the-minute data, companies are unable
to discern and communicate possible
market signals to decision makers. Data
must be error free, undisputed and freely
available before any meaningful insights
can be gleaned through analytics.
Cross Functionally Available—
Companies that extend quality data and analytics to remote locations and employees
across functional silos create an open,
collaborative working environment that
encourages data cross-flows. These new
flow-paths improve the quality of information–driven analytics and systems.
Organizationally Actionable—
Decision makers receive a continuous position of actions to improve asset performance and enhance business expansion
investments from the rollup of organizationally available data and analytics,
including up-to-date information on
customers, products, product availability
and operations status.
An Evidence-based Approach
Business directors in the energy space
have long faced the challenge of direct-
ing complex systems with
limited resources and
disparate data systems
to achieve a laundry list
of goals and objectives.
Many ambitious overarching initiatives to fully
disseminate and leverage
data fall short of achieving
any meaningful, actionable output because they
fail to make managing the
business faster, more efficient and more profitable.
Any plan that fails to take
into account these three
drivers hampers its chances of success
from the moment it is proposed.
In order to maximize their chanc-
es for success, business directors are
embracing Evidence-based Manage-
ment (EBM) to employ actual evi-
dence in management and decision-
making. Leveraging well-developed
methods long used in the medical field,
directors in the energy sector are apply-
ing scientific methods to managerial
decisions and organizational practices
informed by the best available business
environment evidence. EBM practic-
es are unique and organization specific
and include the systematic accumula-
tion and analysis of data and problem-
based research and discussion by man-
agers and staff. This leads to decisions
informed by both best available research
and organizational information.
A practical approach to EBM begins
with the reality that a business can
be parsed into four unique functional activities, namely Control, Operate,
Optimize and Extend, as shown in Figure 1, and further described as follows:
Having timely, accurately aligned
data in each parsed function, combined with a focus on faster, more efficient and more profitable results, is the
key to achieving the goals of a business
director at each level. Ultimately, inefficiency and waste is minimized and limited resource utilization and productivity is maximized. Using this approach,
firms can:
Goal, Control Pipeline
Integrity Management
Requirement: Asset management,
integrity and compliance reporting
Actionable Output:
•;; Asset;leak;detection;occurrenc-
es;and;non-destructive;inspection;
data;analysis
•;; Management;of;predictive/pre-
ventative;maintenance;analysis.;
planning;and;asset;performance/
integrity;reporting
FIGURE 2:;Pipeline;Integrity;Management;
Compliance;and;Actionable;Activities
Goal: Operate Multi-Mode
Transport Services and Terminals
Requirement: Capacity
management tracking
and reporting
Actionable Output:
•;; Summarize;logistics;solu-
tions;and;systems;for;current;
customers
•;; Forecast;rail,;truck;and;barg-
es;availability;for;opportunistic;
redeployment
FIGURE 3:;Rail,;Truck;and;Barge;Schedul-
ing;and;Management
