An Aberdeen company has produced a training tool for offshore workers to gain a better understanding of pressure-control systems and help to prevent drilling disasters.
Marketec has developed the Wise-Board system, which illustrates complex technical processes on oil and gas installations.
It said Wise-Board components could be used to create a working model of a system or equipment assembly.
Owner Bruce Adam was watching TV coverage of last year’s Gulf of Mexico rig incident when he saw Thad Allen, the federal official who oversaw the disaster, use a complicated diagram on a whiteboard to explain attempts to contain the well.
Mr Adam said: “I knew we could produce a visualisation system that would make the process and equipment much easier to understand because seeing – and understanding – the consequences of changing conditions are key to successful training and operation of complex or hazardous systems. That saw the birth of the systems we now provide for subsea pressure-control equipment.”
Alongside the Wise-Board products, launched last year, Marketec designs and makes scaled system models for oil and gas companies in North America, the Middle East, Norway, France and Russia.
Mr Adam said: “In the oil and gas industry, like all industries, there are fewer opportunities for on-the-job learning. Our products offer a cost-effective visualisation aid that provides operators with the opportunity to test hypothetical situations and gain experience at a desktop level . . . before attempting the work on a rig.”
Marketec is being helped by Business Gateway Aberdeen City and Shire.
Business adviser Karen Stewart said: “Bruce has over 30 years of experience working in the operational and training side of the oil and gas industry . . . He is a true entrepreneur, creative, brave and forward thinking.”
Business Gateway said Marketec was perfectly placed to help prevent drilling tragedies.
Mr Adam said: “Oil and gas firms are re-evaluating their safety and operational procedures following the gulf disaster. What we can provide are cost-effective solutions that will allow them to plan effective responses to a range of operational issues and failures, offshore and on land.”