Using SiteView to Capture Work Orders | Stonebridge Consulting

Recently I worked on a SiteView optimization project for a Denver-based operator. One of the project’s core objectives was to develop a process for requesting, recording, and tracking work orders consistently in SiteView.

The project offers a prime example of how SiteView’s inherent flexibility, combined with a little ingenuity and collaborative approach with the client’s field and office staff, can offer the opportunity for creating a unique “fit for purpose” solution that won’t break the bank.

Expanding SiteView’s operational reach

While this operator had a policy in place to track work orders, it had not been adequately communicated, so it was not strictly enforced. As a result, work orders were touched by multiple departments and stored in multiple Excel spreadsheets.

Additionally, communication between departments was often spotty and not documented. For instance, accounting personnel and department engineers had no ability to see daily expenditures for work orders before final invoicing.

For the record, none of these issues are unique to this operator. We often see similar problems in our SiteView optimization engagements.

Assessing the as-is

We started by assessing the client’s current work order activity. This involved gathering requirements of the lease operators and pumpers in the field as well as from the internal support groups. With this information, compiled during a series of interviews, we mapped out the current process, documenting each phase of a work order request and how different groups interacted.

The as-is process called for field personnel to fill out a printed work order request form and turn it in to the office, where staff would then manually enter the data into a spreadsheet-based log. Many times, however, field personnel would first call the service operator directly, and turn in the form later (if at all) – or maybe wait to the end of the week to return multiple work requests.

Ultimately, our assessment surfaced three major pain points in the current work order process.

Work requests, when received, were not consistently tracked.
Some costs were recorded but not explained.
There were issues of “double dipping”; work was completed but not recorded, which resulted in instances where field personnel would replace the same piece of equipment, not knowing the work had been completed.

The process diagram and root cause analysis gave our project team a clear understanding of the available options for inputting and tracking work order data in SiteView.

The solution comes into focus

After evaluating all alternatives (e.g., mobile app integration), and given our client’s budget (limited) and timeline (ASAP), the team’s consensus was to capture all work order information in SiteView’s Jobs table. The next decision was to devise a user-friendly way to streamline the process—with an emphasis on making the transition easy for the field team.

The next step involved recreating the printed work request form in an Excel spreadsheet to use on the field laptops. The Excel-based form looks the same as the printed form the field personnel were familiar with. It also includes new features like dropdown picklists (e.g., tagging a specific site), color-coded fields, and pre-defined rules to ensure data quality. Once all required data is entered, the form is emailed to the office.

Before loading the information in SiteView, office personnel can select the site based on the selection made in the request form. The loader then takes the data from the spreadsheet and fills the correct data fields in SiteView. At this point, the work order is assigned, and an automated alert is sent to the assigned department—a capability that eliminated the issue of multiple departments working on the same work order. Assigned personnel are then responsible for communicating with other groups and vendors as needed, and for estimating costs and documenting work throughout the life of the work order.

Success = preparation

The work order solution was an immediate success, and the key was project communication and preparation. For the back-office personnel creating the work orders, we conducted an extensive training phase to help them understand how the loader functioned and how to monitor the loader inputs into SiteView. This step also allowed us to make tweaks to the loader process based on user input. For field personnel, we walked them through the process early, getting their input on how to improve, and created detailed training documents.

The solution has been in production for three months, and we are still hearing good things from the client. Here’s a recent email from their project leader:

“Your team was pivotal in the successful launch of our work order solution in SiteView. Your knowledge of field operations, work order process, equipment and SiteView were essential to designing and delivering a solution. Not to mention, the team enjoys working with you. Your ability to put the field team at ease and work through their concerns was essential to their involvement, and your ability to defuse field frustration during the design, develop, testing and training kept the project moving forward. Thank you for making my job easier. I can’t remember another time when a consulting group was as organized as you were.”

Final thoughts

SiteView is an absolute workhorse application for the upstream industry, and this project shows how it also provides a great platform for creating innovative solutions tailored to the unique needs of a specific client.

About the author

Kayla Woods is a business analyst/technical consultant at Stonebridge Consulting.

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