From The Pencil to Engineer Is Human

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

“Design is a way of life, a point of view. It involves the whole complex of visual communications: talent, creative ability, manual skill, and technical knowledge. Aesthetics and economics, technology and psychology are intrinsically related to the process. Design is the evolution of useful things.”

- Paul Rand, also known as the American Modernist.

When Paul Rand made this comment he was referring to two books written by Henry Petroski: The Pencil and To Engineer Is Human, in which basically he talks about how we can take everyday objects and turn them into better useful objects. For instance, how pins were turned into paper clips; how Styrofoam containers evolved; how Post-it Notes came about and even how a simple rock can be turned into something very useful. The list goes on and on, and it is easy to understand the connection between Petroski’s points of view with Rand’s ideas on invention, innovation and ingenuity.

When it comes to the evolution of useful things, the oil and gas industry has many examples, but just let’s take this moment to talk about one of them: cementing and its development process.

Cement fills and seals the annulus between the casing string and the drilled hole. It has three general purposes:

Zone isolation and segregation
Corrosion control
Formation stability and pipe strength improvement.

Cement forms a very strong and impermeable seal from a thin slurry. The properties of the cement slurry and its behavior depend on the components and the additives in the cement slurry.

The cement is produced from limestone and either clay or shale by being roasted at 2600 to 3000°F. This high temperature fuses the mixture into a material called clinker cement. Once the roasting step is done, the rough clinker product is ground to a size specified by the grade of the cement. The final size of the cement particles has a direct connection with how much water is required to make the slurry without producing an excess of water at the top of the cement or in pockets as the cement hardens. However, not all cements, including those made from the same components, will have the same reaction when mixed with water. Generally, the differences are in the quality of the grind of the cement, impurities in the water and in the additives added during the cement manufacturing process.

The design and test of the slurry are essential parts of every cementing job and without an efficient lab database cementing companies can face many problems, but thanks to the evolution of technology PVI has developed the right tool for this: CEMLab (Cement Lab Data Management).

Since its first release in the fall of 2012, CEMLab has evolved into a powerful web-integrated and highly functional software product. CEMLab formulates slurries, calculates the amount of all ingredients, generates weight-up sheets and lab reports and allows engineers to have quick access to all their slurry formulation, and testing statuses anytime from anywhere. These are just a few of the many features that make up CEMLab. Just like from the books “The Pencil” to “To Engineer Is Human” we get to see how an object can be designed and turned into something more useful and successful, CEMLab has been turned into a useful, successful and sophisticated lab tool.

Flying Among The Clouds

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

Louis D. Brandies once said:

“Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done. Impossible means that you haven’t found the solution yet.”

A little over 100 years ago there were things that were considered impossible to do and that there was no way they could ever be achieved. For instance, to be able to fly among the clouds, but was it really an impossibility? Time proved that it wasn’t.

Just like flying among the clouds was impossible to do once, there are many things that thanks to the advancement of technology now are possible. For instance, a few decades ago horizontal or extended-reach drilling was considered impossible as well as casing wear prediction. In these environments, casing design is critical to a safe and successful drilling operations and well production, and unexpected casing wear can result in significant costs or even the loss of the well itself. This is the problem that drilling companies want to prevent.

So the question is: Is there any tool or software to calculate and predict casing wear severity? Yes there is! It’s called CWPRO.

This casing wear model uses the number of drill string rotations and contact force between the drill pipe and casing to calculate wear. The contact force is calculated using the dogleg severity inside the well. The maximum dogleg severity frequently determines the location and extent of the most severe casing wear. CWPRO helps operators and service companies identify, control and prevent potential problems. In overall the goal of CWPRO is to more accurately quantify casing wear risks and to ensure that the integrity of the casing is maintained during drilling operations.

Like mentioned before, there are many things that were considered an impossibility not too long ago like for instance, flying among the clouds. Likewise, thanks to software like CWPRO, predicting casing wear is no longer impossible; it is a fact.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

In 1964 Bob Dylan said:

The order is rapidly fadin'

and the first one now will later be last

for the times they are a-changin'.

Those words are more real today than ever before. Viewing it from a technological perspective there’s no doubt in everyone’s mind how the modern world has evolved. The oil and gas industry as a whole is in an accelerated and continuous state of change due to a combination of engineering, technology and innovation. This change has left no part of the industry untouched.

For instance before, mud engineers most likely did not have time to enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning when making a mud report due to the amount of time they had to put into it to have it ready on time. As technology advances the story about the cup of coffee is a lot different. Thanks to technology mud engineers now with the help of software can make mud reports in less time and enjoy their coffee while the software does the work.

Change equals progress and progress equals success and that’s the case of our drilling mud reporting software, MUDPRO.

MUDPRO - drilling mud reporting

From its first version to its latest, MUDPRO has come a long way and it is without a doubt one of our most popular software. Even from its first release in 2011, MUDPRO proved to be a great tool for mud engineers. The program allows you to generate daily mud reports, save all data in your computer for further reviews, and manage inventory and cost. MUDPRO also allows you to easily import and export well data, do a recap report in seconds, and perform engineering calculations among many other features. However the way MUDPRO has evolved is proof that here at PVI we are updated with the latest trends. Our priority is to keep our customers satisfied and to make their work load lighter. With software like MUDPRO, mud engineers can become multitasking experts.

Having said all of that, as the industry changes so must the people related to it. In order to thrive in these times, the companies in the oil and gas industry have to be ready for whatever changes and challenges lie ahead. It’s time to keep evolving, because the times they are a-changin’.

The Work Of Art Beneath It

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

We’ve all heard it many times: Don’t judge a book by its cover. However, a new technology indicates that we may have to start taking this approach when we look at historic artworks, too. So in this case it would be: Don’t judge a painting by its image.

A team of Italian scientists has initiated a new way of revealing layers of paints in paintings that are invisible to the naked eye. They have applied their technique to a couple of legendary works of art. The technology uncovered previously undetectable details in some paintings, such as pigments in the subjects’ armor that had been painted over during previous restorations of The Chapel of Theodelinda.

The beauty and yet mystery of what’s been found in all these old paintings is what makes it so special. The reason why most of these artists decided to create works of art on top of works of art is yet to be discovered, and we will probably never know. However, what we know about all these artists is that they were the type of artists that took art and designs to the next level.

Software development is taking art and designs to a level that was unimaginable when all these paintings were created and its creation is quite an artsy experience. It’s how we characterize our approach to software development that defines us as artists. The design and implementation phases of software can be a process of creating art, which makes the whole process interesting.

Developing the right engineering software demands vision. We not only spend a significant amount of time focusing on meeting the software goals, but also we work towards finding the beauty of a good design. While aesthetics are very important, we also develop software that is reliable and works efficiently.

The art experts have been scanning these paintings with multi-spectral imaging technology and x-ray fluorescence intensity mapping to try to identify and map the colors of the hidden painting. They want to recreate a digital image approximating the colors all these artists originally used. This will allow the audiences to understand and appreciate art more and allows them to be part of a piecing together a puzzle. Likewise we apply the latest technology and drilling engineering models into our software to meet the needs and requirements of our clients. Our software not only enriches the experience and amplifies the skill of our clients but also allows them to be part of the whole drilling process and access what was impossible before. It gives them a clearer view of what lies thousands of feet beneath the surface.

PathView - True Vertical Depth, Horizontal Displacement and Dogleg Severity

PathView - Well Path Visualization

New technology has always helped to remind us that there’s a lot more to a masterpiece than meets the eye. At PVI we thrive to offer our clients more than what they expect. Not just merely what they see on a computer, but what they’ll be able to get at a higher level. Think of it as our software being “the painting” and the achievements you’ll get from using it as “the work of art beneath it”.

Two-Minded People

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

“I have two minds.” Quote from the book “Of Two Minds” by Carol Matas.

This is a phrase that can basically be applied to anything that involves decision-making.

When making a decision to buy or use a product, we all have two minds. We have a “buyer mind” when we want to get a product because we either have a problem, a need or a goal, and we believe this product will help us solve the problem, meet the need or reach the goal. But, we’ve got choices… and sometimes too many, so we would argue! Making a decision is always hard. We have to consider other products that can also meet our goals. Which one is a better product? What features does this product have that the others don’t? What features do these other products have that this one doesn't? What’s the cost difference between this product and the others? Sometimes we even take account other people’s opinions and recommendations on the matter. Considering all this narrows down our choices and helps us make a good decision.

Sometimes we wonder why some people would purchase an expensive product, but someone we trust recommends it, so we buy it, and after using it, we then understand why it was so highly recommended. The product is great to use and we realize now that the benefits it brings are of great value to us.

This is when our other mind, our “user mind” comes into action. It engages when we start using the product and when we start answering the questions we had when we were making the decision to buy it. “Is my problem solved or at least closer to being solved?” “Is it meeting my needs?” “Is it helping me reach my goal or does it feel like I'm making progress towards it?” And when the answer to all these questions is a big YES, we not only feel competent, but we also feel capable and effective.

Our “buyer mind” considers different things than our “user mind”. A “buyer mind” looks at our problems, needs and goals, considers the features and prices, and makes what looks like the best decision for us. Our “user mind” often chooses the best value, it’s the one responsible in using the product every day and the one that knows for sure whether our goals were met or not.

In our business of designing and developing drilling software, we are very aware that our customers are two-minded people and sometimes the buying mind and using mind have two different bodies. For example, the executives of a certain company make the decision to buy our software based on the perceived benefits to their company; however they won’t personally use our software and the actual users may not have been involved in making the purchasing decision, but they both have one interest in common: to make usage of the software to achieve the goal.

That’s why our main goal at PVI is to satisfy the strategic goals of the buyer and meet the immediate needs of the users. When we talk about designing and development processes, we always consider “buyer mind” and “user mind”. We want our customers to accomplish what they bought the software to accomplish.

We've been talking about buyer mind, and user mind, but there are more minds than that to consider when we’re interested in a product. Think of these minds as a set of goals or concerns at play at the time you're considering the software. When you learn about it and consider all its great factors you will focus more on the enjoyment you’ll get from that interesting experience.

Innovation: The Right Mindset

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

I was doing some reading this past week and I stumbled upon a question that caught my attention, the question was: “Is a person’s talent stable and unchangeable?” The idea behind this question is to determine how far a person can go in life when pursuing their dreams. It turns out that the way a person answers this question influences how successful that person will be.

Our mindset is the view we have of our qualities and characteristics – where they come from and whether they can change.

A fixed mindset comes from the belief that our qualities are carved in stone – who we are is who we are, period. A growth mindset comes from the belief that our basic qualities are things we can cultivate through effort and determination. We all differ greatly in talents, interests, or personalities, but everyone can change and grow in every aspect through application and experience. It’s very common for us to be somewhere in the middle, and to lean a certain way in one area of life, and a different way in other areas. Our mindset likely varies from area to area and our views may be different for talent, creativity, intelligence and personality.

We can change our mindset if we understand that having a fixed mindset leads to avoiding taking a chance on new ideas, but if we work on building our growth mindsets, we can start to work our way around this problem and explore new things that will expand our knowledge as well as our talent. The result from all of this is the fact that talent is something that can be developed, in other words, it doesn’t mean that we are either creative and innovative or we are not. We can build these skills and we develop talent by building skills.

Human qualities like intelligence and creativity, and relational capacities like friendship and love, can be cultivated through effort and constant practice and this reflects the differences in the attitudes towards effort in the two mindsets. With a fixed mindset, having to work hard at something is a sign of failing, but with a growth mindset, hard work is the only way we can grow. No matter what we work on, as long as we give it our all, we will gain from it; no matter how difficult the job is, we can discover something new and move forward, even if it’s just a step forward. If we don’t do this, we cannot make use of our abilities when a really important job comes along.

Innovation is based on talent. It’s true that with skilled people any company can innovate well, but if a person has the right mindset, they can build the talent that can help the company grow to a higher level. Of course, there are no shortcuts, to innovate we must practice, learn and improve. That’s how we develop our talent and therefore, in our case, how we improve our software.

The Enthusiasm is Compelling

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

Recreational activities are an essential element to have in the workplace. They give employees the ability to perform tasks or to solve problems in various ways that can be more beneficial to the business as a whole. Recreation helps to bring a fresh change to a work atmosphere that can inspire employees to be more productive, find joy in doing their work and to feel determined to succeed. Through a mixture of activities focused on balancing work, life and creative thinking, they may become more creative and enthusiastic at work. PVI has implemented activities where the employees can participate and connect with each other to help increase workplace creativity, performance and innovation.

The first ever PVI Foosball Tournament is a good example of this and it was a blast! The formula was simple: the names of everybody in the company were drawn from a jar and each employee had to pick a piece of paper with a name on it, whoever’s name was on that paper would be their partner for the game. Each team consisted of 2 members and everybody had to come up with a name for their team, (the originality of some of the names was unparalleled). There were third, second and first place prizes, and for those who did not win, the fun and excitement was a good reward.

Each team laughed, yelled, and fought valiantly. All teams were very competitive, but not without integrity and great spirit. As teams waited, they had time to get to know one another better, which made it a fun event. The tournament lasted 2 weeks and the finals were intense, but at the end of the game a few positive things were learned from it.

Being involved in activities such as this can help employees to engage in their productive side while also learning beneficial team building skills, which lead to job satisfaction, service quality and customer satisfaction. Physical activities have also been shown to help increase brain sharpness and even strengthen the immune system, which help employees to relax and de-stress. You may be surprised by the results of having such activities in the workplace.

Ever since the tournament, Foosball has become part of our company’s daily routine. The amazing thing is that most of the employees had never even seen a Foosball table before, and now they are pros. Due to the positive results and popular demand, we are sure there will be more Foosball tournaments to come. The enthusiasm is compelling and it results in happy employees that use their critical thinking skills to come up with new ideas that can transform our business and our software.

The Toughest Event on the Planet

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

I was very nervous when I signed up for the Tough Mudder race, especially for the electrodes and the ice baths, but I was ready for a new challenge and it turned out to be a lot of fun. In April 2012 a friend came up to me and asked me if I wanted to join his team for the Tough Mudder race, which is a 12 mile assault course that involves many obstacles and a lot of mud. I was a little hesitant at first because I didn’t want to commit to something so challenging but I succumbed to peer pressure too easily and I signed up.

I must admit the training was hardcore. It was a 5 hour nonstop workout, three times a week for 3 months, but not the regular workout most people are used to or know about. A regular workout consists of cardio, stretch and weights and the dirtiest you can get is with your own sweat, but the training for Tough Mudder goes far beyond that. The “cardio” is 5 hours long consisting of running, swimming and jumping. The “stretch”, well that one can be a regular stretch that one does before a normal workout, but the “weights” consists of lifting heavy logs while running and swimming, climbing high walls, cliff-hanging, and most of the time carrying one of your teammates because they are too weak to continue and all this while being all covered in mud from head to toe. I will admit that I found the training extremely challenging, but only because I was a little out of shape and I had a thing of being underwater for more than 10 seconds, and being in closed and small spaces, but despise these qualms, would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

This race is considered the toughest event on the planet, but all those challenges can be overcome with the appropriate training and in the end even if you don’t win the race, you fill fulfilled when you see all those hundreds of people working together to reach their goal. The drilling of a well is undoubtedly the most recognizable process of the oil and gas industry, but while the purpose of a drilling rig is quite simple, the process, itself, is anything but. Many problems can arise when the drilling process begins. Some of these problems are:

Pipe sticking
Hole deviation
Lost circulation
Pipe failures
Borehole instability
Mud contamination
Formation damage
Hole cleaning

These are just a few of the many other problems we can encounter while performing a drilling operation.

How can we deal with these challenges before they turn to major problems? Well, just like a person that enters the Tough Mudder has to train hard in advance to be prepared for the race, a drilling engineer must prepare himself beforehand so that when he faces the challenges he’ll be able to make a smart move to avoid having bigger problems.

Pegasus Vertex, Inc. offers a variety of software that are the latest in technical advances and they are excellent tools for both onshore and offshore operations, in other words PVI can “train” any drilling engineer to be able to anticipate and therefore prevent any problem that can occur during the drilling process, so they can be prepared to make one of the toughest events on the planet (drilling operations) be a successful one.

Fear of the Unknown

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

“I can’t believe what I just ate.” Those were my words when I had my last bite of … Jellyfish. I didn’t want to eat it at first, but I succumbed too quickly to peer pressure and I tried it, and before I knew it, I had eaten it all. That’s why I said the words at the beginning of the blog, because I would have never imagined that I would eat such a thing as jellyfish and I loved it.

As much as I love food, I have never been the kind of person that is into eating uncommon foods, especially the ones that were once alive. I guess it is all due to cultural ideas. In some cultures they eat anything and everything, while in other cultures they limit themselves to specific kinds of foods. Having the privilege to work with people from another culture has given me the opportunity to expand my limitations by trying out different kinds of foods, in this case, Jellyfish.

The problem with many of us in America is that when we see something we are not used to seeing or in this case, eating, we give it too much thought on whether or not we should try it and the majority of the time we simply decide not to try it. The reason: fear of the unknown. We simply feel safer trying what we know, what is common to us, but when facing a situation where we have to try something completely new to us, we hesitate because we are uncertain of the results.

In the beginning of this blog I mentioned that I got to eat the jellyfish due to succumbing to peer pressure. I was having lunch with my workmates and they kept on telling me that I should try it, that I shouldn’t say that I don’t like something if I haven’t tried it yet, and that made me realize that what they were saying was completely true. How can I assure that I will not like something if I haven’t even given myself the opportunity to at least try it? I was a little hesitant at first, but the result was that I ate the whole plate.

This is a lesson for everything in life, but in this case, it’s a lesson for drilling engineers. Technology has evolved in such an unimaginable way that drilling operations can have beyond compare results. Technology has given drilling engineers the opportunity to explore the unknown with cutting edge software that make their work easier in every possible way. This technology can be new to most engineers, but wouldn’t it be the best option for them once they give it a try? They might be a little hesitant, because since they have not tried it they might question the essence of such software, (the fear of the unknown) but the reality is: if they don’t try it, they won’t find out how incredible this software is.

PVI is equipped with such an exquisite technology that once drilling engineers try it, they will not regret it, just like I don’t regret eating Jellyfish which is now one of my favorite dishes.

New Year’s Resolution

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Freddie Ruiz, PVI

There’s a movie that came out in 2011 called “New Year’s Eve”. It’s a movie about a couple of people that have their own thing happening on new year’s eve, but somehow their lives intertwine during that day. At the end of the movie some have a happy new year’s eve and some a not so happy one, but the reality of it all is that such is life. It’s a fun movie to watch and it’s has lessons for us all.

There’s one particular story in the movie called “New Year’s Resolution” which is played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Zac Efron. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Ingrid, a middle aged woman who has a meaningless life, according to her, because she has always been afraid to take risks and enjoy life. She has spent her life “worrying too much” and never got to achieve any of her dreams. Zac Efron plays Paul, an energetic young guy who also happens to be the messenger of the record company she works at. On December 31 they talk for the very first time although they’ve been working in the same place for a few years. She has a full list of all the things she wants to achieve before the year ends, but her negativity has kept her from making it happen. She feels she has to change that and decides to make all her list of resolutions come true before 12:00am that night. That’s when she asks Paul for help and tells him that if he helps her make the list before midnight she’ll give him the tickets to the biggest party in the city that same night and he agrees. By the end of the day Ingrid has learned that worrying too much about money and other things can keep you from living and enjoying life to the fullest.

What’s not to love about this lesson? Why should we all be so stressed out about things in life when sometimes those things can be fixed with a small effort on our part. There’s a way to everything in life, instead of worrying too much, why not look for a solution? We can apply this lesson to every aspect of our lives, personal and professional.

For instance, drilling productions are expensive and take a lot of time for the people involved in it. Engineers can go out of their minds when problems arise and when that happens the production ends up losing a lot of money. Since this is something in every engineer’s mind and it’s something that can cause too many worries, why not take advantage of what the world of technology has to offer? There are software that can keep you updated with everything that’s going on during the drilling process and can warn you of any problems before anything goes wrong. Sometimes giving a little extra and spending a little more money can in the end save you a lot of money.

PVI offers a variety of high quality software that can help engineers to do a lot more, be very confident of the work that is being done and have no worries. Why waste time worrying if there are ways to make your work and life easier. Ingrid spent all her life worrying too much about not being able to ever make her resolution list come true, but Paul in just one day made all the things on the list reality, proving to her that once we stop worrying we can achieve anything we want.

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