Silverhorse Technologies has agreed a three-year corporate contract with Woodside Energy.

The deal, which includes the option for two one-year extensions, gives Silverhorse the green light to roll out its co-developed risk-based inspection and refurbishment software solution and Building Information Modelling (BIM) management services across Woodside’s existing assets. Silverhorse will be expanding its workforce accordingly.

Woodside’s entry into a long-term contract with Perth-based Silverhorse builds on the impressive results of an operational pilot project at the North West Shelf’s Karratha Gas Plant, where the two teams collaborated to develop a new tablet-based technology called IMConnect.

The Challenge

From the outset, Woodside recognised that no technology provider currently offered a multifaceted solution, encompassing complex workflows and decision making. Consequently, Woodside contracted a group of talented technology providers to bring their standard products to the table and then combine them to form an innovative and pace-setting solution, that was able to incorporate new, bespoke workflows, enabling smart maintenance management.

When Silverhorse’s AssetHive technology was integrated with the Woodside Cloud, two enhanced applications were born: Inspection Manager (iConstruct) and Inspection Connect (Silverhorse) tablet technology.

Collaborative Innovation

As part of Woodside’s business-wide strategy of enhancing collaboration, onsite teams were empowered to use their tablets to implement a Construction Led Design philosophy. More field-based decision making flowed from this, resulting in faster refurbishment times.

The use of tablet technology in the field, together with new maintenance products and a new way of working, led to a notable reduction in the cost of office support and engineering inputs. By using 3D models to eliminate the need for a paper-based system and associated back-office engineering, the teams reduced lead times between anomaly discovery and repair completion.

The results of these innovations speak for themselves. By taking advantage of new workflows, faster onsite decision making and early classification of maintenance tasks, IMConnect reduced both plant schedule, engineering hours and scaffolding tonnage compared to past processes.

Scaling Up

Improvements in process efficiency and collaboration at the Karratha Gas Plant meant that this successful pilot will now be used as the vehicle for scaling out the IMConnect solution to other Woodside-operated facilities.

“This contract is foundational,” said Raymond Weeda, CEO of Silverhorse. “Silverhorse has been developing this technology for several years, so this is a very important transition for the company – a coming of age. But it’s got to be done right and we’ve got to satisfy the customer, which is very, very important. Fortunately, like most customers these days, Woodside do recognise that technology is ever-changing and that our AssetHive powered system is going to move through adolescence into maturity over time. So, an important aspect of this contract is building a strong, symbiotic relationship with the customer. In that way, the tool can improve while the customer is getting what it wants out of the tool.”

A New Way of Working

IMConnect’s integrated approach combines statistical modelling, data management and visualisation platforms in a way that facilitates effective risk management, enhances collaboration and assures technical integrity.

On the ground, IMConnect changes how inspection and repair processes are carried out, driving the “I See, I Fix” approach.

IMConnect enables inspection and refurbishment planning, the creation of workpacks, and allows for faster, more accurate execution. When the physical work is complete, so is the entire task. Decision making is supported by standardised calculations such as Fitness for Service assessments, while in-field refurbishment and execution decisions are supported by automated processes within IMConnect, minimising the need for back-office engineering support.

Powered by AssetHive

The process management element of Woodside’s IMConnect stack is provided by AssetHive, Silverhorse’s cloud-based system, which connects to Silverhorse’s mobile application, Inspection Connect. iConstruct’s Inspection Manager uses Autodesk’s Navisworks platform for visualisation, planning and preparation of scopes of work, as well as for consolidation into work packs.

By bringing together all existing data sources on the asset, AssetHive provides the single source of truth, which is made available to everyone through an open API. This allows all the latest information to be accessed from anywhere, at any time, with the touch of a screen. By facilitating collaboration, AssetHive enables people to find new ways of solving problems, which increases productivity.