Offshore oil-and-gas workers are being trained using GE’s Dynamic Positioning Operator training system.
The energy industry is embracing computerized simulation training to increase efficiency and keep workers safe
Simulation training technology is a fact of life in fields such as medicine and aviation. It's hard to imagine a pilot at the helm of a commercial plane without having logged countless hours in front of a flight simulator.
Now, simulation-training companies that cater to the oil-and-gas market are seeing a steady demand for their wares as operators in the Alberta oil sands are investing a lot more time and money on this cost-effective (and safer) training method.
Energy-industry simulators are becoming an integral part of the sector because of the money these systems save, by avoiding shutting down operations for training as well as their capability to simulate rare and dangerous situations in a controlled environment.
"These are incredibly powerful teaching tools because the trainee gains experience in catastrophic situations without putting themselves in harm's way," says Jim Colvin, CEO of Edmonton-based Serious Labs.
When Colvin took over Serious Labs in 2011 the groundwork was already in place for the jump into the oil-and-gas market. Originally designed for property developers, the company made virtual 3-D renderings of building designs, but in order to tap into the oilfield operators, they needed to refocus the company toward training.
"Fast-forward to when my partner and I got involved in the company and we really started to look at what the key learning objectives were that need to be achieved, what the person was trying to learn, and then design a curriculum around that," says Colvin.
They use what he calls "blended learning" using their 3-D simulations, game-based training and other e-learning tools to train everyone from maintenance workers to safety inspectors on the regulations, daily protocol and operations of heavy equipment. It's an immersive style training that puts the operator into simulated scenarios that look (and can sometimes feel) like the real thing.
One of Serious Labs' most recent simulators mimics snubbing operations − an often dangerous practice of pushing drill pipe into the wellbore when a well cannot be killed in a traditional manner.
"This is some of the most dangerous work there is and it was previously very difficult to teach someone those skills … you just tended to follow a guy around after your classroom training," says Colvin. "We built this simulator so it could really show the workers what it would be like to have to make decisions on how to balance pressure on the well, how to cap it, etc."
Colvin likens this type of training to that of Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger and his safe landing of US Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009. These are rare circumstances never seen by most pilots, he explains, but Capt. Sully was able to land the plane because "he'd practiced it in a simulator a hundred times before".
The cost of these simulator technologies is no longer guaranteed to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, as they were a decade ago. The amount a company can spend on these solutions varies depending on its uses, the extent of the 3-D imaging and the time it takes to build a simulation. It can range in thousands to the tens of thousands, but it's often much cheaper than shutting down equipment for training.
At ICOM in Calgary, a trainee can strap on a virtual reality headset and be instantly transported into the mountainous terrain of an oilfield.
Born out of a Kickstarter program by California-based company Oculus VR, the head-mounted virtual reality technology known as Oculus Rift was originally designed for 3-D gaming. But companies like ICOM are finding new ways to use the technology on oil and gas sites to perform a number of training tasks, like demonstrating safety procedures on hauling trucks.
"We're finding new things to educate on and one of those is size and spatial awareness, meaning that I can put you in a situation and you can actually see how big, for example, some of the vehicles are," explains Greg Surbey, president and CEO of ICOM. "You put the goggles on and I can actually have you walk up right under one of those vehicles."
These simulations are specific to each oil and gas company's site and are constructed from the ground up, often using 2D images — pictures taken from the site and engineering drawings — to construct this 3D world.
It's a more cost-effective and portable solution, explains Surbey, which is why demand for his product is on the rise.
"We're new into this market and we're planning all kinds of different opportunities around it," he adds. "The more people we show our product to and the more people we talk about it with, we can come up with new ideas of how to expand it."
GE is also active in delivering Dynamic Positioning Operator training using simulators at a facility in Abu Qir, close to Alexandria, Egypt, that trains workers in offshore oil and gas fields in the use of DP technology. DP is an advanced ship position-control system that enables a vessel to use its propulsion and steering systems to maintain position without dropping anchor or make small, exact movements on a precise course – essential for performing drilling, pipe-laying and other offshore activities.
The simulator is being operated in partnership with the Arab Academy of Science, Technology & Marine Transport.
For more innovation insights, visit www.gereports.ca
This content was produced by The Globe and Mail's advertising department, in consultation with GE. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.