From the field to the back office, organizations of all sizes suffer from the inadequacies of outdated practices and systems, losing time and money while potentially jeopardizing worker safety in the process. Many oil and gas service providers are still using paper documents and Excel, causing inefficiency and leaving companies open to errors and discrepancies, leading to higher costs and loss of productivity. Without an efficient and seamless digital field management solution, processing field tickets and forms can cause many operational bottlenecks, leaving a company’s quote-to-cash process inaccurate and cumbersome.

1. Access to Actionable Data On and Offline

Insufficient financial and operational data is harmful to business performance and success. Paper forms and tickets cannot provide reporting capabilities and analytics, leaving oil and gas service providers without visibility into current and historical data. This lack of actionable data can decrease efficiency and profitability. When companies can leverage in-depth financial and operational insights, they have the opportunity to grow and thrive.

However, many oil and gas job sites are in remote locations without reliable Internet or cell service. Therefore, it is critical to address communication issues between the field, the office, and the customer. An efficient system should have the ability to share data across the organization, even without an Internet connection, to avoid siloed departments.

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2. Streamlined, Automated Processes

A digital field management solution allows both service providers and operators to shift to a paperless process, streamlining operations from the field to the back office. Companies confirm the status of completed work tickets the moment job information is updated in the database. With electronic invoicing, human error is removed from the equation, automating the billing process and eliminating billing delays caused by lost revenue errors and incorrect pricing.

Effective field service software provides the ability to capture data offline, whether it be at a well site or other remote locations. An efficient system addresses the challenges of communication between the field, the office, and the client by providing near real-time data across the organization, eliminating operational and departmental silos.

3. Increased Worker Safety

With the ever-increasing need for data, many businesses continue to suffer from the disconnection between field operation solutions and asset management software. A comprehensive software solution that unifies both systems eliminates this issue and enables the free flow of information between field and office. Unaddressed, these inconsistencies obstruct the company’s long-term success and increase safety risks for workers in the field.

Data collected from field tickets can be utilized for strategic asset management and enhanced worker safety. Once collected, the data is used to create a proactive workflow that allows for routine, preventive and predictive maintenance, increased equipment reliability and efficient regulatory compliance.

This type of solution enables maintenance managers to monitor equipment conditions and verify user qualifications, reducing safety risks while protecting assets and operators. With equipment records digitally transformed into a visual, user-friendly format, quality assurance managers and field service teams can use the data to ensure worksite safety conditions meet safety and regulatory compliance standards.

Replacing Outdated Systems with a Field Management Solution

The oil and gas industry is evolving from a growth to a cash-flow business mindset that requires companies to do more with less. Operators need a field management solution that streamlines the workflow process into one single unifying solution.

Eliminating errors and discrepancies caused by poor data collection, outdated systems and poor visibility keeps service providers running efficiently, allowing them to collect billables and recover lost revenue accurately. Implementing a standard technology solution company-wide leads to increased awareness of equipment and workers, protecting employees on and off-site, and increasing the business’s productivity.

Learn more about ServiceMax’s FieldFX software here. 

ABOUT Matt Danna

Avatar photoMatt Danna is the senior director of product strategy FieldFX at ServiceMax. Matt has been working in software for over 25 years, with a depth of knowledge in software engineering, sales engineering, and product management. His primary function is to work with customers, key stakeholders, implementation managers, account executives, and developers to ensure alignment across all parties. Prior to ServiceMax, Matt Danna led product strategy at LiquidFrameworks, which was acquired by ServiceMax in 2021.