WorldWide Drilling Resource

“Thinking Outside the Box” by Britt Storkson Owner, P2FlowLLC The above saying implies, among other things, that sometimes unconventional approaches are the best solution to a given problem, instead of “the way we’ve always done it”. About the word “convention”: I’m not talking about “a convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of indi- viduals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest.” I mean: “A way in which something is usually done, especially within a partic- ular area or activity.” Convention is a common understanding of some thing or process. The word “common” is important here because it should be, as close as possible, universally understood. Like traffic light colors. Green is go, yellow comes before a red light, and red is stop. One does not even need to be literate to understand this conven- tion. It makes for near-instant comprehension, which is a good thing. Language is largely the product of convention. It doesn’t matter how you say something, as long as you are readily understood. The emphasis here should be “immediate understanding”, not so much what the language is or isn’t. The univer- sal language of air traffic control is English , not because it is a superior language, but because it is the most commonly understood worldwide. Sometimes accepted conventions can be a problem. The reason we have the QWERTY typewriter keyboard is when typewriters first were invented, the makers needed to slow the typists down because their crude (by today’s standards) machines would jam. There have been several more efficient keyboard patterns introduced over the years, but none have supplanted the QWERTY convention so far. Learning the new keyboard would require considerable time and, with increased typing speed being the only advantage, most people conclude changing key- boards isn’t worth the trouble. When designing the computer controls human machine interface (HMI) part, it is always wise to use familiar and conven- tional words, symbols, colors, and shapes wherever possible. Computers should conform to the operator, the operator should not have to conform to the computer. The HMI part should be intuitive* enough so the average person can figure out much of it even without any prior training. This doesn’t mean some training is not required, but the good controls designer makes the system readily understood with a minimum of outside help. *Intuitive: Using or based on what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning; instinctive. There is great profit in being “the first to market” and a “trendsetter” with a computer control system. It’s because if you want to use their machine, you have to conform to their conventions, which may or may not be intuitive*. Often, they are pur- posely not intuitive* because if they were simple and easy to use, we wouldn’t need the vendor. And the vendors often change or “update” their software which, of course, requires more training and results in more billable hours for the vendor. “Updates” can also introduce problems that were not there with the original software. So all of this amounts to computer operators essentially becoming “slaves” to the computer and the computer vendor, instead of the computer being a “slave” to the oper- ator. While there’s nothing wrong with the pursuit of profit, there is a dark side to this scenario. What if the car you are driving had the brake pedal relocated from the floor to a lever between the seats? Instead of pushing the pedal on the floor you had to pull a lever between the front seats to apply the brakes. Most people would accept this change without much trouble until an emergency situation came up: If a child ran out in front of the car, most people would instinctively “stomp on the brakes”. They would not think about the lever relocation for at least several seconds and, by that time, it would be too late to avoid serious injury or worse. So while conventional changes may be necessary and even a good thing, they must not be taken lightly. I find it best to ask the users what they would most comfortable with, not imposing my biases on the user. If the users want the “stop” button to say “halt” instead of “stop,” I don’t have any problem with it. The operators are using this thing, and they should have the primary consideration when it comes to the computer controls system they are expected to operate. Britt Britt Storkson may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 8 NOVEMBER 2019 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Dealmakers Matt and Joe with Acker Drill Company of Scranton, Pennsylvania, thanking Eric (C) with Terra Testing, Inc. of Washington, Pennsylvania, for showing their new Acker Renegade rig at the 2019 National Drilling Association event. Acker Drill Company Send your deals to: michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com January Issue Deadlines! Space Reservation: November 25 th Display & Classified Ad Copy: December 1 st