There is no doubt that the changing price of oil extraction over the last few years has concentrated interest on the kinds of efficiency improvements in oil field services provision that have transformed the manufacturing of products ranging from toys to commercial aircraft. Every upstream cost needs to be measured and controlled. Every asset must be run as a profit center. Continuous improvement, collaboration, and quality control must be embraced as part of the upstream oil and gas culture. Oil field services companies who are trying to meet the needs of their upstream clients are looking to provide more control and improve the quality of information. Ultimately, encouraging the most efficient use of rental equipment in the field.
Managing Equipment in the Oil Field Services Industry
For years there has been a lack of interest in tracking anything more than the largest and most valuable pieces of equipment. This led to a surprisingly relaxed process management for tracking and costing of equipment. High value items are tracked effectively, but low value (and often very high volume) items are tracked minimally or not at all. The software systems in use are too slow and too complicated to use unless the cost of tracking is justified by the cost of the asset. The reality is that high volumes of low value assets are easily lost and damaged, and bad tracking means those costs are not passed on. As upstream customers push back on rental rates and other charges, the lack of equipment cost control makes it difficult for oil field services companies to respond.
Oil Field Services Rental Solutions
Specialist oil field rental software is now available to the oil field services industry. The best rental software providers offer enterprise rental equipment management solutions that can be easily integrated into corporate systems. They also provide best practice in the management of rental equipment from the largest to the smallest of items. This includes dispatch and scheduling software, the management of equipment movements in the field and timely and accurate billing processes. These systems are designed to track not just large and expensive items but low value and high volume items as well.
Rental software is designed for rapid rental processing even of small items alongside efficient tracking of damage and losses. The best of these rental equipment management solutions include mobile apps to bring paper-intensive field processes into the 21st century. Field tickets for deliveries, pickups, time-sheets and work orders can all be processed in real-time to reduce delays and improve efficiency.
Field Service Management in the Oil Field Services Industry
Enterprise rental equipment management software also brings field service management to your equipment. Rental businesses in other industries such as construction equipment rental and small tool rental are used to managing the maintenance requirements of their assets. These companies carry out field repairs and manage scheduled maintenance activities on long-term rented and specialist equipment. This same functionality can be used across the oil field services industry. Again, mobile apps come into their own, allowing you to allocate jobs in the field electronically, track progress and interface back to inventory management and parts requisitioning. Reducing downtime, increasing reliability in the field and improving equipment availability are all natural outcomes of efficiency improvements.
Controlling the management of equipment in the field to service your upstream customers effectively needs rental management software with mobile connectivity. You can then ensure that the information you give your customers helps drive productivity and cost reduction whilst demonstrating real-time management of equipment and tools in the field, delivering true oil field services.
Contact Wynne Systems to discuss your equipment management needs.
