Driving operational performance in oil and gas

T he an at o m
y o f o p e rat i o n al e x ce l l e n ce
The notion of operational excellence (OE) is not new. Leading industries like manufacturing and
p harm ace u t i cal s hav e e m b race d i t , an d i t i s e v e n m o re p re v al e n t i n d o w n s t re am p e t ro che m i cal s an d
refining. Many oil and gas organizations have also implemented, to some degree, operational excellence
programs targeted at improving HSEQ performance and driving cost and efficiency improvements, or as
part of a larger transformational program for strategic adjustments. Subsequently, many companies have
seen improvements in HSEQ performance, cost position, reliability and overall production. However, the
benefits have been inconsistent across the industry, somewhat overshadowed by a lack of structure, direction,
p ro ce s s o r e x e cu t i o n .
W he re o p e rat i o n al e x ce l l e n ce has b e e n hi g hl y s u cce s s f u l , i n s i d e an d o u t s i d e t he o i l an d g as i n d u s t ry , co m p an i e s
reaping the benefits share many key characteristics and attributes. Below is an outline of the cultural attributes
o f O E an d t he co m p o n e n t s t hat hav e b e e n p u t i n p l ace t o d ri v e co n t i n u e d an d s u s t ai n ab l e re s u l t s .
K e y cu l t u ral at t ri b u t e s
S t r o n g l e a d e F rro s m h it p he : b o ard o f d i re ct o rs t hro u g h t he o p e rat i o n s i n t e g ri t y
management system (OIMS) all the way to tool pushers, each leader is aligned on the
co m p an y v i s i o n an d g u i d e s t he i r o rg an i z at i o n o n i t , d ri v i n g p e rf o rm an ce e x p e ct at i o n s
an d d e v e l o p i n g t he cap ab i l i t y o f t he i r e m p l o y e e s an d co n t ract o rs .
E n g a g e d p e r s oA lnl en m e p l l : o y e e s u n d e rs t an d t he i r ro l e an d ho w t he i r j o b an d p e rs o n al
choices impact the performance of the organization. They don’t just support the OE
p ro g ram b u t o w n i t an d s t ri v e re l e n t l e s s l y f o r co n t i n u e d i m p ro v e m e n t .
C l e a r f o cO up es rat : i o n al e x ce l l e n ce an d p e rf o rm an ce i m p ro v e m e n t are a cl e ar f o cu s
for the organization, and each employee is empowered and supported to make difficult
cho i ce s t hat s u p p o rt t he O E p ro g ram ab o v e al l e l s e . O rg an i z at i o n al chan g e s t o t he
o p e rat i n g m o d e l are i m p e rat i v e f o r s u cce s s .
L e v e r a g e d t e c h n o l o g y : T he o rg an i z at i o n u s e s o n l y t he n e ce s s ary t e chn o l o g y t hat
is implemented to allow real-time effective knowledge transfer, communication and
p e rf o rm an ce re v i e w , as w e l l as t he ab i l i t y t o t ran s f o rm co n t i n u o u s s t re am s o f d at a
i n t o i n f o rm at i o n an d u l t i m at e l y d e ci s i o n s t hat p o s i t i v e l y i m p act re s u l t s .
Driving operational performance in oil and gas |
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