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00:00:00 Speaker 1
This episode of The Energy Pipeline is sponsored by Caterpillar Oil& Gas. Since the 1930s, Caterpillar has manufactured engines for drilling, production, well service and gas compression. With more than 2, 100 dealer locations worldwide, Caterpillar offers customers a dedicated support team to assist with their premier power solutions.
00:00:25 Speaker 2
The Energy Pipeline is your lifeline to all things oil and gas, to drill down deep into the issues impacting our industry. From the frack site to the future of sustainability, hear more about industry issues, tools, and resources to streamline and modernize the future of oil and gas. Welcome to The Energy Pipeline.
00:00:47 Jordan Driskell
All right. Welcome to The Energy Pipeline with Jordan Driscoll filling in for Jordan Yates. In this episode, recorded at ADIPEC, the oil and gas show in Abu Dhabi, we're going to sit down with Connor Docherty, a seasoned professional with a diverse experience in equipment maintenance. We'll explore the critical role of proper equipment maintenance in various environments, touching on best practices, challenges, and how it impacts sustainability. All right. So with us here we've got Connor Docherty, product manager at SPM Oil & Gas. You've had a fascinating journey through engineering to business. Could you tell us a little bit more about your background, your current role as product manager at SPM Oil & Gas?
00:01:25 Connor Docherty
Yeah, definitely. So first and foremost, thank you very much for having me on the podcast today and giving me the chance to talk about something I'm pretty passionate about. So thank you. So yeah, starting from near the beginning anyway, I did an engineering degree at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. From there I joined a local and quite big Glaswegian company called The Weir Group. I joined them as part of their graduate development program. It's quite an interesting program where basically over two years you get the opportunity to travel around into different businesses, different groups and different roles and get to experience a bit of everything that constitutes an engineering and manufacturing business. So I've got to touch a lot of different areas, and as part of that, they kind of encourage you to do an international placement, which is how I found myself up in Fort Worth in Texas-
00:02:19 Jordan Driskell
Oh, there you go.
00:02:20 Connor Docherty
...with SPM. So after six months in Texas with SPM, the original plan was to come back. And I was very, very lucky. I got the opportunity to stay. And what originally started out as one year has fast transformed into six years.
00:02:37 Jordan Driskell
Oh, well, you're just there now. You've dropped anchor.
00:02:39 Connor Docherty
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Basically a Texan. So I originally went out working as part of the R&D team, which was a great entry into the oil and gas industry fully where I was responsible for evaluating new and emerging technologies within the oil and gas sphere and specifically within fracking, well, hydraulic fracturing. After some time in R& D I moved into the pump engineering team where I took responsibility of our aftermarket products. I did about three years there designing and developing new products and new technologies in the aftermarket space. After some success there and releasing a few products under our EdgeX Valve and Seat product line and getting a really good diverse experience in regard to design serviceability, maintenance, a lot of time in the field, I moved into product management. And in product management now, I'm responsible for our aftermarket components as well as our fluid end components. When I try and describe what my role is today, I've given it a lot of thought because it constitutes a lot of things which is really, really fun and real diverse, but-
00:03:58 Jordan Driskell
Absolutely. I mean, it is a broad portfolio, no doubt.
00:04:01 Connor Docherty
Yeah, yeah. And condensing that down into what I'm responsible for day-to-day, I kind of like to summarize it as responsible for making the products today successful and then strategizing for what our products tomorrow are going to be.
00:04:15 Jordan Driskell
All right.
00:04:16 Connor Docherty
So yeah, that's my tagline for it. But yeah, it really means that today is making sure that our products are answering the customer needs today, and we're planning and preparing and putting all the projects in place that means the products we're releasing later down the line are not only building upon the solutions we're providing but better answering their problems, better supporting their goals. And also as well, making sure that we're positioned to solve the problems that are going to develop and are going to come about and making sure that we're the best suited to provide the solutions to make our customers successful.
00:04:53 Jordan Driskell
Well, that's awesome. All right. So we've got some questions here we're going to go through. So of course, excuse me, so equipment maintenance obviously plays a pivotal role in various industries. Can you share some of your universal best practices for maintaining equipment across different environments from oil fields to manufacturing, that kind of thing?
00:05:14 Connor Docherty
Yeah. Yeah, I can, and this is a really interesting area, especially when you try and start to think about best practices, especially in something as diverse as the oil field and then also as diverse as manufacturing. Because I think anyone that's spent time in either will tell you there's no two days alike, right?
00:05:32 Jordan Driskell
Correct.
00:05:32 Connor Docherty
So things are constantly cropping up. There's always unique challenges. So trying to summarize that into best practices is always challenging. But from my experience, people that do it are the ones that are really successful when it comes to maintenance. So in terms of best practices, I think there's a few things there. I think first and foremost is making sure that everything's proceduralized right?
00:05:56 Jordan Driskell
Right.
00:05:57 Connor Docherty
And by that I mean there's the standard ways of operating, the standard ways of doing things, the standard processes that you follow. And why I think that's so important is because, as I said, when it is so diverse and you're constantly challenging new things, having a standard sort of practice that you can-
00:06:17 Jordan Driskell
Absolutely.
00:06:17 Connor Docherty
... fallback on is critical to making sure that you're making the right decisions, you're being safe, you're supporting other people, and at the end of the day as well is you're making sure that you're doing the right things to make your operation successful as well. So I think that's one. Then another thing for best practice, it's something that we champion a lot and that's making sure that everyone has a good understanding of the equipment, there's proper training in place and there's the proper tooling provided. That sounds a wee bit obvious, but yeah, I think making sure as a best practice, the people you have working and doing the maintenance in both spaces understand the product, they understand what they should be doing and they're given all the tools and the processes to do that. As I said, both of them sound obvious coming when you hear you saying that.
00:07:10 Jordan Driskell
But I mean, we've both seen so many organizations where it sounds obvious and then they're not doing it.
00:07:15 Connor Docherty
Sure, sure. I think those two things, I think in terms of best practices, I think if you focus there and you really look to be the best that you can be in those two areas, I think you can't go wrong and you're setting yourself up for success.
00:07:30 Jordan Driskell
That's awesome. All right. Very good. I mean, I can't disagree with you on that. Those fundamentals are how you make any organization successful. It's not the super high concept stuff. I mean, it is you do the basic stuff really, really well, everything else is successful.
00:07:45 Connor Docherty
Completely agree.
00:07:47 Jordan Driskell
All right. So different environments bring different types of challenges, obviously. What are some of the unique maintenance challenges you've encountered on your roles, and how'd you tackle them?
00:07:58 Connor Docherty
Yeah. So I think when I think of maintenance... And I've got two unique examples here that I wanted to talk you through today. One of them is looking at how we can help remove maintenance as best possible, but if not completely remove, space it out further or allow it to happen in more controlled environments. And then the other one is the training and support aspect that I touched on a few seconds ago. So from the idea of maintenance, the best type of maintenance is the maintenance you don't have to do.
00:08:33 Jordan Driskell
I wish they had that for my car.
00:08:35 Connor Docherty
Yeah, definitely. Me too, right? So I think we took that and we looked... I think one of the unique experiences that I have is especially being responsible for aftermarket components, which they're maintained every single day on every frack site, no matter where you go. We looked at them and said, " Okay. How do we either remove that maintenance, which is the ideal scenario, and in some cases, considering the conditions we deal with, probably a wee bit unrealistic? But how do we space it out, or how do we put it to a point in their operations that are safer, more control, less high pressure, less high pace?" We did that with our EdgeX Carbide Seat, and we tackled that to say, " Look, it's one of the ones that, a standard seat in operation today, are changed the most frequently, and they're one of the most difficult to change." So it was a bit of a two birds, one stone scenario. So we basically looked to implement technology that allowed us to take that maintenance offsite, or if it had to happen onsite, it was happening every month rather than every week. And then the other thing that I think we looked at was touching back on that whole training and understanding perspective. In my role, as I said, we're responsible for making sure that the products today are successful. And that's all about performance, that's all about price, that's all about availability. But serviceability is so key. And if you make life easy for the guys onsite or wherever they're using your product, I mean, you've already got an army of people there that are a champion for you.
00:10:20 Jordan Driskell
Right. If the end user's happy, then it basically sells itself at that point.
00:10:24 Connor Docherty
Exactly, right. So we focused on what we call SPM Edge, which is basically us saying, "Look, here's a library of material, here's a team of people, and wherever you need us or wherever you need the material, we'll be there to help make sure that your practices are proper, they're standard, they're safe, they're in line with what we recommend," and really being your right- hand man in the field helping. Because, as I said, maintenance is inevitable, unfortunately, but how we do it better and how we do it safer is critical. That was one of the big unique challenges for us is we can design all these amazing products, but they're not being used and looked after properly, then your customer's never going to realize the success that you've hoped they'll get from it. So being there, as I said, either virtually or in- person I think is where we provide a pretty unique solution to a pretty common problem.
00:11:22 Jordan Driskell
Yeah, that's outstanding. I mean, that's the value proposition you want to hear right there. That's fantastic. All right. So the next question sort of piggybacks into that. With the advancements in technology, predictive maintenance has gained traction. How is data technology, how is all that stuff changing the game and equipment maintenance, and do you have any real world examples?
00:11:44 Connor Docherty
Yeah, definitely. So I think predictive maintenance is the next kind of game changer from so many different sides. I think today where I've just talked about training and procedure and understanding, so important, I think predictive maintenance is going to sort of help lift some of the burden there, where we're kind of relying on people in a high pressure, challenging environment to make very important decisions that have an impact on your bottom line.
00:12:18 Jordan Driskell
Yeah. I think we need to do some maintenance on this right now as opposed to-
00:12:22 Connor Docherty
I know we do, right?
00:12:23 Jordan Driskell
Right, right.
00:12:24 Connor Docherty
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So I think that's where predictive maintenance is going to have a huge impact. It's going to lift a lot of that burden, and I think it's going to change the game for everyone. I think it's going to change the game for the full supply chain or value stream. What I mean by that is a lot of times when we talk and we think about predictive maintenance, we think about that guy who's at the front line making the decision. And of course, that's critical. And the benefits the operator will get, being able to plan and schedule and forecast in regards to maintenance will be huge. But I think it's also going to have a lot of impacts further back down the supply chain as an original equipment manufacturer and OEM considering predictive maintenance is going to have a big impact on our thought process when it comes to products, comes to products, comes to services, come to support, comes to how we engage with our customers. So it's going to be quite interesting throughout that whole chain.
00:13:22 Jordan Driskell
Right, yeah. I mean, that's completely down the supply chain effectively if you can nail down the science behind it.
00:13:29 Connor Docherty
Yeah, exactly. We all need to be cognizant of it. We all need to be ready for it. I think one aspect of that from the data side of things is I think as part of that value chain, we've got a couple of people within there that are quite mature when it comes to data collection. And then I think it's fast coming, and I'll talk about how SPM and how Caterpillar is making sure we're part of that mature part of the supply chain, making sure we've got access to the data. And then on top of that it's going to be about how we use that data to be predictive. One of the things that we provide with our pump products, one of the things we're very proud of, done a lot of work and continue to do a lot of work is what we call our PEMS system. So basically, our PEMS system is critical to our CAT oil and gas services contracts and is becoming ever more critical from a day- to- day perspective for, as I said, the rest of that supply chain, being us, where we've got equipment that goes out with our products that collects data, visualizes data, analyzes data. Then what I think is going to be very, very important for us and where I think we can make a big difference and where I think just that kind of whole technology and data is going to be key is matching product expertise, operational expertise, application expertise with the data to help fuel that predictive maintenance. So I think there's a long way to go. I think there's going to be a lot of collaboration between that full value chain to make it as impactful as we all predict and think it can be. But I think for us with PEMS, we're trying to set ourselves up to be a key member when it comes to ensuring that data and technology is making predictive maintenance real and kind of inaudible-
00:15:21 Jordan Driskell
Right. Right there on the cutting edge, the bleeding edge, if you will.
00:15:24 Connor Docherty
Yeah, definitely. It's going to be huge, and I just can't wait until we get there.
00:15:31 Jordan Driskell
I mean, again, I'm still waiting on my car to not need maintenance. So the sooner you can sort that out and trickle it down to the automotive, beautiful.
00:15:38 Connor Docherty
Yeah.
00:15:39 Jordan Driskell
So our health and safety question, safety is obviously paramount, especially with the high- risk industry such as oil and gas. How does prioritizing maintenance also enhance the safety for workers and in the environment?
00:15:51 Connor Docherty
Yeah, for sure. So I mean, I think every company or every person that listens to this podcast would fully agree that no matter where you go, safety is number one. I think, as I said, that's the case everywhere. So making sure that everything flows from that kind of priority statement that safety is key really filters into the stuff you do day- to- day. And the oil field is one of the most challenging environments you can find to do this.
00:16:28 Jordan Driskell
Sure is. Sure is.
00:16:28 Connor Docherty
So making sure safety is, one, prioritized as key, and then two, how you plan for that is key. But I think, as I said, there's probably three levels of how we can use maintenance to make safety better. Then as you said, from a environmental standpoint as well, safety in that alongside maintenance goes hand in hand a wee bit. But the first is what we've talked about, is the best type of maintenance is no maintenance.
00:16:55 Jordan Driskell
Right. My favorite.
00:16:57 Connor Docherty
I think everyone's got a wee bit of work to do till we get there. So we'll put that number one. But number two is the idea that if you have to do maintenance, then you know when it's going to be. It's in a safe, controlled environment. You can control when it's going to happen, touching on a wee bit about your predictive maintenance, but also allowing us to provide products that put the maintenance not from either a performance or a liability standpoint, not in the worst time but in the best time. So for us within the fracking industry, maybe it's your product lasts a full frack job and you can plan your maintenance in a controlled and more calm environment, either when that's moving jobs or back on your site. And then thirdly is that kind of idea of making sure that everyone who's doing maintenance is doing it as safely as possible with tools that are as safe as possible, with-
00:17:50 Jordan Driskell
And that goes back to what you said, giving the tools, giving the training, having the procedures. Right.
00:17:54 Connor Docherty
Exactly. Yeah. And making sure all of those line up with products that are easy to work with, that are reliable, that do what you want them to do I think all kind of contributes to making sure that the oil field and manufacturing is safe for our people and then obviously for the environment and the processes as well.
00:18:17 Jordan Driskell
Fair enough. All right. So let's see what we got here. So remote areas. So in remote areas or extreme environments, which we've already established, the oil field, oftentimes both, so maintenance can be particularly challenging. What are some of the strategies that you recommend for effectively maintaining equipment in those kinds of situations? Anything above and beyond what we've already talked about?
00:18:39 Connor Docherty
Yeah. I think when I think about remote maintenance, and I say this from some experience as well, it's all about being prepared. So if you're not prepared and you've got something to do, either that's standard or unique, and you're remote, you're in a big, big problem. Unfortunately, and in some cases rightly, I mean, you're out in these remote locations because it makes sense to be out there, the work is worthwhile doing and it has a positive benefit to the people running that job, so stuff has to get done. Now, as we've established, it needs to get done safely.
00:19:24 Jordan Driskell
It sure does.
00:19:26 Connor Docherty
And if you're not prepared for the maintenance you're going to have to do, as I said, either standard or unique, then you find yourself in some positions where there's influences to make poorer choices than you should. So I think to be remote, you have to be prepared, and that comes, as we talked about, from people, from tools, from equipment, from product, from support and all those sorts of things. So if you're going to be successful remotely, you have to be prepared to be remote. I think that's where you get a real difference between people that execute well and maybe have some challenges.
00:20:02 Jordan Driskell
Yeah, absolutely. You still live in the Fort Worth area, right?
00:20:06 Connor Docherty
Yep.
00:20:06 Jordan Driskell
So I live in Abilene. So it's right over the way.
00:20:08 Connor Docherty
Okay.
00:20:08 Jordan Driskell
So I think as far as you and I are both concerned, Weatherford is a remote location.
00:20:13 Connor Docherty
Yeah, exactly. I mean, I've always been amazed coming to Texas. I thought an hour drive in Scotland was long. I mean, an hour drive is for the milk in the morning in Texas, right?
00:20:23 Jordan Driskell
I know. 100%. So let's see what we got here. So next thing we're going to talk about is bottom line, how does property equipment maintenance impact the total cost of ownership and the longevity of assets?
00:20:38 Connor Docherty
Yeah. So as I mentioned before, I mean, for our customers to get all the benefit of the kind of effort that we're designing into our products, we're manufacturing into our products, that only makes sense if you maintain your equipment well.
00:20:56 Jordan Driskell
100%.
00:20:58 Connor Docherty
It's kind of like our car we've talked about, right?
00:21:00 Jordan Driskell
Right, yeah.
00:21:00 Connor Docherty
If you don't look after your car, it's not going to last as long as it could.
00:21:03 Jordan Driskell
And no one loves an overstretched metaphor more than I do.
00:21:06 Connor Docherty
Yeah. I'm here with you to stretch as long as you need to go. But yeah, and I think one of the big challenges about proper maintenance is maintenance is such a direct correlation. And product maintenance, the time, the parts associated, it's so directly correlated to the bottom line for operators. And as we've talked about, the amount of time we take, the amount of products, it's so tangible to see, " Well, we spent X amount of time or X percent on maintenance last month. If we were to reduce that by X, it means Y." Now, that's so tangible. However, proper maintenance and the time associated with it, it's a bit of a lagging indicator where if you do all the things right today-
00:21:54 Jordan Driskell
You're not really sure how much you saved because you did it now.
00:21:58 Connor Docherty
Yeah, exactly. The end of the month's report from something you did a week ago, saving time, you can say doing it properly, you might not see next week, but the benefits you'll see further down the line way over and above stretch just saving an extra 30 minutes or saving an extra five minutes or whatever it is by cutting corners when it comes to your maintenance. And that's where I think looking at that, not just, " Oh, it lasted this long and it cost me this much and I spent that amount of time on it," it's really understanding that, " Okay, if I look after this properly, not just will I get the performance that I'm looking for and that the product can achieve..." Also, I think what's quite critical is the reliability side of that as well. So yeah, you'll get more performance, but you'll get more performance consistently. I think that's one thing we always work to help support is that if you don't maintain it properly, yeah, there's going to be opportunities for more sporadic performance from equipment. So yeah, doing it right now, yeah, you might not see it tomorrow, but a month down the line or later, it's going to have huge benefits, for sure.
00:23:08 Jordan Driskell
Bigger impact and for longer.
00:23:11 Connor Docherty
Exactly. Yeah. And sustainably as well, right-
00:23:15 Jordan Driskell
Yeah, 100%.
00:23:15 Connor Docherty
...if you just look at this? So I think that's the big one for me when it comes to total cost of ownership is, yeah, there is some upfront, but it's so worth it if you do it right.
00:23:25 Jordan Driskell
Fair enough. I mean, I have enjoyed talking to you about this because, I mean, you're clearly passionate about it, you're super knowledgeable.
00:23:33 Connor Docherty
Thank you.
00:23:34 Jordan Driskell
You're an honorary Texan, so we love that. So here's a question I'm interested in your thoughts on. As we look to the future, how do you see equipment maintenance evolving, and what can organizations do to futureproof their maintenance strategies?
00:23:48 Connor Docherty
Yeah. So I see the future of maintenance, as we talked about, I see it being a lot more structured. I see it being a lot simpler, all going well. And I think there's some things that will come along with that. There'll be some added complexity in different areas, as we've talked about, from the data side of things, from new technology onsite that will support that predictability, new technologies that will support the simplicity of products. I think to future- proof yourself for all the technology that's coming down the line, I think it's making sure that, one, you're prioritizing the upskill of the people that are on there, because as much as we talk about the ability for technology and data and those sorts of things allowing us to be more efficient and more resourceful with either the people or the tools or the products we use, there is always going to be people out there that are going to be looking after and working with this equipment. So making sure that you upskill and bring people into the front part of the wave I think is the big one that will futureproof, because when it comes to technologies and data, I mean, there's so much range for opportunity, there's so much cool stuff that's going to come, but there's always going to be people at the center of that. So-
00:25:06 Jordan Driskell
100%.
00:25:07 Connor Docherty
...upskilling and preparing the people that work with the equipment, that do the maintenance that are out there onsite making it happen, making sure that they're at the front of that conversation I think will set everyone up for success.
00:25:21 Jordan Driskell
Absolutely. So last question here, advice to industry professionals. What advice would you give to professionals in the field looking to enhance their equipment maintenance practices?
00:25:32 Connor Docherty
So I've had a lot of thought about this, and at one point I was thinking, " What would I give advice?" I was going into all these rabbit holes of unique scenarios and different technologies and, " Look at this, look at that." And taking a wee step back, I think for me, I think the big thing and the one piece of advice I'd give is just prioritize it. Prioritize it and put it at the center of what you're doing and I think everything else, as we talked about, will flow from there. But if you don't prioritize it, and I've seen it unfortunately more often than I'd like, it comes back to bite you, and it comes back to bite you over and over again. So anyone who prioritizes that, puts it at the center of their operations and their strategy and their goals and their KPIs, I think that would be my biggest piece of advice, just prioritize proper maintenance and you'll be in good shape.
00:26:28 Jordan Driskell
I mean, I can fault nothing in that statement. That is 100% correct.
00:26:32 Connor Docherty
Thank you.
00:26:33 Jordan Driskell
Connor, thank you so much for joining us today. I deeply appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Like I said, your passion, your knowledge for this, it's infectious. Absolutely fantastic having you here. Thank you so much. Everyone else, thank you for listening. This has been The Energy Pipeline with not Jordan Yates but Jordan Driscoll subbing in. And we'll see you guys on the next one.
00:26:54 Connor Docherty
Thank you very much.
00:26:55 Speaker 2
Come back next week for another episode of The Energy Pipeline, a production of the Oil and Gas Global Network. To learn more, go to oggn.com.
