大量成本，希望尽可能地减少停机时间。 手动记录追踪还存在另外一个问题，那就是提高成本，降低收益。理想情况下，库存需要每周进行一次更新。但是由于手动记录非常耗时，实际上并不能经常进行，这增加了准确跟踪设备使用情况和维护库存的难度。这种不确定性意味着很难确定现场已有哪些设备，认知的差异可能会导致重复的采购，降低收益，并不利于现场作业的响应，灵活性降低。此外，由于不能详细掌握哪些设备可用，这还会妨碍了工作的安排。为了解决这些问题，开发商需要一种现代化的库存追踪管理系统。 SPM-RFID技术 物联网在很多方面使油然气行业受益，对现场作业产生了积极影响。Weir Oil&Gas公司SPM射频识别（RFID）技术和RFID移动应用程序的引入，******追踪作业现场铁制设备的方式。当开发商要进行一口井的压裂作业时，该程序能够快速响应，降低成本，提高工作效率合理灵活性。 RFID应用程序（app）加可以下载到移动设备，包括iPhone、Android系统以及手持阅读器。RFID应用程序可以在现场进行Weir及其他OEM设备序列号和证书的扫描和编辑。 低效的人工跟踪流程需要几名员工三到四天时间才能完成。此外，纸质跟踪系统仅记录工具描述，而不能记录数量高达***件工具的序列号。通过RFID，可以在*到*小时内完成所有序列号的记录。手动更新库存的过程非常耗时，目前进行所采用的都是间歇性跟踪，间隔时间可能长达六个月。而使用Weir的RFID技术可以每周跟踪库存。 利用该程序扫描设备和工具的过程简单明了。通过使用Zebra Technologies ****或Technology Systems UHF RFID手持阅读器，可以在几秒钟内完成工具序列号的扫描，无需移动托盘或改动包装，所有区域序列号都可轻松查看。只需将手持阅读器指向工具，就可自动捕获序列号，如图*所示。该系统功能非常全面，消除了人为错误风险，每次都能获取正确序列号。此外，它还可以防止序列号的重复扫描，从而增加计数的可信度。 在RFID应用程序帮助下，开发商可以准确地了解库存零件和位置，能够在任何地点进行工具分配。操作人员可以快速浏览SPM应用程序网站，查看所有备用工具，有助于帮助快速确定（*分钟）库存是否满足另一项工作的进行，而通过人为方式完成此项评估需要两天时间。这能够使开发商轻松满足客户的需求，******的运营效率 技术传播/无纸化目标：目前，Well Services公司在作业地点和总部都使用RFID应用程序，这对于公司运营非常有价值。使用基于物联网的系统，配合RFID应用程序，可以跟踪每个作业阶段的铁制设备成本，这是公司运营的一个重要指标。该应用程序非常详细，工程师甚至可以将每辆泵车编入RFID系统，实现每辆卡车的自动分配。 Well Services的目标是实现设备记录的完全无纸化，Weir的 RFID app有望实现这一目标。利用该app及相关支持技术，公司实现了主要目标，成本和效益也同时大幅改善。据估计，通过节约人力成本，该公司每年可节约成本***万美元。 根据作业要求不同，RFID app的组织架构可以调节，提高了员工工作的灵活性。实现客户需求定制化同时也增加了作业计划的价值。 此外，RFID app还解决了低信号强度的记录问题。由于大部分作业是在偏远地区进行，有时不能实现网络连接，导致扫描的设备序列号和证书等无法及时上传。该系统具有即时存储功能，将工程师扫描的数据存贮，待网络可用时再完成数据上传，不会耽误现场作业的进行。 实时功能：根据用户反馈，在实际应用中RFID app提高了作业人员的现场应急响应能力。例如，在搭建钻机的过程中，开发商临时改变了作业设计，这对现场作业来说并不是小事，需要大量时间来满足新的设计要求。但是，在RFID app的帮助下，作业人员就能快速确定现有设备情况，帮助完成新作业设计的执行。反之，如果我们还是采用手动记录的方式，作业人员就要一件一件的检查设备，以确定能否满足作业要求。简言之，有了RFID app，作业人员无需长时间等待，就能满足开发商的要求。 假如在一次作业发生了故障，开发商需要检查相关设备的证书等。如果以人工记录的纸质文件为基础，完成所需证件的检索至少需要*-*小时。而在RFID app的帮助下，作业人员可以快速的通过邮件方式发送所需证书，大幅降低人力成本。更重要的是，在这过程中无需中断作业，消除了相关的NPT，对于服务商和开发商来说都能节约大量成本。基于RFID app降低时间成本的作业，开发商能够更加合理的安排作业人员，尽可能的提高作业效率。 RFID应用程序对开发商的运营产生了积极的影响，越来越多的人相信这项技术是一项宝贵的财富，可以使所有运营商受益，帮助他们管理自己的设备状况，避免停机问题，降低成本。一旦RFID应用程序投入使用，开发商马上就可以看到劳动成本的降低，设备追踪的精度更高，数据的定制能力也显著改善。总之，它将成为运营的重要组成部分。The oil and gas industry is built on many manual labor processes, and tracking iron has always been one of them. Manually tracking iron assets in the field is an arduous, time- and labor-intensive process Historically, U.S. Well Services tracked its iron with pen and paper. At any given job site, the manual process required the efforts of three employees for three to four days. While time-intensive, it was also fraught with human error and challenges in the field. Numbers can be transposed easily or digits can be missed. Typically, one person is needed to read the serial numbers while another enters the information. Physically viewing the serial numbers also can be a significant challenge. A piece of equipment’s serial number may be covered in mud, or it may be facing the ground, so that it’s hard to read. Also, when pieces of equipment are stacked on top of each other, those pallets would have to be moved, so that field engineers could view and record the serial number; not an easy task. Countless situations, like these, present themselves in the field, making manual recording difficult and prone to error. From a compliance and safety standpoint, the company also must keep certificates on every piece of equipment and retrieve these documents in short order, should an issue arise. Historically, the company kept a binder of all hardcopy certificates. This system created confusion and problems among team members, in addition to being difficult to maintain. If an inspector requested a certificate for a specific piece of equipment, employees would have to disrupt their daily work process and comb through files that were often kept at the field office. Additionally, keeping paper copies made it extremely easy to lose or damage these valuable documents. If a requested certificate couldn’t be produced, that could lead to downtime. And as every operator knows, downtime costs money, and you want to minimize it as much as possible. Manually tracking iron created another problem that could increase costs and reduce profit margins. Ideally, iron inventory is performed on a weekly basis. However, because manual tracking is so cumbersome and time-consuming, it wasn’t done as frequently. This made it more difficult to accurately track usage and maintain a running inventory of equipment. This uncertainty meant it was hard to ascertain what equipment was already on-site. The knowledge gap caused the company to make unnecessary purchases that might have a negative effect on the bottom line, and make it difficult to be responsive and nimble in the field. Moreover, it hampered the company’s ability to schedule additional work, without knowing exactly what equipment was available. To solve these issues, a modern iron inventory system was required. SPM-RFID TECHNOLOGY The Internet of Things has benefited the oil and gas industry in many ways and made a positive impact on field operations. The introduction of Weir Oil & Gas’ SPM Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and RFID Mobile App has completely transformed how the company tracks iron on-site. The innovative system has enabled operations managers to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and confidently schedule more work when a client wants to frac a well. The RFID system features the app loaded onto a mobile device, iPhone or Android, and a handheld reader. The RFID app enables serial numbers and certificates of Weir and other OEM equipment to be scanned and edited in the field. The inefficient manual tracking process required several employees and took three to four days to complete. Also, the paper-based tracking system noted only tool descriptions rather than serial numbers for up to *** pieces of iron. With RFID, we can now complete the project, with definitive serial numbers, in about * to * hr. The manual inventory process was extremely time-consuming, and iron was tracked intermittently, sometimes just once every six months. We now track inventory every week, using Weir’s RFID technology. The scanning process is simple and straightforward. Using either a Zebra Technologies **** or Technology Systems UHF RFID handheld reader, employees can scan the serial number of each piece of iron in seconds, without moving pallets or pulling shrinkwrap, or attempting to see serial numbers in difficult-to-access areas. The handheld reader is simply pointed at the tool, and the serial number is captured in the app. The system is comprehensive and eliminates the human error aspect as the serial number is scanned correctly every time. It also prevents double-scanning of a serial number increasing confidence the iron count is correct. With this RFID app, we can now allocate iron anywhere we want, because we have an accurate view of what parts we have on-hand and where they are located. Employees can see all of our spare iron with a quick glance at the SPM app website, which enables them to quickly determine (* min.) if we can pick up another job. This evaluation used to take two days. Being able to instantly know if we can take on more work enables the company to easily meet our customers’ needs while adding to the company’s bottom line. Technology dissemination/paperless goal. U.S. Well Services uses the RFID app on every location and at our HQ shop; it’s extremely valuable to our operations. The company’s flow iron supervisor uses the RFID app several times a day. Using the IoT-based system, with RFID app, we can track iron cost per stage, which is an important metric for the company. The app is so detailed, engineers have even entered each pump truck into the RFID system, so it can allocate iron to each truck. It is U.S. Well Services’ goal to go paperless, and Weir’s RFID app moves us toward making that goal a reality. The system and supporting technology have become indispensable and is helping us achieve corporate objectives, reduce downtime and increase revenues. Corporate accountants estimate the company could save $* million/year by avoiding redundant purchases and reducing labor costs. The RFID app gives employees the flexibility to set the system according to the organizational structure required for the application. This level of customization adds incremental value to pre-job planning. Additionally, the RFID app has solved a significant problem with low signal strength. And since most job sites are remote, it is difficult to find a wifi or strong cellular signal in the field for uploading scanned serial numbers and certificates. The ability to scan without a signal enables field engineers to work uninterrupted by uploading the scanned data once a connection to a cell tower or a Wi-Fi signal is possible. Real-time capabilities. We have experienced several instances where the RFID app has enabled us to be more responsive in the field. For example, while we were rigging-up on a pad, an operator wanted to change the design to a three-well zipper manifold, which was an unusual request. However, by accessing the RFID app, we were able to quickly determine we had the equipment to do the job. If we were still using the manual tracking method, field personnel would have had to physically count equipment in the field to ascertain if the needed equipment was on-site. The RFID app enables us to accommodate the operator’s request without delay. In instances of a pad failure, company representatives need to have access to relevant certificates. Manually producing those documents, using the paper system, could take * to * hr. However, using the RFID app, we can now email these certificates to a company representative immediately, reducing employee downtime procuring the required documentation. More importantly, it can eliminate a stop-work order at the job site, reducing/eliminating NPT, which leads to a significant cost-savings for the operator and the service provider. These time-savings generated by the RFID app enables managers to allocate human resources to other tasks and keep the job site running as efficiently as possible. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION The positive impact that the RFID app has made on our operations convinces me that this technology is a valuable asset, which can benefit all operators and help them manage their own iron, to avoid downtime and improve the bottom line. Once the RFID app is used and operators see the immediate result of reduced labor costs, greater accuracy and ability to customize data the way they wish, it will become an essential component of their operations, too.