Sometimes, we get so enamored with a technology that we don't use it. Seemingly everybody has heard about the U.S. Department of Defense and Wal-Mart demanding that suppliers have radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on their products or they will not be considered as a supplier. For the most part, RFID was seen as an "inventory thing." Great for retail, but we in the oil and gas industry have heavy, metal objects that don't fit through doorways with readers on them.

Translating from Retail to Oil and Gas

I often say that I have never had an original thought. I see things that work for other industries and then figure out how we could apply it to our situation. And RFID was one of those things that translated well to oil and gas.

When we started a service organization, we needed to ascertain that the repair person was in fact about to repair something that currently wasn't working. We found a study that said 42 percent of maintenance and repair was unnecessary and 10 percent of that actually harmed the equipment. So, we looked for a solution that could validate that we were about to work on the correct item and, if needed, support the repair person with instructions and repair manuals for that specific piece of equipment.

Because of the dirt-covered, grease-covered, snow-covered, mud-covered or water-covered environment, we needed something that would not have to be seen to be read. We also wanted to be able to read the identification tag from a distance of two to 10 feet -- again because of the environment. We wanted a technology that would allow us to have several identification tags per object because a repair person may only need to fix a pump on a skid unit and not replace other parts of that unit.

A system using RFID numbers makes all of that possible. The system used RFID numbers to track the who, what, when and where. Then we use the RFID number to connect the databases to both the people and the equipment.

This is a long story to say inventory was not what we needed the tags to accomplish. We ended up using the tags as an integral component for inventory tracking, but it wasn't where or why we started using RFID.

Sensor to Desktops

Two Canadian natural gas producers were collecting production data manually. In other words, operators would drive out to each well to do one of the following:

• Pick up and replace a BARTON(R) Chart Recorder
• Read flash memory cards from stand-alone digital meters
• Real older pre-IP meters

All of this was a costly and time-consuming data-collection method. On top of it all, usually the wrong numbers were assigned to a given well. A solution was put in place that enabled these companies to securely transmit data, enabling:

• Asset visualization
• Optimized operations and maintenance processes
• Remote asset monitoring
• Timely, accurate production data capture and availability

Using RFID, we reduced the human-induced errors to less than one percent. RFID also matched the production or repair information to the correct well.

Ultimately, no wasted motion became our target because it just wasn't fun at 2 a.m. -- wet or freezing -- to be looking at the wrong well after driving four hours down a dirt road. Or missing a tool because someone forgot to put it back, or the tool had grown legs and walked off, which brings up the idea of rapid response management.

Rapid Response Management & the "Smarter" Truck

The idea of rapid response management basically comes from the military. It is not good to show up for a battle without the proper weapon and matching ammunition. A backorder slip offers little protection in combat.

In oil and gas, people are not usually shooting at us, but wasted motion can be costly. Offshore platforms are particularly important because they are expensive to get to and rather small. Using RFID as a tool, we can ensure that the correct part is being shipped by boat or helicopter to the correct platform. The speed of light can't get the part delivered any faster, but knowing that it is coming is reassuring. For example, a FedEx tracking number does not speed up delivery, but it makes you feel better knowing when your package will arrive.

We use rapid response management to ensure not only that the correct part is shipped, but also that it is being shipped by the most cost-effective method. For example, if I have a week, I can put the part on a crew boat. If I need the part overnight, I can put it on a helicopter. The platform crew can then track the part, so they know when the part will arrive and have manpower scheduled to repair the component.

On a smaller scale, we read about other companies working on a smart truck and decided that we needed to make our truck smarter, too. We needed to be able to mobilize our trucks with the right equipment needed for specific work at a specific job site. That meant an electronic checklist to ensure that the truck would be equipped for the field repair task. The truck needed to know what was missing that would be required at the job site and highlight missing items.

So we needed to design our trucks to read what was in the truck, and in the field, what was around the truck and where the truck was located. We use both RFID and radio frequency to accomplish the task. This includes a ruggedized notebook -- with communications when available and an onboard dataset when without communications.

Translating to Utilities

RFID for us is now just another tool, but a very important tool. Except for the vocabulary, utility projects are not much different from oil and gas projects. Both have lots of heavy, metal objects that go bump in the night. Both have extremely dangerous work environments. Both can use speed-of-light systems as support tools. Both have the need for very specialized workers in the field -- we call them the "mud on the boots" folks. Both are headed toward the great crew change. Because of this change, we are going to have to deploy more intelligent support systems to compensate for both turnover and less training.

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Intelligent Utility magazine is the new, thought-leading publication on how to successfully deliver information-enabled energy. This article originally appeared in the March/April 2009 issue.