Steve Slusarenko, Chief Innovation Officer
Recently ProStar received some very positive feedback from one of our Mid-stream Oil & Gas clients using our Transparent Earth SaaS product. The feedback they provided to us was based on their experience during a routine regulatory audit of the records on a newly completed project where Transparent Earth and PointMan were used to collect and manage the data. These audits normally take several days to complete as the auditor will make a request for certain documentation and then the client’s staff would track the documents down, make copies, and present them to the auditor. As you can imagine, there is usually a lot of preparation in advance of the audit to ensure that the documentation is complete and physically available so that a copies of any requested documents can be provided to the auditor so that they can verify that the records are traceable, verifiable, and complete. Historically, this documentation came in the form of paper-based records that were received by the records department and stored in 3-ring binders that were kept on a shelf for safe-keeping. In this instance, the client was pleased to report that the audit was completed in hours, not days, and the auditor was able to access all of the required records in real time.
From Days to Hours – What Changed?
From the onset, the client approached the Transparent Earth implementation with the intent of creating, storing, and managing all of their records in a Geospatial database that provided not only for meeting their regulatory requirements, but also providing for their mapping needs for Construction, Operations, and Maintenance Departments. As all of the records created in the field are electronic, they are instantly available to authorised users as soon as the record is saved to the database. Additionally, any electronic records received from third party sources can also be imported to this same database and kept in an electronic “Job Book” where a folder structure to house all of the project records has been set up.
Here is what the client had to say about the PHMSA Audit on the project.
“Throughout the inspection we used the ProStar Visual map for nearly all our PHMSA questions. Please see the examples below:
- The map of the welds presented from the IPAD made the inspection flow smoother and faster – better than an inspection with a paper map. We were able to give PHMSA a snapshot of each weld as well as a broad picture of the entire line.
- PHMSA randomly picked out a weld number from the weld log (usually a repair or a cutout) and reviewed the associated information with the weld number.
- The map showed the location of the weld as well as the pipe information and weld information. This information is usually located in separate places but with the ProStar application we were able to present all the information at the same time. This saved 30 –45 minutes per requested weld number.
- Weld Log –The weld log was housed in the ProStar map which made it easy to show the welds on the project. While still having the capability to click on a weld number and bring up the associated information.
- MTR information was included in each weld number profile. Usually, the MTR questions take a while to sift through due to the lengthy MTR reports and the various locations that the MTR’s are stored.
- Coating Reports were included in the weld number information. This made it seamless to run through questions regarding coating type and coating qualifications.
- NDE- The reader sheets were included with the weld number information which saved time when trying to locate the date of the x-ray for the requested weld number.
- At one point during the inspection, the inspector took the IPAD and browsed around the map clicking on various weld numbers. The ability to review all the information regarding a certain weld in one place cut the inspection time in half.”
This client also said that the Auditor was “very impressed” by the ease of use and ability to find the desired information using the tablet and how the information was tightly integrated.
We look forward to relating more success stories and sharing project enhancements in future articles in the ProStar blog.
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