A significant body of research and experience has established the fact that the later a defect is found in a control system, the more expensive it gets to fix. Some studies have shown a 10X cost multiple for each project phase a defect escapes. This means that for a typical oil and gas drilling or production asset, a defect that is discovered at factory acceptance can be 100X more expensive to fix than if it had been detected and fixed during design. If that same defect escapes acceptance and is not discovered until commissioning, the cost can be 1000 times greater.
The same multiplier can be applied to operational defects that escape inspection and assessment cycles. A defect that is missed during a scheduled BOP inspection that manifests itself after the BOP has been put back into service can be 10 – 100 X more expensive to fix.
Preventing or quickly detecting and remediating defects, is even more important in highly integrated systems. Unfortunately, it’s also more difficult. In these types of systems, a defect can easily remain hidden until the subsystem is integrated to the larger system. Applying the basic principles of system engineering offers the most cost effective method of addressing the problems of defect prevention and early detection in highly integrated control systems.
It has been our experience however, that systems engineering approaches are not sufficiently used in the design, construction and delivery of today’s highly integrated drilling and production control systems. For example:
- Typical FEED process for the drilling systems neglects to plan for the system based verification and validation activities that are critical later in the EPC lifecycle.
- Typical inspection and assessment processes are focused on a narrow set of component requirements and do not take into account the need to assess how well the integrated system meets its system regulatory and operational requirements.
A well implemented systems engineering approach includes preventative, detection and remediation procedures that can significantly increase the quality of the delivered system as well as reduce the overall cost of accepting and commissioning the system into service. In operations, this approach increases the effectiveness of the inspections and assessments to ensure that defects are not missed.
Using the systems engineering approach, the regular verifications, inspections and assessments that occur during the development, deployment and operation of integrated systems can be designed to ensure that each subsystem is verified against not only its own internal requirements but also the requirements of the overall integrated system.
Athens Group’s systems engineering lifecycle management approach to integrated system verification inspection and assessment is designed to prevent and detect systems level defects as early as possible in the EPC and operations lifecycle. This approach provides for significantly more cost effective system development, acceptance and commissioning as well as more comprehensive inspections and assessment of operational systems.
For more information on how this approach can help you reduce costs and increase system quality, contact Athens Group Services for a copy of our latest white paper which describes how implementing a systems engineering approach can reduce costs and improve the quality and safety of integrated systems on your oil and gas drilling and production assets.