Minimizing Downtime on Drilling Vessels: Proactive Investment into Derisking Offshore Operations

Summary

Operating a marine geotechnical vessel often feels like playing a game of whack-a-mole: challenges and issues can pop up seemingly at random, each one a potential disruption to the operation. But automation can help marine geotechnical vessel operators shift from this reactive approach to a more proactive one.
 
In marine construction and other offshore operations, unexpected downtime can be a costly setback. Every hour of standdown impacts budgets and significant downtime can wipe out all the profit from a project.
 
Implementing proactive measures can help contractors and vessel operators minimize risks and prevent costly delays. By reducing downtime and enabling more competitive tenders, the investment in these measures can pay for itself many times over.
 
A critical failure of equipment requiring a round trip to port for commissioning and repairs might take ten days depending on site location. Considering that the day rate of the vessel and suite of geotechnical equipment can run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds, this clearly demonstrates the steep price of poor risk management. Could this cost be forecasted, avoided and spent elsewhere?
 

Preparing for the unpredictable

Ten days is an extreme example, but ultimately, the way to avoid unplanned downtime is to have already prepared for it in the first place. No matter how pristine the condition of equipment and crew, unexpected incidents are inevitable when working offshore, the question is how many risks can be minimized.
 
Thorough project management and tailored preventative maintenance can help—naturally, preparation should include critical spares and a contingency fund. But being proactive extends beyond financial preparation.
 
For instance, involving engineering as early as possible to "design out" or reduce risk through bespoke designs considerate of offshore environments will help produce a tailored maintenance roadmap, identifying an installation’s "Achilles heel" and focussing on unique needs.
 
Start by reviewing a vessel’s equipment, assessing its condition and criticality and developing a Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedule that prioritizes the highest-risk components. This PPM approach allows for a sliding scale of budgeting, where resources are allocated based on equipment’s current condition and potential breakdown risk.
 
Ideally, there will be space in the budget to not only maintain but proactively upgrade the vessel’s equipment. This is where additional operational risks can be minimized before they occur.
 

Safety-driven automation

When it comes to safety, a tender must often meet increasingly stringent safety standards to even be considered by a client. Replacing manual input from crew with automated solutions can help contractors avoid their bids being thrown out early.
 
For example, a client might stipulate “no manual tongs”. Here, a contractor could comply by automating the process—using an iron roughneck to remotely torque the drill string connections in place of manual tongs.
 
Similarly, a practical solution for clients that want “no personnel within the roosterbox” is an automated tool handler that can be bolted in place in a matter of hours with no hot works and enables tooling to be managed remotely on deck.
 
By using automation to reduce the risk of injuries, contractors simultaneously gain access to more projects and make delays less likely, creating a long-term return on these investments.
 

User-friendly upgrades

However, while equipment upgrades are an effective way to derisk projects and reduce downtime, they must be integrated into the vessel’s operations without causing subsequent delays. Importantly, commissioning a new system must not disrupt a normal mobilization and the benefits of the upgrade must be weighed against any additional complexity or added risk of failure.
 
Likewise, upgrades should avoid introducing steep learning curves for crews. A competent, experienced crew is crucial to avoiding downtime and sudden technological shifts can be overwhelming, negatively impacting production when first implemented. Any solutions should be simple and intuitive, and the best automated solutions will be designed with this in mind.
 
Proactively investing in downtime prevention through targeted maintenance and strategic upgrades protects budgets and builds a reliable reputation. Contractors with strong track records of reliability and clear HSE metrics win more work, as clients value dependability over just the lowest cost.
 
By staying prepared, vessel operators can ensure they’re not just keeping up with challenges, but staying ahead of them, one step (and one mole) at a time.