Linking design and manufacturing domains via web-based and enterprise integration technologies

The manufacturing industry faces many challenges such as reducing time-to-market and cutting costs. In order to meet these increasing demands, effective methods are need to support the early product development stages by bridging the gap of communicating early design ideas and the evaluation of manufacturing performance. This paper introduces methods of linking design and manufacturing domains using disparate technologies. The combined technologies include knowledge management supporting for product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, aggregate process planning systems, workflow management and data exchange formats. A case study has been used to demonstrate the use of these technologies, illustrated by adding manufacturing knowledge to generate alternative early process plan which are in turn used by an ERP system to obtain and optimise a rough-cut capacity plan

Using Virtual Reality Technology in Oil and Gas Industry

This article introduces the research of virtual reality technologies used in the oil and gas industry. The industry is so vast that the technologies used there are radically different. Various aspects of oil and gas production were considered, such as geodata modeling, real-time production visualization technology. The problems and possible solutions for translating CAD models into virtual reality applications are indicated. Also, using virtual reality technology, can increase the speed of work and reduce the risk of errors, which is extremely important in the oil and gas industry. As well as the benefits of learning and using virtual reality to improve learning and understanding of production processes

Virtual reality training for occupational risk prevention: application case in geotechnical drilling works

The construction industry is considered one of the most dangerous industries globally. The construction site is a complex environment where diverse teams of people interact with large machinery. In addition, the lack of safety culture on the job site and deficiencies in safety training increase these problems. Within the construction works, geotechnical drilling worksites involve high-powered machinery, and workers are exposed to different risks when using them. Despite these risks, safety training courses on these topics are not specialized. Most of the training courses are generic in occupational hazards, failing to address in detail the work dynamics and risks associated with geotechnical work, where heavy machinery is a fundamental factor. There is a lack of adequate learning content specific to drilling works, meaning the heavy machinery, how to use it and how to prevent accidents due to these drilling tasks are poorly understood. This research investigates the risks associated with geotechnical drilling work and explores the potential of virtual reality (VR) to simulate immersive work environments, focusing on interaction with drilling machinery. A geotechnical drilling machine modelled 3D and integrated into a realistic VR environment. The machinery motions and the different tasks of the work team were modelled. The simulation allows a worker to interact in a working environment, identify risks and prevent accidents, and, moreover, be trained in best practices for machinery usage, according to previous real-world experiences from senior workers.This research has been supported by the CONICYT through its economic support of Felipe Muñoz, beneficiary of a predoctoral grant (CONICYT-PCHA/International Doctorate/2019-72200306), ‘DI emergente PUCV 2022’project ofthe Vicerrectoría de Investigación y estudios avanzados-Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (039.350/2022) and by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of Spain (MICIU) through the BIMI- oTICa project (RTC-2017-6454-7). The authors also acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the ‘Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (CEX2018-000797-S)’. The authors declare their compliance with all provisions of the Authors’ Duties according to the WIT Press Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Value of Digitizing Well Interventions and its impact on business and working processes

The oil and gas industry continuously enters a phase with new challenges and new ways of thinking, the rise of a digitalization revolution can be the key answer to creating new opportunities to overcome the industry's challenges. The “new reality’’ of low oil prices, Covid-19 still threatening, and the increased focus on climate and environmental considerations globally, has led to a shift in the mindset of the industry; from an increased-production focus to a cost-efficiency focus while maximizing the productivity, minimizing operating costs and sustain operating flexibility. Accomplishing this new way of working may perhaps require a digital transformation. There has generally been little technology development and digitization in the well intervention sector compared with the drilling sector. Real-time data, onshore support centers, and automation have long been used in the drilling sector. This master thesis introduces an innovative project that is being implemented by ALTUS Intervention. Digital Well Intervention (DWI) is a digital platform that digitizes large parts of today's way of working and how ALTUS Intervention is delivering well intervention services. This master's thesis studies how DWI will affect the work process in ALTUS Intervention. The thesis will provide concrete examples of how DWI improves work processes both internally and externally. The project is still in the planning phase, and thus, concrete proposals are given for the further development of DWI. Furthermore, it is studied how DWI can provide value creation. This is based on several case studies with a similar approach as the DWI platform that has been shown to be a great approach to value creation

Process and knowledge management in a collaborative maintenance planning system for high value machine tools

Product manufacturers are extending their responsibilities in the whole life cycle by providing services to their customers. In recent years, product service system has become an important research topic to address the special requirements in the new service driven business model. High value machine tools in modern manufacturing factories are special products: they are regarded as ‘products’ from maintenance point of view, and they also manufacture other products. In the new business model, the quality and behavior of a machine tool not only affect the quality of the parts it manufactures, but also affect the profits of the machine tool’s manufacturer. However, in the research area of product service systems and related computerized maintenance systems, there is a lack of investigation into the special nature, problems and requirements of high value machine tool maintenance, which are very important in modern digitized manufacturing systems. Therefore, this research investigated the various relationships between different stakeholders in the machine tools’ lifecycle, focusing on knowledge management, communication and the decision-making processes. This research also explored the potential application of advanced content management systems, which are widely implemented in the financial, business and government organizations, in the manufacturing engineering domain which has been dominated by traditional engineering information systems. A prototype collaborative maintenance planning system is proposed, developed and evaluated using an example machine tool, which indicated that significant improvement could be achieved and the content management technology has a number of advantages over the traditional engineering information systems, such as computer aided engineering, product data and lifecycle management, and enterprise resource planning systems, in managing machine tool maintenance and service information including dynamic and unstructured knowledge

Innovative design technology: An optimal surgical aid system for Hip Resurfacing Arthroplasty

Hip Resurfacing Arthroplasty (HRA) is a treatment option for the patients with the advanced hip disease; it is considered as the most technically difficult techniques of all procedures recommended for osteonecrosis of the hip. Technically, the currently applied HRA surgeries lead to unstable and inconsistent results. Surgeons rely a lot on the manual technique and conventional tools as well as their skills to determine the right drilling angle for locating the implant system. Although the robotic and surgical planning systems are available for HRA, the drilling line is still defined geometrically and intra-operatively, not fully considering about the biomechanics aspects of the implant and bone structure. In this paper, an optimal surgical aid system for HRA is proposed. With the integration of the state of the art biomedical modelling, pre-operative planning and personalised surgical tools, knowledge based and expert system, as well as biomechanics modelling and analysis, the precision, safety and speed of surgery are improved, the complexity of surgery is reduced, and therefore the survival rate of the implant is increased. Especially, the proposed system provides a cheap and practically feasible solution with the integration of expertise from both engineering and medicine for improving the treatment quality of the patients

Enhancing the drilling efficiency through the application of machine learning and optimization algorithm

Acknowledgment We would like to acknowledge the collaborative efforts of SONATRACH Group, and the universities involved in this research (Université de Boumerdes, Université de laghouat and University of Aberdeen).Peer reviewedPublisher PD