safety and company liability.
Each accident is a lesson, but
the learning process can be slow.
Progress has been impeded by
this reactive, rather than proactive
approach to safety. Well thoughtout
measures must be taken to
prevent accidents from occurring,
rather than trying to minimise their
impact afterwards. Thinking about
safety in a preventative way will
undoubtably reduce accidents and
save more lives, and this is where
automation can step in to help.
INTRODUCTION OF
ROBOTS
In recent years, robotics have
helped to transform the oil rig
safety. In an industry first, 2018
saw a robot sent out to an offshore
oil rig in the North Sea, where it
carried out visual inspections and
detected gas leaks.
Less than a year later, the first fully
automated offshore oil and gas
platform began operation. The
facility is completely unmanned
with no human facilities and runs
almost entirely using remote
control, only needing one or two
maintenance visits a year. Other
developments include robots that
can stay permanently underwater
to carry out complex inspection and
maintenance tasks.
MAINTENANCE AND
REPAIR
While offshore robots are largely
independent, human operators
still keep a watchful eye on land.
Operators can control the robots’
actions, prevent errors and predict
what could go wrong. If a robot
breaks down, it could severely
disrupt the entire process and
place the safety of the entire rig in
jeopardy. Therefore, it is important
to continuously monitor robots to
forecast faults before they occur.
Effective predictive maintenance
can help reduce the risk of
breakdown, which can be carried
out by placing a network of sensors
onto offshore automation and
monitoring health and productivity
via a programmable logic controller
(PLC). Having replacement parts
ready for quick dispatch plays a vital
role in this maintenance strategy,
which is why it’s important to have a
relationship with an industrial parts
supplier.
However, with the development of
robots progressing rapidly, some
replacement parts may no longer
be manufactured. Replacing an
entire robot when a part becomes
faulty is neither cost nor time
effective. EU Automation supplies
new, reconditioned and obsolete
industrial parts, meaning a solution
can be found for any situation.
Additionally, many items can be
shipped within 24 hours, meaning
minimal disruption is caused to the
oil rig.
While deploying robots to offshore
locations helps reduce the risk
of deadly malfunctions, having a
set of human eyes on the oil rig’s
activity is just as crucial. Closely
monitoring offshore automation
and being prepared for its potential
breakdown will help keep the
liquid gold from spilling anywhere
is shouldn’t, while maximising
productivity.
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