Chris Wilson, CEO of well management consultancy Labrador Petro-Management, explains how GMVi’s Eikos software has benefitted their project management.
Since launching in 2007, GMVi’s Eikos project management software has evolved to become the most advanced well delivery process management software available for the upstream oil and gas industry.
The impressive tried and tested gains that Eikos delivers are there to be seen. Yet it is fair to say the implementation of new software systems and project management tools into a business can often be met with trepidation by staff and teams across the board.
Worries about additional workload, training and administration are very reasonable considerations.
Therein lies one of the keys to the success of Eikos; the refreshing client-centric approach taken by GMVi and the relatively simple systematic implementation go a long way to allay these concerns.
Optimise communication and information sharing
Labrador Petro-Management (Labrador) based in Perth, Western Australia, is a well management consultancy established in 1987. Chris Wilson, the managing director and CEO, told us about Labrador’s experience of both integrating and utilising Eikos.
When Labrador was contracted by a Houston-based IOC to plan and execute an offshore exploration well utilizing Labrador’s Well Management System, the teams had to contend with being separated by the Pacific Ocean and a time zone difference of 13 hours between Perth and Houston.
This led to Labrador’s implementation of Eikos in order to streamline and optimise communication and information sharing between teams.
Chris told us more: “The Labrador well delivery team had to report to management and subsurface teams in Houston during the planning phases. This included making the Houston team familiar with, and providing access to, the Labrador Well Management System that covers well management process, well engineering standards, policies, procedures, and risk and change management processes.
“Labrador had been exposed to online well management systems through two Perth based clients that utilise Eikos. The Eikos off-the-shelf package is customisable to align with a client well management system and processes, and it allowed the full digitisation of the Labrador Well Management System.”
© Supplied by GMViRemarkably, the implementation of Eikos was undertaken and completed by just one member of staff. Chris explained: “The task of implementing Eikos was undertaken in-house by a nominated administrator with no previous Eikos experience, alongside remote support from GMVi.
“From contract signing to rolling out the system to the project team – with all the Labrador process mapped and document templates installed – took four weeks.”
Intuitive multi-project tracking
Chris continued: “Since implementation, the teams in both Houston and Perth have a visual representation of the Labrador process and a dashboard of the task status. Task inputs are linked to provide instant access – so there’s no hunting for files on a network.
“Task outputs (documents) can be approved through Eikos and are also uploaded to the task itself. These documents are then accessible either via the task or through the document library.
“Eikos also has an action tracker that sends out reminder emails and has full tracking of action closeout activities including the uploading of any proof of closeout.
“Finally,” Chris added, “Eikos has a risk register that allows project risks and mitigations to be captured with a heat map to show the distribution of risks. Lessons learnt throughout the project can be captured in Eikos and applied to either the Labrador Well Management System or to future relevant projects.”
Digitising the Labrador Well Management System using Eikos has allowed a global team access to a single source of truth for project information, action and risk tracking, and documentation.
It also provides a simple platform for auditing projects – which is a significant advantage when operating in a highly regulated environment.
Stress-free Eikos software integration
Labrador’s experience isn’t unique, as Eikos’s growing client base pays testament to. We spoke to John McIntosh, operations director at GMVi, to find out more about the software. He said: “Eikos is very much an off the off-the-shelf system, and I think there’s a wide range of experiences with off-the-shelf systems.
“With many off-the-shelf systems, businesses find it takes six months and maybe five external consultants to get it up and running and they end up paying a fortune. There’s hidden costs. But we don’t hide anything at all. We tell our clients everything they need to know up front, and if it needs a configuration, we offer to help them with that.”
When it comes to the task of transferring data to the Eikos system, John said: “We always want to minimise the up-front effort for our customers. Our default is that we always offer to do that for them, we call it mapping.
“We offer to do it not because it’s necessarily complicated, but because we know that their capability to do it will depend on their resources. We agree upfront a timescale and fixed price so we de-risk the process for them – our customers appreciate that.”
© ShutterstockJohn continued: “In the case of Labrador, they declined that offer and they said they had someone who was really good with software. I’ve heard that before and I was a bit sceptical, but they were absolutely right.
“We gave her introduction training of about an hour and gave her some notes. She went away, came back a few days later with some questions, and at that point we knew she completely understood the process.”
Free support and no hidden costs
Once the Eikos system is fully integrated and up and running, remote help is free and only a phone call away. John adds: “Clients ask, ‘How do we get help?’ Well, you just call me or e-mail me. ‘Is there a charge?’ No, there’s no charge. ‘How about if I call you again?’ No, there’s still no charge.
“Like with Labrador, you know there’s a peak at the beginning for assistance, then it goes quiet as the client finds the system is established and working well for them.”
Clients using the Eikos system often comment on the intuitive visualisation aspect of Eikos being of huge benefit when tracking multiple and complex projects.
In addition, the induction of new and additional team members to projects is simplified, communication of information between staff and departments, even internationally, is greatly improved, and less meetings are required within the business.
One client told John: “We used to have status meetings all the time, but we don’t really need those now. If the Eikos record is up to date, there’s nothing else to tell.”
Learn more about how Eikos can help you project manage and reach your goals today.
