ITECO Oilfield Supply
Faced with fragmented, document-based systems, and little visibility of their supply chain, ITECO approached Coriel to explore and implement the use of technology to support their growth
Assets tagged
The Problem
ITECO Oilfield Supply is a global distributor of specialist Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) for the oil, gas and renewables sectors, operating in countries across 4 continents with a pedigree that extends beyond 20 years.
OCTG is a family of industrial, seamless tubular products consisting of drill pipe, casing and tubing, all items which are subjected to various loading conditions according to their specific application.
ITECO have been supplying these products to reputable international exploration and production companies for years, but wanted to explore how the use of technology could help them achieve the following goals:
- Implement full item traceability
- Improve item visibility
- Automate information processing in order to reduce time and effort
- Improve the customers experience and create a market differentiator
- Provide users with access to data in the absence of an internet connection
- Provide easy access to digital documentation
Working with Coriel
Coriel completed a detailed review of the customer operations which included site visits to observe item handling and hosted a series of workshops with internal and external stakeholders to understand what the operation truly looked like and where the major pain points were. As a result, the scope of the challenge became clear and a number of immediate time and cost-saving benefits were identified where the use of technology could transform processes.
Before considering which particular technologies to deploy, Coriel worked with ITECO to understand how items from its multiple OEM partners were provided and what level of digital data was available. This work led to the project adopting UHF RFID and deploying standards defined by GS1, therefore allowing all parties to benefit from sharing data globally into the future.
We recognised the need to create digital information for all of our traded products, not only to improve our customer experience, but also to reduce costs and drive efficiencies. After evaluating potential partners, we selected Coriel based on their experience and expertise in a wide range of technologies.
Project success
To-date, over 40,000 unique items have been tagged and are being tracked across various partners around the supply chain. Each item, when scanned, provides the operator with immediate access to a range of production and maintenance documentation, together with essential information that uniquely identifies the item. The combination of these features has significantly improved overall visibility of where items are and significantly reduces the amount of time operators spend attempting to retrieve and match digital documentation.
Given the harsh condition in which the items find themselves in, the project has been a real success, with the overall system achieving accuracy rates of between 99.5 – 99.8%, which is well within the expected tolerance and exceptionally good performance given the quantity of tags being read at any one time, the use of metal assets and abundance of liquid.
Having an accurate method of tracking their assets around their sites and out to their customer sites gives them complete visibility of their estate, which has led to:
A standardised way of identifying items
The Coriel solution gives ITECO the ability to bulk read RFID tags using Ultra High Frequency technology for operations such as goods dispatch, receipt and inventory.
Tools that automate and standardise operational tasks
The Coriel software platform is deployed across a range of rugged, industrial devices used by operators, but the items can additionally be read using any NFC-enabled device (such as smart phones). This gives operators immediate access to both offline and online data as network connectivity is not always guaranteed.
Operational analytics and reports
Using GS1 identification keys and application identifiers, ITECO is able to record and exchange product data in a standardised way. The Coriel solution also gives ITECO the ability to record product metadata and embed security keys to support product authenticity and traceability.
Long term item level data repository for item documentation
The completely integrated Coriel platform provides a powerful, long-term way for ITECO to build a comprehensive and valuable data repository during the lifetime of each item, connecting manufacturing information, delivery schedules, usage documentation and maintenance records with each individual device.
The implementation of reliable technology has significantly improved the quality of data in relation to the products we trade and provided real time visibility of operations. Providing our customers with this data is an added value.
Contact ITECO Oil Field Supply
To find out more about ITECO Oil Field Supply and how they could assist your business, please visit https://www.iteco-supply.com