IADC/SPE 74465

Rig Management System (RMS II)

Bob McKechnie, GlobalSantaFe Corporation; Kenny Gardner, GlobalSantaFe Corporation; Bob Dawson, GlobalSantaFe
Corporation

Copyright 2002, IADC/SPE Drilling Conference.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference held in Dallas,
Texas, 26–28 February 2002. Measurement of the effectiveness of the maintenance strategy
This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE Program Committee following is an essential component in this process of continuous
review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the
paper, as presented, have not been reviewed by the International Association of Drilling
improvement. Accurate and meaningful performance
Contractors or the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the indicators must be established at an early stage and at all
author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the IADC or
SPE, their officers, or members. Papers presented at the IADC/SPE meetings are subject to levels of the organization. Whether you measure the reliability
publication review by Editorial Committees of the IADC and SPE. Electronic reproduction,
distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written
of your equipment using Mean Time Between Failures or by
consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is Weibull distribution, there can be no better maintenance
restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The
abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was performance indicator for the drilling industry than rig
presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax downtime.
01-972-952-9435.

The GlobalSantaFe RMS II system provides all the tools that

Introduction
Maintenance standardization and optimization are critical
factors in the success of any pro-active maintenance
organization. Continuing developments in maintenance
practices have brought a growing awareness that the
implementation of a well-planned Reliability Based
Maintenance Strategy (RBMS) can result in reduced
unplanned downtime for drilling rigs and equipment.
Still, the most significant development for maintenance
management in recent years has not been the wealth of new
techniques and practices. Instead, it has been the gradual
acceptance that maintenance need not be a necessary evil, but
that a carefully planned, information-based maintenance
strategy can be a fundamental factor in the success of the
organization.
Pro-active maintenance practitioners are familiar with the term
“the right amount at the right time”, but what is the right
amount, and when is the right time? The real challenge to the
empowered maintenance professional, is to convert textbook
theory into workable practice, and to do that, he must have the
right tools for the job.
are necessary to implement and monitor a Reliability Based
Maintenance Strategy, and much of its functionality has been
designed specifically for that purpose. The data for any one
piece of equipment, when considered in isolation, will always
be suspect. However, that same data, when combined and
analyzed across the entire fleet, provide us with a much more
powerful tool, and we can have a much greater degree of
confidence in its accuracy.
Maintenance Standardization
The requirement to standardize maintenance planning across
the fleet is essential if the reliability data is to be accurate.
This is accomplished in RMS II by means of the Equipment
Data Library, which is designed to hold the global
maintenance plans, critical measurements, and specifications
for all makes and models of equipment owned by the
company. The information held in this library is control led
from GlobalSantaFe’s head office. When a new rig equipment
database is set up, the relevant information from the data
library is downloaded to that database.

Reliability Based Maintenance can achieve its full potential

only if the data that are used to provide the basis for critical
planning decisions are accurate and consistent. The
importance of good data cannot be overstated. Maintenance
optimization is a painstaking, iterative process of equipment
failure analysis, and re -alignment of schedules and practices in
order to minimize those failures. Poor quality data will always
result in an inefficient and ineffective strategy.
2 McKechnie, Dawson, Gardner
Figure 1. Data Library Detail
Equipment Criticality Rating (ECR)
Before it is possible to develop and optimize a maintenance
plan for an item of equipment, the criticality of that equipment
must be established. A consistent methodology for the
selection of the ECR in terms of Safety, Operational and
Environmental criticality is required. RMS II stores the ECR
in the tag database for each item of rig equipment.
Figure 2. Tag Details
IADC/SPE 74465
Figure 3. Tag Details #2
Maintenance Scheduling
A comprehensive suite of maintenance scheduling methods is
essential for the successful implementation of a RBMS. The
traditional method of calendar based planned maintenance
scheduling is used extensively for safety inspections and
running checks. Intrusive, preventive maintenance procedures
however, which primarily target the wear comp onents, are
scheduled based on some form of equipment usage metering.
RMS II provides a range of usage meters including hours run,
ton-miles, fuel used, and miles.
Event-based scheduling provides a further scheduling option
that enables us to take advantage of operational windows, and
for the scheduling of maintenance for equipment that may not
be in regular use.
Figure 4. Job Plan
IADC/SPE 74465 Rig Management System (RMS II)
Within the RMS II Job Module, an interactive graphical
planner is provided for optimization of calendar based PM
manpower scheduling.
Figure 5. Calendar Based PM
Critical Measurements
RMS II provides the capability to measure and record critical
equipment parameters and to warn supervisory personnel
when these parameters exceed their preset alarm limits. Such
predictive maintenance (PDM) techniques are achieved
through the selection of measured and logical (binary)
condition values and alarm limits for the equipment.
Figure 6. Checks & Measurements
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Graphical trending provides a visual aid in the fault
recognition process.
Figure 7. Trend Analysis
Oil Analysis
In the same way that RMS II trends checks and measurements,
it also trends oil sample test results. The oil-sampling schedule
is set up within the maintenance plan for each item of
equipment. When the laboratory sample report is returned to
the rig, the sample results are stored as equipment history. The
job remains open on the PM job list until such time as the
sample results are entered thus ensuring that the sample results
are always recorded.
Figure 8. Samples
4 McKechnie, Dawson, Gardner IADC/SPE 74465

Using the same PDM techniques, a graphical trend is

provided.

Figure 10. Safety Registers

Maintenance Bulletin Tracking

Figure 9. Sample Trend Analysis

Maintenance Cost Analysis
RMS II provides the capability to track maintenance
costs from all sources, including labour costs, parts
costs, and third party service costs. A comprehensive
interface to the Rig inventory system is provided which
allocates warehouse issues to each equipment tag. Cost
roll up is accomplished from tag – system – rig - zone. A
useful feature of the system is its ability to report costs in
a variety of different formats and in diverse groupings.
Each of the cost reports listed below can be generated
for a single rig, a group of rigs, or all rigs.
RMS II provides the capability with which to issue and track
progress on maintenance bulletins and alerts. The documents
are stored in pdf format within the system and can be viewed
or printed as required. Each bulletin is attached to an
Equipment Data Library record for ease of historical retrieval.
Generic bulletins are accommodated in a similar fashion e.g. it
is possible to issue a bulletin against all lifeboats, or all top
drives, and so on. All bulletins must be actioned prior to close
out in the corporate or zone office databases where RMS II
office users have immediate access to the status of all
maintenance bulletins across the entire fleet.

q Cost Analysis by Tag

(e.g. Main engine 1)
q Cost Analysis by Make and Model
(e.g. Caterpillar 3516B)
q Cost Analysis by Component
(e.g. All diesel engines)
q Cost Analysis by System
(e.g. Power generation system)
q Cost Analysis by Rig
(e.g. Galaxy 1)
q Cost Analysis by Zone
(e.g. North Sea, S.E.Asia, Middle East)

Figure 11. Bulletins

Safety Registers

Maintenance records for safety related equipment must be Handover Log

current and easily retrievable. The ability to demonstrate
regulatory compliance is a valuable tool for rig audits and for
standardization of record keeping. RMS II provides the ability
to group and retrieve these records through the use of its
Safety Registers module.
Handover between tours or crews is a critical time for drilling
operations. A thorough and complete transfer of information is
essential for safe continuity of work. The RMS II Handover
Log provides the incoming crew with a complete summary of
events that have been logged during the previous tour or hitch.
IADC/SPE 74465 Rig Management System (RMS II)
Figure 12. Handover Log
Rig Supervision
The RMS II Rig Supervision module is provided for the use of
rig supervisory personnel both office based and rig based. It
pulls together a collection of supervisory information into one
convenient location.
Figure 13. Rig Supervision
Summary
Goals of a Reliability Based Maintenance Strategy
Those who may be anticipating a reduction in maintenance
manning through the implementation of a RBMS will be
disappointed. The typical end result is a shift in focus from
non-critical equipment to critical equipment, and a gradual
progression towards the 80/20 (preventive maintenance/repair)
norms. Continuous improvement is achieved through
5
increased equipment reliability, reduced unplanned downtime
and a more effective use of resources.
Design for Reliability and Maintainability
Oilfield equipment manufacturers can benefit from the
developing skills of drilling contractors that are able to
measure the reliability and maintainability of drilling
equipment, a luxury that has been enjoyed by most other
industries for many years. Historically, the drive for maximum
equipment performance has often resulted in less than
optimum equipment design in these critical areas. Equally
important, equipment selection for new build and up-grade
projects can now be made based on maintainability, reliability
and equipment life cycle cost rather than on initial cost and
performance specification alone. GlobalSanta Fe actively
encourages an open exchange of information with equipment
manufacturers, the mutual goal being the increased reliability
of drilling equipment.
Progress and Change
Change is never easy, particularly when there has been little
change in the way that drilling rigs and equipment have been
maintained over the course of the last thirty years. The
growing complexity of equipment alone might suggest to us
that such change is long overdue, and that it is time for long-
standing cultural barriers to be moved to one side. If nothing
else, there is one thing of which we can be certain, and that is,
in the drive for increased profitability, unplanned downtime
will be subject to ever-increasing scrutiny. For those that
choose the Reliability Based Maintenance route, be prepared
for setbacks, and challenges (for there will be many), but the
rewards will be worth the effort.