Drilling Equipment Services

• Surveys of equipment and systems onboard rigs and boats - Surveys are conducted for many reasons: determine fitness for purpose for contractual, operational, and liability purposes; assist in rig selection; and many others. WEST Engineering Services surveys are conducted using:

		Extensive procedures customized for specific equipment and programs
		Comprehensive understanding of system interrelationships, e.g. top drive, drill floor controls, and zone management
		Significant prior failures database
		Industry standards and best drilling practices

A significant and unique feature of the work that can be executed on WEST Engineering Services surveys is predictive testing. This testing, utilized to a much greater degree in other industries, is designed to avoid downtime from impending failures. Marine safety inspections have been conducted to determine capabilities of jack-ups, semi-submersibles, drillships, supply boats, and anchor handling vessels. A key feature of this type of work is to include vessel operability information - information that will impact the safety and efficiency of the vessels you employ. This information includes anchor handling systems and equipment, bulk capacities and handling, station keeping systems, and towing capabilities.

• Equipment rebuild verification - Many people want to ensure that the equipment coming out of repair and remanufacture shops is correctly done and meets their requisite standards. At the same time, workscope that is not critical for fitness for purpose is sometimes recommended. While a fair number of companies can verify the work complies with certain standards, e.g. welding procedures, welder qualification, heat treatment, etc., not many can supplement this with the understanding of what is needed for successful operation. Drilling contractors and equipment rental companies have used WEST Engineering Services in anticipation that their customers will demand their equipment meets rigorous standards. This also expedites the delivery of their equipment, providing an additional benefit to their customers.

• Construction of subsystems and equipment - Nothing is more frustrating than having new equipment . . . and seeing it not work as you envisioned. Because the people used to oversee, commission, and accept new construction have extensive rig operating and maintenance experience, your results on your maiden well will be different than if they didn't. Once again, this experience, coupled with engineering expertise and management capabilities described elsewhere, lead you to expect and receive results that can be clearly shown to be "best value".

Fitting into this category of services are a wide range of activities, including:

		FAT (Factory Acceptance Testing)
		SIT (Site Integration Testing)
		Operability reviews
		Working with manufacturers, integrators, and shipyards
		Commissioning
		Final acceptance as fit for purpose.

• Failure database use - Repeatedly, customers say - a significant reason for using WEST Engineering Services is the understanding that the knowledge each individual in the company gains from each specific job is reviewed for applicability to current and future jobs. ISO certified systems and process have been developed and employed to ensure that this information is identified, categorized, and distributed to maximize its value. The overall goal is clear: to help you avoid the costly experiences that others have suffered through the swift dissemenation of information on both major crises & minor dilemmas and any solution available for moving forward.

This is particularly true on rigs built or upgraded recently. Latent problems have been discovered and resolved on one project, then researched on other rigs with the same or similar equipment to correct them before the conditions arise that will cause them to cost your programs safety, environmental and financial crises. Knowledge is power, and the lack of it is expensive, particularly in deepwater operations.

• Equipment design and purchasing - Most people realize that doing it right from the beginning is undoubtedly the most cost effective overall strategy. This process begins with buying what is best for your project. Some of the bigger activities include:

		Recommending vendors and models of equipment and systems for purchase using knowledge gained from experience
		Generating and reviewing equipment specifications (to avoid change orders)
		Interacting with equipment vendors to resolve mechanical, electronic, and net-work interface issues between systems
		Assurance of adequate integration specifications and test regimes

		Reviewing operator controls for optimized efficiency and availability
		Reviewing equipment layout
		Reviewing electrical distribution systems design
		Reviewing quality plans, ensuring proper hold and witness points
		Witnessing PMI (Positive Material Identification)
		Creating or reviewing FAT procedures
		Optimizing scientific systems support (for scientific drillships)

• Equipment design and modifications - Although Specification API 16A "Drill Through Equipment" recommends reporting "non-conformances" back to the manufacturer for resolution and distribution, this does not consistently happen. As a quality conscious organization, WEST Engineering Services takes the initiative to work with manufacturers to identify the root causes of problems and how to eliminate them. The resolution of these issues often requires recourse to the engineering capabilities available within the organization.

• RigLORE - This electronic information base is a resource of manufacturers' published technical information available to WEST Engineering Services surveyors and other subscribers. This material is identified differently by each manufacturer, but includes items such as engineering and product bulletins, product and safety alerts, consumer notifications, testing procedures and more.

Equipment and systems include:

		Electrical systems/power generation/distribution/MCCs
		Power management systems and software
		DP systems and all associated equipment
		Pipe handling and torquing equipment
		Top drives and associated equipment
		Derricks, drawworks / blocks / swivels
		Drill floor controls

		Mud systems - pumps, mixers, agitators, shakers, valves
		BOP equipment and controls - surface and subsea (hydraulic and multi-plex)
		Compensators and tensioners
		Marine drilling riser
		Gantry and deck cranes
		Bridge/control room equipment
		Communications and safety systems
		General instrumentation - tank sensors/gas detection / entertainment/ data networks
		Vessel management system hardware and software
		Subsea trees, controls, and related equipment
		Air compressors, driers, and systems