American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016 - 58

SpecialReport: HS&E
declining, Heinen says. "Since those numbers have gone down, the floor hand is
now the highest-safety incident role on
the rig, and now we are focused on the
floor," he says.
With the STV handling pipe in the
derrick, the LGA has been designed with
limited land rig space in mind, he says.
All innovations are done with automation
in mind, but the LGA likely will not replace floor hands, he says. "You still will
have guys on the floor doping the pipe
and performing other intermittent functions
that do not have automated solutions necessarily, but this system is another step
forward in enhancing crew safety while
optimizing rig efficiencies," Heinen concludes.

NOV is completing the development of a prototype rig floor mechanism that tails the
lower portion of a drill pipe stand and stabs it in the stub for roughnecks to tighten. Designed to enhance pipe handling efficiency while improving safety by reducing the need
for roughnecks to handle drill pipe, the technology is expected to be launched officially
in 2017.

Coach solution is "gamification in action"
that allows employees to see how their
performance compares with their peers
as employees strive for safety awards
and recognition, further boosting ROI,
Scalf explains.
"Some of the largest utilities in the
country are running Telogis Coach and
report significant gains in achieving objectives for improved driver performance,
including efficient driving and safety behind the wheel, which can be a difficult
goal to reach," Scalf says.
Automated Pipe Handling
As part of its drilling rig pipe handling
technology, National Oilwell Varco (NOV)
plans to complete development of a prototype this year of a mechanism on the
rig floor that tails the lower portion of a
drill pipe stand and stabs it in the stub
for roughnecks to tighten, reports Joel
Heinen, NOV's product line manager for
land pipe handing.
The lower guide arm (LGA) is expected
to be launched officially in 2017, reducing
the need for roughnecks to handle drill
pipe to improve safety through additional
automation that can prevent hand and
feet injuries, and reduce other potential
incidences on slick rig floors, Heinen
says.
"The LGA allows basically no one to
even touch the pipe from the setback
area where the pipe is racked all the way
58 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

to well center," he states. "The lower
guide arm will guide it from that setback
area and stab it in the stub."
The LGA is the latest innovation that
brings offshore pipe handling automation
to land rigs, Heinen says. "We still see a
lot more human interaction with pipe on
the land side," Heinen says. "It is leading
us to be more innovative and create efficiencies to improve safety, and to find
ways to speed the process when possible.
We continue to find ways to create more
value for the end-user."
NOV has introduced the stand transfer
vehicle (STV), which performs a similar
function to the derrick man in racking
pipe in the finger board up the mast. The
company's Iron Roughneck™ provides
spinning and torque-making capabilities
for making up drill pipe, increasing crew
and rig safety and reducing pipe handling
time, he relates. Meantime, NOV's
PipeCat™ automates pipe lay down and
retrieval from the catwalk.
"Over time, we have addressed most
of the human interaction with pipe through
some sort of mechanized solution," Heinen
says. "There is still human interaction
driving the piece of equipment on a
manual console attached to it, but we
were removing 99 percent of that safety
factor."
Figures from the International Association of Drilling Contractors show that
safety incidents among derrick men are

Gas Detection System
Honeywell has unveiled ConneXt
LoneWorker™ as the industry's first
cloud-based, mobile, wireless gas detection
and monitoring system for workers in remote or sparsely populated areas.

Honeywell's cloud-based ConneXt
LoneWorker™ is a mobile, wireless gas
detection and monitoring system for
workers in remote areas. Combining a
gas detector, router and Web interface,
the system allows safety managers to
locate workers on demand, check near
real-time gas monitor readings, receive
automatic alerts of gas alarms and
safety incidents, perform site checkin/check-out, send two-way text messages, and track vehicle maintenance,
fuel usage and driving habits.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016

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