Songa Offshore uses IoT to track assets on Cat D rigs

Songa Offshore Cat D rig

APRIL 26, 2017 — Songa Offshore is using an IoT (Internet of Things) solution from Linköping, Sweden, headquartered enterprise applications specialist IFS to make data captured by oil rig assets accessible in its enterprise software suite, IFS Applications.

Songa Offshore is an international midwater drilling contractor with a strong presence in the North Atlantic basin, operating a fleet of seven semi-submersible rigs. For drilling contractors, long-term asset management and maintenance are a top priority since downtime directly affects overall results. To monitor asset performance, Songa Offshore has connected IoT sensors to 600 assets on each of its four Category-D rigs that will capture asset usage metrics.

“Songa Offshore sees great strategic potential in leveraging IoT to reduce time spent on manual data entry, automate cross-functional processes, and to turn raw data into actionable business information that supports and enhances analysis and forecasting activities,” said Mark Bessell, Chief Operating Officer at Songa Offshore.

In order to further advance maintenance effectiveness and operationalize IoT data in the company’s ERP suite, IFS Applications, Songa Offshore has implemented the IFS IoT Business Connector. As a first step, the solution has been implemented for most critical diesel engines and electrical motors onboard the drilling rigs.

The solution enables Songa Offshore to have assets transmitting condition readings to IFS Applications, which then form the basis for planning and optimizing maintenance activities. Even more important, this solution is a vital part of Songa Offshore’s Class on Location Strategy for documenting a rig’s condition. With the increased level of automation, Songa Offshore’s objective is to reduce the time needed for shipyard stays for the rigs, which means significant cost savings, and at the same time dramatically shorten the unplanned downtime of each rig, due to better control of the equipment’s condition. The result is enhanced asset reliability, longer times between service intervals, longer asset lifespans, and cost savings thanks to increased process automation.

Previously, Songa Offshore staff registered all asset readings manually in the maintenance system. Thanks to the IoT solution, live asset condition information is now automatically available in the ERP application, which saves time and increases data quality for Songa Offshore.

The next step will be to increase the scope of IFS IoT Business Connector to connect even more asset sensors already available and to extend assets including retrofitting sensors onto existing equipment. This will improve asset reliability and business effectiveness even further.

“Implementing the IFS IoT solution means significant improvements in terms of asset reliability, service performance, and cost savings,” said Vardans Saribekjans, Senior Technician at Songa Offshore. “By feeding sensor-captured data into IFS Applications, we can act much quicker to service needs and even work proactively to prevent problems before they arise.”

IFS CTO Dan Matthews said, “Songa Offshore is a great example of how an asset-intensive company can benefit greatly from using the IFS IoT Business Connector. By connecting the entire flow from data ingestion through analytics and into IFS Applications, the company can turn their data insights into concrete actions, taking them beyond a pile of data to an optimized maintenance plan.”