Consists Of vs. Entails
When you write that something “consists of” various components, you are usually referring to something that has consistency or substance. That means that it must be a noun that has some kind of mass to it.
You really cannot use the expression “consists of” when referring to verbs, because actions have no mass or consistency.
There is a better word that can be used with verbs: Entails, which means to involve as a necessary accompaniment.
Example:
Inspecting the laboratory entails checking to see that all containers are labeled, ensuring that there are no dangerous conditions present, and documenting the findings in the Safety Management System.
You could also use the words “includes” or “involves” rather than “entails,” which would be better than “consists of.”
Entails can also be used with nouns.
Example:
Motherhood entails hard work, sacrifice, sweet kisses, and poopy diapers.
Some of these nouns have no mass or consistency – and some can have a large mass with nasty consistency!
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Profound Quote of the Day:
“Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else.”
– Brian Tracy, American author and motivational speaker, b. 1944
Two of his books: Maximum Achievement and The Power of Self-Confidence
Invensys Acquires Skelta Software
Invensys Operations Management has acquired Skelta Software, a privately held software company headquartered in Bangalore, India. Founded in 2003, Skelta provides enterprise business process management (BPM) and advanced workflow software solutions. The Skelta BPM suite offers business process modeling and execution and includes unique, integrated capabilities for business rules management, forms management, document management and business activity monitoring. It also includes connectors to Microsoft SharePoint, BizTalk and Office.
“This acquisition further extends our Enterprise Control System strategy,” said Sudipta Bhattacharya, President and CEO, Invensys Operations Management. “Skelta technology will enable Invensys Operations Management and our global network of ecosystem partners to deliver new, easy-to-configure workflow, collaboration and process-centric applications. This, in turn, empowers our customers and partners to be more productive and innovative.
“Every business needs the flexibility to respond to new business challenges in real time, Bhattacharya continued. “By extending our open Wonderware System Platform and InFusion Enterprise Control System offerings, we further accelerate the development of applications that improve collaboration and workflow across people, systems and documents.”
Skelta offerings enable customers to build powerful BPM solutions to accelerate customer deployments with a high return on investment and lower total cost of ownership. Skelta also offers prebuilt solutions, such as accounts payable, document management, and governance, risk management and compliance, to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. These offerings include advanced collaboration tools, real-time work flow processes and new application development tools, delivered and serviced by more than 80 partners, including systems integrators and valued-added resellers, who will join Invensys Operations Management’s global network of more than 3,000 ecosystem partners.
Said Sanjay Shah, CEO of Skelta Software: “Our customers will continue to work with the same strong Skelta team and continue to receive the same excellent products and services, but now they will be backed by an industry-leading company with global capabilities, allowing us to further expand our suite of BPM software, services and solutions.”
The business will continue to be managed by Skelta’s executive team, adding approximately 130 employees to Invensys’ operations in India.
Skelta BPM is a completely embeddable business process management and advanced workflow framework, and like Invensys’ ArchestrA software framework, it is built on Microsoft .NET technology, making it open, extensible and scalable. The Skelta BPM software will extend the Invensys Wonderware System Platform and InFusion Enterprise Control System with new workflow capabilities that can help customers improve their process execution, standardization, quality control, regulatory compliance and environment, health and safety programs.
Skelta BPM technology links manufacturing and infrastructure operations systems to business and departmental workflow systems, helping customers achieve better business results in real time. Personnel at every level of the operation, including quality managers and planners, can use the resulting solutions to help control their daily workflows, as well as improve demand response, issue resolution and corrective and preventive actions. For example, because it is being integrated with the InFusion ECS, Skelta technology will help make it quicker and easier for customers to initiate a production change sequence as a result of a large order or to manage workflows associated with maintenance issues, such as faster recovery from unplanned downtime. Preconfigured industrial and manufacturing-specific workflows will be built into future Invensys offerings, with the goal of reducing the cost and complexity of implementing high-value workflow solutions while driving productivity excellence.
SMT Reveals Next-Gen Geology Software
Seismic Micro-Technology (SMT) previewed its newest software enhancement, KINGDOM EarthPAK Advanced, at the annual American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Annual Convention in New Orleans. The release introduced the next generation of geology, integrating leading-edge science across the entire exploration and production workflow to improve productivity. EarthPAK is the latest addition to the KINGDOM Advanced family, introduced last year with its patent-pending horizon tracking technology. With KINGDOM Advanced, geoscientists, engineers, and managers can all work together in the same software.
“As oil and gas fields mature and new plays become more complex in nature, field evaluation has become increasingly collaborative,” said Stan Abele, VP Product Management, SMT. “To conduct full field analysis and development, asset teams incorporate geologic, geophysical, production, and economic information. Our goal is to integrate the workflow so companies can make decisions faster.”
The new reserves and economic evaluation functionality includes advanced volumetrics to better estimate uncertainty and sensitivity in identifying reserves. Monte Carlo simulation allows for simultaneous evaluation of multiple reservoirs to analyze the range and probability of potential 1P, 2P and 3P estimates. The multi-segment decline curve analysis capability supports more accurate forecasting of recoverable reserves. Companies can create field development plans, analyze incremental effects of a workover or infill drilling, and model production entity-based analysis with a click of a button.
Finally, economic evaluation can be used to identify and perform sophisticated analytics linking production forecasts to economic scenarios. The flexible economic case generation helps in estimating and ranking prospects based on the commercial value and return.
Matt Gentry, COO of Antares Energy, said: “This newly integrated functionality improves upon an already great product.”
The general availability of the release will be early summer 2010.
Tendeka Launches New Temperature Sensing System
Tendeka launched the new Sensornet Oryx-XR Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) system, designed for use in harsh environments. The Oryx-XR is an enhanced version of the original Oryx system, which was launched in 2009. The upgraded model has an extended sensing range, increased from 4 km to 12 km, and an improved measurement performance, which can provide a temperature resolution as fine as 0.01°C.
The autonomous, low-powered device provides temperature samples every meter along a fiber optic cable, with a wide operating temperature window of between -50°C to 650°C and can operate by solar or wind power. The permanent, standalone unit contains the sensing optoelectronics and operates remotely with an intuitive, user-friendly software interface, making it simple to use and easily transportable.
The Oryx-XR features an inbuilt multiplexing module with either two or four channels, enabling up to four single-ended measurements or two double-ended measurements. It provides data back to the client’s office by any available satellite, radio or fiber communications link, making it a powerful remote logging DTS unit.
The system has been designed to complement the performance of Tendeka’s family of Sentinel DTS units, making it suitable for the toughest monitoring challenges, such as horizontal well activity.
Dan Watley, Tendeka’s VP for Upstream Digital Monitoring, said: “The Oryx-XR is a natural progression of the original system. Technology developments mean we can now provide monitoring across greater lengths and even smaller temperature differences. Operators are increasingly targeting harder to reach reserves with increasingly complex well, and the Oryx-XR technology is ideally suited to monitoring for these challenging applications.”
Motion Software Unveils New Inspection Product
Motion Software showcased its MI2 product, which captures data at the point of inspection, at the 15th North Sea Cranes and Lifting event at Aberdeen’s Exhibition and Conference Center. Motion Software has now developed handheld devices to capture data on site – even in hazardous zones offshore. Microsoft has tested and approved the MI2 for the oil and gas industry.
Stephen Burt, Managing Director of Motion Software, said: “We recognized that swift, accurate inspection data is a vital business requirement and looked at how we could capture that information on the spot as inspections were being carried out. These devices have been piloted and brought to the marketplace where they are being used by a number of engineers, across multiple platforms, in the North Sea’s UK sector.”
Such work must comply with LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations), and the advantage of Motion Software’s mobile devices is that data, which traditionally was paper-based or had to be logged on a separate computer at a later date, can now be input during inspection, helping to streamline the compliance process. This had proved impossible in certain offshore zones, where using computers constitutes an explosive risk, but Motion Software has developed the tool for use in ATEX environments 1 and 2, where equipment must comply with a European directive covering work in explosive environments.
The handheld equipment includes a five-hour battery with a fast two-hour charger time. Some devices incorporate a camera, and the system also has modules for dropped object and pipe inspections. Other functions include radio frequency tagging and a touchscreen version.
“This solution integrates with a company’s existing IT set-up and allows clients to capitalize on the benefits of mobile computing,” said Burt. “You don’t have to duplicate energy and time to go back to the office and key in the data because it has been acquired at the point of inspection. Our software manages the process of working on- and offline as the engineer, away from the office in a remote location, can synchronize with and talk to the office. When it comes back through the approval process, the reports are published on the Web, where the customer can see them and can monitor the status of their assets and be informed of any equipment issues within hours. It makes the whole process safer, more labor-saving, efficient and cost-effective.”
TAKE Supply Chain, DataMAX Partner to Serve JD Edwards Customers
TAKE Supply Chain and DataMAX Software Group Inc. have partnered to provide integrated data collection and an expanded line of supply chain solutions to JD Edwards customers. DataMAX’s RFGen Software, a JD Edwards Certified Integration data collection product, enables customers to extend their ERP investment while leveraging the benefits of a best-of-breed mobile data collection solution. DataMAX RFGen reduces project risk by eliminating custom integrations. The partnership also provides JD Edwards customers access to TAKE’s integrated supply chain technologies, including supplier collaboration, returns management, asset tracking and maintenance and global trade management.
Since 1994, TAKE Supply Chain has been a trusted provider of data collection solutions to companies running Oracle® and has the world’s largest library of pre-built transactions for discrete and process manufacturers who use Oracle.
“This partnership represents a great opportunity for JD Edwards customers, who can now implement a total supply chain management solution without the risk or cost of custom integration,” said Warren Sumner, chief operating officer and general manager at TAKE Supply Chain. “By enabling JD Edwards customers to leverage their existing ERP investment, we’re making it faster and easier for them to get the functionality they need, so they can quickly begin to see returns on their investment.”
TAKE has thousands of companies using its supply chain applications to collaborate with customers and suppliers for material procurement, distribution and reverse logistics. This experience enables TAKE to bring global best practices in supply chain execution to companies who want to leverage and extend their JD Edwards platform. DataMAX has more than 2,500 RFgen Software installations in use worldwide.
“We have years of expertise in successfully deploying data collection solutions into the JD Edwards installed base,” said Robert Brice, Sr. VP at RFgen. “This partnership leverages this experience and extends both of our companies’ track record in managing large, complex projects and solving complex supply chain challenges.”
Proficy CIMPLICITY 8.1 Released
GE Intelligent Platforms announced the availability of an upgrade to its Proficy software: CIMPLICITY Version 8.1, a visualization and control solution used in the Oil & Gas, Power, Marine and Energy industries. The new solution features programming enhancements, regulatory compliance tools and an innovative alarm association feature, in addition to full compatibility with GE’s CIMPLICITY GlobalView, allowing Web access to this powerful HMI/SCADA solution.
“With more than 25 years in the field, CIMPLICITY customers are always pushing for lower costs of implementation,” said Gimmi Filice, Product Manager for GE’s Proficy CIMPLICITY product. “This new version delivers key new additions to CIMPLICITY’s objects and classes, enabling programmers and engineers to develop faster and maintain complex systems easier, achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and ultimately a lower cost of ownership.”
CIMPLICITY 8.1 introduces enhancements that enable more flexible classes to speed new product development and lower the total cost of maintaining large-scale systems. “Classes are powerful components when developing,” Filice continued. “They are basically the blueprints programmers use when creating templates for CIMPLICITY, and the enhancements we are introducing further extends the ability to use templates in applications so they can be deployed more quickly. Classes also enable users to accomplish mass updates across an entire system, driving down maintenance costs.”
Standards compliance, regulatory penalty avoidance and good manufacturing practices are supported. CIMPLICITY 8.1 introduces a new change approval feature that enables an electronic signature before allowing setpoint changes, recording results to an audit trail, with commenting capability. A change approval system, or e-signature, enables CIMPLICITY to be used in a wider variety of applications and is commonly used for helping meet 21 CFR part 11, NERC and FERC regulations. In addition, CIMPLICITY 8.1 brings a new ability to perform root cause analysis enabling instant alarm analytics for quick operator resolution.
Merrick Systems Signs Partnership Agreement with Cognex
Merrick Systems announced a new partnership agreement with Cognex, provider of industrial ID readers. Under this agreement, Merrick serves as a Partner System Integrator (PSI) for Cognex, incorporating the Cognex DataMan ID products into its own RFID-Based technology solutions for asset tracking in oil and gas operations.
Launched in 2007, Merrick’s ruggedized RFID-based asset tracking solution includes the RFID Diamond Tags, along with DynaCap2 software and its different modules, to track high value oil and gas assets in downhole, subsea and surface operations. Combined with DynaCap2 or any in-house asset management system, the Diamond Tags allow immediate operational access to asset use and inspection history, physical properties, preventative maintenance schedules and any information desired about an asset. Designed to track downhole drilling components, Merrick’s Diamond Tags can withstand extreme conditions typical of drilling environments, including high temperatures and high pressures, and are certified for Class 1, Div 1 or Zone 1 use.
Cognex’s DataMan readers complement Merrick’s RFID Diamond Tags by adding Direct Product Marking (DPM) technologies, such as Data Matrix 2D barcodes, for tracking assets and processes in extremely harsh oil and gas manufacturing environments. Cognex image handheld and fixed readers allow Merrick’s clients to track work cell activities and product location during the manufacturing processes. Data Matrix 2D codes are scanned and decoded using DataMan readers. The data are then processed by Merrick’s DynaCap2 software to track the total lifecycle traceability of raw materials and assembly steps for finished goods.
“Adding Cognex’s award winning DataMan industrial ID family of products to our asset tracking solution allows Merrick to expand the capabilities of our system and serve a wider audience of users with varied needs. Cognex’s ID readers meet the highest quality standards and are a natural addition to Merrick’s asset tracking system, which pioneered the use of RFID technology in the harsh environments of oil and gas drilling and subsea operations,” stated Kemal Farid, CEO of Merrick Systems.
Ingrain Launches High-Definition Core Imaging and Logging
Ingrain, the digital rock physics company, introduced CoreHD®, its breakthrough technology platform for 3D high-definition imaging of whole core from oil and gas wells. Ingrain’s CoreHD technology has significantly advanced the oil and gas industry’s ability to use CT scanners to image and analyze core.
“CoreHD gives geoscientists high-definition 3D visibility into their reservoirs at the wellbore scale,” said Henrique Tono, Ingrain’s CEO. “CoreHD is a major advance over the imaging that traditional core analysis labs provide. As the industry moves into complex rocks like oil shales, 3D high-definition whole core imaging is becoming an essential tool for geological core description, rock properties analysis and reservoir modeling.”
Combined with Ingrain’s proprietary image processing capabilities, the company offers the CoreHD Suite, including the Continuous Core Viewer, the CT Borehole Image, and the CT Density and Atomic Number Log. The Continuous Core Viewer shows over 1,500 digital cross-sections per meter of core. The CT Borehole Image is similar to the kind of wellbore image that can be obtained from wireline logging. The specialized CoreHD image acquisition allows Ingrain to compute a Density and Atomic Number log.
When used on the entire whole core from a well, the CoreHD Suite can be used to characterize rock types and flow units. This enables fast, accurate optimization of the number and location of core plugs for advanced rock properties analysis. Once the core plugs are selected, Ingrain can quickly image and compute accurate basic and advanced rock properties using its proprietary technologies for scanning, image processing and high performance computing.
Ingrain’s CoreHD technology is being used at Ingrain’s digital rock physics labs in Houston and Abu Dhabi. Ingrain also has regional offices in Calgary and Rio de Janeiro and plans to expand its operations to the Middle East during 2010.
Invensys Software Improves Well Field Performance
Invensys Operations Management announced the release of its Well Field Application, a software suite that monitors, manages and enhances the performance of oil and gas well fields in real time. Built on the company’s Wonderware® System Platform and InTouchTM human machine interface solutions, the software provides reports, alarms, call outs, data storage and process data management on all well field assets. Its management capabilities are driven by a real-time overview of the entire field, supported by functions that look deep into the operations of each well to extract detailed production information. That information can be used to create reports, alarms and graphics that call attention to underperforming assets. These reports and alarms can then be sorted by asset, route, operator or foreman and accessed via the Web, viewed on handheld devices and sent via email or text message, helping to eliminate delays and reduce maintenance costs. Additionally, any process variable, such as flow rate, pressure and volume, can be compared and measured to help identify assets that are performing below expectations.
“The Invensys Well Field Application provides operators and enterprise managers with a single point from where they can see and measure the operation of their well field, helping them to achieve productivity excellence. By combining our extensive experience in oil and gas operations with our proven supervisory control and data acquisition products, Invensys is able to offer a unique integrated, comprehensive real-time solution,” said John Gilmore, Jr., Director of Upstream Oil & Gas, Invensys Operations Management. “This product enables our oil and gas customers to work smarter by pulling together, into one operations management package, real-time information from existing networks, both hardware and software, to improve the overall productivity of their operations.”
The application is data driven and further extends Invensys Operations Management’s open Wonderware System Platform, which means that users can easily configure assets, wells, operator responsibilities and similar data themselves, saving engineering and programming costs. Operators can quickly add hundreds of wells at a time to the configuration, and the solution contains proven templates to integrate many real-time automation and information systems, as well as any control and data-acquisition hardware. This is particularly valuable for maturing well fields that are operating with multiple generations of automation equipment.
In addition to managing the physical assets of the field, the Invensys Well Field Application provides tools for improving human resources functions. Best practices and training methods can be identified and developed using summaries and comparisons that can be organized by area, team, lift type or custom group. Training of new operators is also made easier because of how the system logically organizes and presents information.
PetroComputing 