This tale from the shop is about an upstream oil and gas company in Alberta, Canada, that was created through the acquisition and merger of four small companies. The purchase contract for the land and assets did not include the purchase of the information about the assets. As a result, only 60 percent of the company’s asset portfolio was recorded in its asset register.

The company knew that a pressurized asset in the northeastern corner of Alberta was operating, but had no idea where it was located. This pressurized asset had not been inspected or maintained for 11 years. Pressurized assets are highly regulated, require third-party inspections that trigger possible in-house maintenance, and regular reporting to the regulator throughout the year. If this asset blew up and injured, or worse, killed someone, the company’s license to operate could be threatened.

The second problem the company had was created inadvertently by engineers in the field who were responsible for maintaining remote assets scattered throughout the province. There were no remote warehouses to store critical spares. If engineers noticed a shrink-wrapped asset in the field that had a spare part they needed, they would strip the part from the asset and use it for the repair. When the engineers got back home or to their hotel room at the end of the day, they were tired after driving all day to check, inspect and repair assets in the field. They used unreliable dial-up connections to input their activities into the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) run out of headquarters. Much of their detail activity was forgotten and not recorded. The company’s critical assets were in disarray and its asset register was inaccurate and incomplete. The vice president of operations said they were too busy to deal with the problem of locating the remainder of the assets and registering these assets in the CMMS.

Once a year, field staff were brought into headquarters for an annual update. The vice president dropped into one of their sessions to say hello. He was bombarded by the difficulties his field workers were having to service remote assets. This pivotal session was invaluable. The vice president acknowledged the problems and realized the business risk his company was facing.

He authorized an initiative to locate and record missing assets, including the spare parts attached to the equipment. The initiative included tablets and reliable network connections (including satellite, if necessary) for the field engineers. This would allow them to access and update their work orders, equipment catalog, and spare parts information in the field.

As a result, the company was able to accurately report the status of its mission critical assets to regulators. Insurers reduced their premiums, knowing the company was open and transparent about the location, condition and status of its assets.