Insights: industry leading testing facilities
In an industry determined to minimize risk and maximise health and safety, the ability to undergo rigorous testing and simulations of your equipment in your own facilities is key.
From the outset, we have always focused on developing industry-leading products that are born out of attention to detail and clever engineering. This drive for perfection is not just limited to the products themselves but is embedded in every aspect of life at Fourphase, including our facilities and testing procedures. Our pre- and post- job testing goes above and beyond. This means every aspect of a job is tested and simulated in advance, removing risk and providing simulations of the anticipated workflow and results.
The test facilities at Fourphase HQ
Our comprehensive test room in Bergen is a replica of an offshore installation, with EX certified valves, flow metres and a solids injection hopper.
Similar to how offshore operations are run, our testing facilities are connected to our OTC (Operations and Technology Center). The connection to OTC is trifold – bringing our test facilities (with solids injection), solids database (the largest of its kind in the world) and 2nd generation control system together to simulate sand events. This includes sand events that have happened or test events that we, or our customers, anticipate might happen. This capability is a true differentiator and allows clients to test our remote operations capabilities, ensuring they are guided through how the remote operation processes work.
Since 2018, we have offered Virtual Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) to our customers. This enables our global teams to complete all testing functions remotely with the highest quality assurance. On a single FAT we provided a customer with over 30 hours of live footage via multiple cameras installed with a 360-degree view of the equipment. This infrastructure has enabled us to instantly respond to growing virtual requirements.
Once a job is underway, the testing and monitoring doesn’t stop. Our Operations and Technology Centre allows us to remotely, or physically, gather experienced project managers to enhance knowledge transfer across projects, supporting the goal of zero downtime. Thanks to the link between the OTC and the test room, the operation of equipment can be remote, removing manual tasks and keeping our operators safe at all times.
Where to from here?
Our test facilities have been operational since 2019, with hundreds of tests and simulations run each year. However, we do not like to stand still and are always looking at where we can improve.
The next chapter in our testing story is to move into testing 10k equipment (currently we are using 5k). With higher safety requirements, such as bulletproof walls, our testing rooms are already set up to cater for tests of this nature, so this is an obvious next step for us.
As advocates of remote and autonomous operations, it is natural for us to test and showcase the potential remote monitoring can deliver for customers. From our experience, we find that this process is the best way to help clients build confidence in the endless possibilities that are possible through remote monitoring onshore.
As the industry moves towards increased digitalization and autonomous rigs, we have invested heavily in futureproofing our technology to ensure safe, automated solids management is being delivered today. Therefore, we are ready to assist and guide our customers on their digitalisation journey.
The test facilities at Fourphase HQ
Our comprehensive test room in Bergen is a replica of an offshore installation, with EX certified valves, flow metres and a solids injection hopper.
Similar to how offshore operations are run, our testing facilities are connected to our OTC (Operations and Technology Center). The connection to OTC is trifold – bringing our test facilities (with solids injection), solids database (the largest of its kind in the world) and 2nd generation control system together to simulate sand events. This includes sand events that have happened or test events that we, or our customers, anticipate might happen. This capability is a true differentiator and allows clients to test our remote operations capabilities, ensuring they are guided through how the remote operation processes work.
Since 2018, we have offered Virtual Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) to our customers. This enables our global teams to complete all testing functions remotely with the highest quality assurance. On a single FAT we provided a customer with over 30 hours of live footage via multiple cameras installed with a 360-degree view of the equipment. This infrastructure has enabled us to instantly respond to growing virtual requirements.
Once a job is underway, the testing and monitoring doesn’t stop. Our Operations and Technology Centre allows us to remotely, or physically, gather experienced project managers to enhance knowledge transfer across projects, supporting the goal of zero downtime. Thanks to the link between the OTC and the test room, the operation of equipment can be remote, removing manual tasks and keeping our operators safe at all times.
Where to from here?
Our test facilities have been operational since 2019, with hundreds of tests and simulations run each year. However, we do not like to stand still and are always looking at where we can improve.
The next chapter in our testing story is to move into testing 10k equipment (currently we are using 5k). With higher safety requirements, such as bulletproof walls, our testing rooms are already set up to cater for tests of this nature, so this is an obvious next step for us.
As advocates of remote and autonomous operations, it is natural for us to test and showcase the potential remote monitoring can deliver for customers. From our experience, we find that this process is the best way to help clients build confidence in the endless possibilities that are possible through remote monitoring onshore.
As the industry moves towards increased digitalization and autonomous rigs, we have invested heavily in futureproofing our technology to ensure safe, automated solids management is being delivered today. Therefore, we are ready to assist and guide our customers on their digitalisation journey.