Posts filed under ‘GIS & GPS Solutions’
Savi Unveils RFID Solution to Improve Safety
Savi Technology, a division of Lockheed Martin, has released a new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) application to improve safety. Savi’s SmartChain® solution can now be leveraged by the oil and gas industry to improve supply chain and work-related activities, reduce downtime, and provide a consolidated view of real-time data to make better decisions.
The SmartChain release automates information on the status and integrity of assets and products as well as the safety of personnel throughout the oil and gas value chain, including exploration and production, refining and distribution operations. The announcement was made at the annual RFID Live! Conference in Orlando, Florida. “Real-Time visibility and management of equipment and personnel can minimize operational downtime and failures,” Savi’s Steven Clarke pointed out during his presentation in the Oil and Gas track.
SmartChain is enterprise-level software that optimizes operational readiness, improves asset utilization and minimizes unplanned events by providing actionable information on the location and status of assets such as Cargo Carrying Units (CCUs), rail cars, tools and drill pipe. SmartChain also monitors the integrity of mission-critical equipment such as pipelines and the status of products and personnel in refineries.
“Not having the right tool at an offshore platform or oil rig can actually shut down the whole process for a day or two, costing tens of millions of dollars,” said Dr. Ben Zoghi, an engineering professor at Texas A&M University and director of the RFID Oil and Gas Consortium. “RFID technology solutions can solve new challenges faced in the petroleum industry by helping companies more effectively utilize assets at a time of high oil demand worldwide and constrained capacities, as well as detect potential system failures and locate personnel in times of crisis.”
“Already proven in the world’s largest and most complex supply chains, our SmartChain solution can revolutionize the efficiency and effectiveness of Oil and Gas operations by providing true end-to-end visibility,” said Savi CEO David Stephens. “SmartChain for the petroleum industry draws on two decades of experience providing complete wireless supply chain solutions, coupled with domain and technology expertise from our partners.”
Stephens emphasized that the SmartChain solution also can be adapted and applied to the chemical, energy, utility, mining and defense supplier industries, all of which have related challenges around the management of assets, yard equipment, inventory, personnel and safety.
Unique System Adds Sonardyne Technology to Inventory
Aberdeen-based rental company Unique System UK Ltd. has added some of the most advanced Sonardyne technology to its inventory with the purchase of a Ranger-Pro USBL (Ultra-Short Base Line) acoustic positioning system. The company also bought a number of Wideband Sub-Mini transponders, acoustic release transponders and associated deck command units.
The Ranger system offers high-performance, survey-grade acoustic positioning for tracking ROVs, towfish and as a reference for dynamically positioned vessels. The portable Ranger-Pro package is intended for the most advanced survey applications and can be temporarily installed on vessels of opportunity. It incorporates Sonardyne’s unique “pingstacking” technology, which provides one second position update rates independent of water depth, tracking of up to 10 targets and full ocean depth operating range. The system is compatible with a wide range of industry transponders, including Sonardyne’s Wideband Sub-Minis, which have recently benefited from an upgrade in operating depth from 3,000 meters to 4,000 meters.
Ray Hughes of Unique System believes that the Sonardyne equipment will be essential for meeting the needs of his customers. “Our clients expect to work with the best and most innovative equipment there is. It is our job to ensure that we have the right equipment available for them to rent whenever they need it,” he said. “This investment has been made in anticipation of an upturn in offshore activity; the new Sonardyne equipment is already earmarked for its first rental customer, who intends to use it in deep water off West Africa. We are looking forward to the challenges ahead in 2010 and are positioned to accommodate any increased demand throughout the year.”
INT Releases INTViewer 4.0
INT announced today the general availability of INTViewer™ 4.0, the latest version of its innovative data visualization and development platform for seismic analysis and QC in the upstream exploration and production (E&P) industry. INTViewer 4.0 is designed to be easy to learn, support large data sets, and reduce the preparation time to share data and analysis results with peers, management and partners.
INTViewer 4.0 was redesigned using the Netbeans Rich Client Platform, which provides a standards-based environment for creating and managing plug-in functionality. Featuring a comprehensive API for access and control of menus, data and custom displays, INTViewer can be used as a framework for customized seismic analysis and quality control workflows
The new release includes:
- Extensive programming API for plug-in development;
- GIS functionality including support for ESRI shape files and EPSG projections;
- New FK display;
- Support for GOCAD data format;
- Ability to save selected subset in seismic data (SEGY) format; and
- Improved user interface.
INTViewer is a visualization solution for use on virtually any Windows, Mac, Linux or UNIX operating system and is designed for multiple environments including laptops, workstations and visualization centers. INTViewer also provides an open, extendable architecture that makes it possible for geoscientists, asset management teams and companies to customize the visualization framework to match specific workflow needs through proprietary plug-ins and utilities.
inthinc Delivers tiwi Driving Safety and Fleet Management Solution
inthinc Technology Solutions Inc., a developer of solutions to improve driving safety, announced its tiwi™ driving safety system is in full production for light commercial fleets as well as heavy duty and special purpose applications. tiwi is the only comprehensive system that changes driving behavior in real time to improve safety and fleet efficiency.
tiwi provides a unique combination of in-vehicle driver alerts, vehicle location and diagnostics, and fleet management features that detail fleet performance and trends. A small device installed in the vehicle provides drivers with real-time verbal alerts to let them know when they are involved in unsafe behavior such as speeding, aggressive driving and seatbelt violations. Drivers are also given a grace period to correct certain behaviors before they are recorded and reported to management.
“Drivers of fleet vehicles spend much of their workday on the road, creating a high risk for accidents,” said Todd Follmer, CEO of inthinc. “tiwi helps reduce this risk by changing driver behavior in real time while simultaneously improving fleet productivity. With tiwi, fleet drivers practice safer behavior and fleet managers see where their drivers are, how they have been driving and where improvements can be made.”
Supervisors can receive real-time alerts via phone call, text message or e-mail regarding certain infractions or incidents such as an accident. A variety of reports are available through a Web portal to notify management regarding driver performance, vehicle positioning and trends. The driving safety alerts and fleet manager portal combine to prevent accidents, reduce costs due to fuel efficiency and vehicle maintenance, improve driver productivity and maintain a positive company image.
Primary features of the tiwi solution include:
- Industry’s only in-vehicle, verbal mentoring in real-time for driving behaviors such as speeding, seat belt usage, sharp turns, hard stopping and rapid acceleration;
- Real-time and historical Web-based reports on vehicle location, usage and statistics such as MPG and idle time for instant feedback and trend analysis;
- Real-time incident notification via mobile device;
- Speed By Street™, which compares vehicle speed to a proprietary database of posted speed limits on individual roads;
- Smart Zones™ for advanced geo-fencing; and
- Vehicle bus integration.
The tiwi solution is the easiest solution on the market to implement and manage, and it does not require any integration with other IT systems. The device is simply mounted in the vehicle and connected to the vehicle bus system. Once connected and activated, data from the vehicle is available through a Web-based portal.
Follmer added, “We have invested a lot of time and money to create the only truly effective driver safety and fleet management solution for all classes of commercial vehicles. After spending the last six months on our manufacturing and testing process, we are now making this technology broadly available to fleets of all sizes.”
tiwi solutions have successfully been used in the oil and gas, mining and other heavy industries for several years, reducing accidents by more than 80% annually and saving companies millions of dollars, with payback on investment often in less than one year. It has also been used by NASCAR for eight years to improve driver, car and track safety.
Valvoline, a lubricant manufacturer, is teaming up with tiwi to launch a new program to deliver better fleet fuel mileage, backed with an exclusive limited Fuel Proof Guarantee. The Fuel Proof Guarantee covers a 120-day customer demonstration period and is being offered to fleet operators with a minimum demo of 30 trucks. Valvoline and tiwi work with fleet maintenance managers to establish baseline data, using the tiwi onboard system. Valvoline’s Premium Blue® Extreme engine oil and Syn Gard™ FE gear oil are then installed. Additionally, the tiwi verbal-coaching system is activated to provide drivers with real-time verbal mentoring about seat belt use, speeding violations, aggressive driving and other fuel-inefficient habits.
After the completion of the Fuel Proof customer demonstration period, if the fleet has not shown an increase in fuel economy, Valvoline and tiwi will remove their products from the vehicles used in the demonstration and reimburse the fleet for any incremental costs.
Valvoline enlisted two independent test facilities and multiple real-life customers to validate miles per gallon (mpg) gains, using the EPA SmartWaySM certified J1321 protocol. Tests were conducted with vehicles operating with Valvoline’s Premium Blue Extreme SAE 5W-40 full synthetic engine oil and Syn Gard FE gear oil. Adding tiwi vehicle monitoring and driver mentoring is expected to yield greater gains in virtually every type of fleet operation.
Follmer noted: “According to EPA statistics, driving habits affect mpg by as much as 35%. Fleet testing has proven that using tiwi in-vehicle mentoring will decrease aggressive driving events by 89% and speeding violations by 86%. The EPA reports that simply obeying posted speed limits will increase fuel efficiency by as much as 23%.”
IceWEB Enters GIS Agreement with ExxonMobil
IceWEB Inc., provider of purpose built appliances and building blocks for cloud storage networks, has entered into a Standard Procurement Agreement (SPA) with ExxonMobil Global Services Co., an operating division of ExxonMobil. The agreement for upstream services from IceWEB is for both the design of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and to provide GIS technical staff including Consultants, Project Managers, Senior GIS System/Software Architects, GIS Software Developers, Engineers, Database Analysts and Senior Storage Engineering staff.
John Signorello, CEO of IceWEB, said: “Land exploration in the oil and gas sector requires the ability to put detailed imagery in the hands of those who need it regardless of where they may be. With this agreement ExxonMobil will leverage IceWEB expertise to work on building new infrastructure to accomplish that task. We are very pleased to be able to make our resources available to ExxonMobil for this important project.”
GE O&G Enhances Pipeline GIS Data Management
GE Oil & Gas’ PII Pipeline Solutions business, in conjunction Colonial Pipeline Co. of Alpharetta, GA, has launched its new PipeView™ BandGen software tool that extends the capabilities of Environmental Systems Research Institute’s (ESRI) popular ArcGIS 9.3 geographical information system, which pipeline operators use for their data management programs.
BandGen, which was unveiled at the Geospatial Information and Technology Association’s (GITA) 2009 Global Information System (GIS) for Oil & Gas Conference in Houston in September, is a powerful software extension of ArcGIS 9.3 that gives pipeline operators practical tools for managing bands, validating sheet content and generating alignment sheets directly from their database.
Alignment sheet appearance is easily configured with out-of-the-box tools directly from ArcGIS. The module reads from all types of ESRI data base formats, it is data model independent, and it provides direct editing from bands. It can also plot unlimited line sheets, and features ad-hoc plotting capabilities.
Colonial Pipeline Company was instrumental in assisting with the co-design and development of the BandGen tool, ensuring that the product meets the needs of the pipeline industry.
Philippe Brejon, General Manager of Integrity Services at GE Oil & Gas’ PII Pipeline Solutions, said: “We are pleased to have partnered with Colonial Pipeline to develop PipeView BandGen as we strive to develop the most user-friendly pipeline GIS data management products available in the marketplace.”
ABB Selects Intergraph for North African Gas Pipeline Project
ABB has selected Intergraph®, provider of enterprise engineering and geospatial software, for the development of an oil and gas pipeline network and relevant facilities in North Africa. The pipeline network will be built in the El Merk field, a remote, harsh desert location in Algeria.
Geospatial-based pipeline infrastructure management solutions from Intergraph enable companies to design, construct and maintain pipelines and assets more effectively and demonstrate a comprehensive pipeline integrity program while reducing the cost of maintaining records. By storing records in a central geographic information system (GIS), the solution makes information readily available for a variety of applications, improving record keeping productivity while assuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
Geospatial technology from Intergraph will play a significant role in the design and installation of the pipeline, field gathering stations, gas distribution manifolds, flow and trunk lines and water and gas re-injection facilities in El Merk. The technology will support the Pipeline Open Data Standard (PODS) model, the most widely implemented pipeline data model in the industry, and all data will be stored in an Oracle Spatial database. The implementation will also include a portal component for the seamless distribution of data to all parties, including field and remote users.
“An accurate, up-to-date view of all critical assets at any given time is a crucial component of any pipeline implementation project,” said Sergio Casati, ABB Project Manager. “Especially in such challenging terrain conditions, we need to keep our pulse on the status of all assets in near real-time. The strength of Intergraph technology and its more than 40 years of experience in the utilities sector, as well as market leadership in enterprise engineering software, were key factors in our decision to partner with the company on this project. Intergraph’s open, flexible technology platform was also desirable for an initiative like the El Merk project, which involves a consortium of multiple vendors.”
“The collaboration of Intergraph with ABB Italy on this project marks a significant milestone in Intergraph’s involvement in the oil and gas pipeline industry,” said Maximilian Weber, Utilities & Communications manager for Intergraph in EMEA. “Intergraph has worked with leading pipeline providers around the world including Spectra Energy and Northwest Energy in the US, E.ON Ruhrgas in Germany and Chongqing Gas in China. We are pleased that ABB has recognized our strength in this industry and has chosen us to ensure the accurate, efficient management of assets, as well as play a key role in protecting this infrastructure.”
PetroComputing 