Sphera > Case Studies > The ‘Secret Sauce’ Driving ConocoPhillips’ Operational Excellence

The ‘Secret Sauce’ Driving ConocoPhillips’ Operational Excellence

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Sphera’s Operational Risk Management
ConocoPhillips’ ePTW system

Tech Stack

Cloud Technology
Data Analytics
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
Analytics & Modeling - Data-as-a-Service

Applicable Industries

Oil & Gas

Applicable Functions

Discrete Manufacturing
Maintenance

Use Cases

Predictive Maintenance
Asset Health Management (AHM)

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
Data Science Services

About The Customer

ConocoPhillips is a major player in the oil and gas industry with a global presence. The company has been in operation for over 20 years, with Mark Hutcherson serving as the director of operations excellence for the past 15 years. Hutcherson has held various roles relating to engineering projects and operations and has worked across several assets globally. Over the past three years, the company has been undergoing a transformation in relation to the Digital Age and how it impacts their operations. ConocoPhillips is focused on continuously evolving and transforming to keep up with the rapid advancements in technology and the changing landscape of the oil and gas industry.

The Challenge

ConocoPhillips, a major player in the oil and gas industry, was facing operational inefficiencies, long wait times for frontline work teams, unplanned downtime and potential process safety losses. The company was also grappling with the challenges of the Digital Age and how it could be leveraged to transform their operations. The oil price downturn five years ago forced the industry to make major adjustments and consider how emerging technologies like data analytics, robotics, automation, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cloud technology could be used to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The company also had to deal with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and a global supply glut.

The Solution

ConocoPhillips adopted a cloud-first strategy and partnered with Sphera to implement their Operational Risk Management Control of Work project. The company saw the potential efficiencies of cloud technology and challenged any proposal for solutions to not be cloud-based. They aimed to use the technology to standardize their work processes and reduce inefficient workflows, custom maps and business rules. The company also involved frontline workers in the project, selecting trusted individuals with expert experience directly from the business who could share the investment with their established relationships in their organizations. These individuals, who had intimate knowledge of work processes and understood how those processes impacted the business, acted as translators to the project and implementation teams and supported their colleagues in the workforce.

Operational Impact

The company was able to standardize their work processes and reduce inefficient workflows, custom maps and business rules.
The involvement of frontline workers in the project ensured that the people who would be using the systems on a daily basis and potentially be impacted by them were part of the decision-making process.
The company was able to weather the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic and a global supply glut due to the changes they had implemented in their operations.