WorldWide Drilling Resource

It’s Great Except . . . by Britt Storkson Owner, P2FlowLLC In a recent Wall Street Journal Internet posting were the following headlines: “German Engineering Yields New Warship That Isn’t Fit for Sea.” With the subtitle: “[The German] Navy refuses to commission frigate after it failed sea trials; critics cite fiasco in conception and execution.” The Journal goes on to say: “First delivered for sea trials in 2016 after a series of delays, the 7,000- ton Baden-Württemberg frigate was determined last month to have an unexpected design flaw: It doesn’t really work.” Also, a series of articles by Tyler Rogoway on thedrive.com goes on to explain: “Additionally, the whole automation and minimally manned crew concept is a risky one, especially for a ship that is supposed to operate so far from home for such long stretches of time. If anything, the latest incidents aboard America's top-of-the-line Arleigh Burke class destroyers underlines the personnel and readiness issues that can exist even on constantly deployed ships that are traditionally staffed and have extensive support infrastructure in their operating region.” In a New York Times article written by Eric Schmitt and dated September 27, 2017: “Collectively, current and former officers said, the new rules mark several significant cultural shifts for the Navy’s tradition-bound fleets. At least for the moment, safety and maintenance are on par with operational security, and com- manders are requiring sailors to use old-fashioned compasses, pencils and paper to help track potential hazards, as well as reducing a captain’s discretion to define what rules the watch team follows if the captain is not on the ship’s bridge.” What can we learn from this? While automation is great, it must be properly applied. Computers can do a lot of wonderful things, but they cannot reason. Computers are not capable of making judgment calls or something we call “common sense”. Right now, there is a lot of interest in what is called “machine leaning”, which is defined as the machine (computer) being capable of learning. This is all well and good, but if the software framework isn’t there to properly organize the information, it’s not going to work. The information can be correct (and it almost always is), but if it isn’t organized correctly, you’re looking at a disaster. Another factor is the operators often get “insulated” from what’s actually going on in the field. They rely too much on their instruments and have little or no concept of how the information - be it a temperature, pressure, or other information - got there. Often, the operators do not know how to verify if the reading they see on their computer screen is actually correct. All sensors output a voltage which reflects the status of whatever is sensed. If the operator does not know the correct voltage output of the sensor for a given condition - or does not know how to measure it - one might as well not have the sensor. I was particularly struck by the statement: “Commanders are requiring sailors to use old-fashioned compasses, pencils and paper to help track potential hazards.” Imagine that! Using just a pencil and paper to track something. Why not use a tablet or smartphone? After all, this is 2018 and we have to use the most up-to-date technology available, right? All jesting aside, the reason this rule was imposed is because it is the most practical and reliable way to do the job. In other words, this approach is best suited to the task. Maybe a com- puter solution will come along which is equal or better to this approach, but until it happens and is thoroughly proven, we had better stick with what works - especially when human lives are at stake. To sum this up, I’m not against using computers to do all sorts of things - just use them when there is a demonstrated need. Anything else is inadequate or impractical for the task, and the computer saves you time and money instead of cost- ing you. Britt Britt Storkson may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 8 APRIL 2018 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Very good reporting done by all. [Concerning February 2018 E-News Flash by WWDR ] George Metayer Hayward Baker