Systems and methods for scheduling and executing maintenance

Abstract

Systems and methods for coordinating efforts to maintain and repair drilling equipment are disclosed. A system for receiving and distributing scheduling information with respect to a drilling rig as a whole, and for individual components on the rig are disclosed. With equipment-specific scheduling, work orders for maintenance and repair can more quickly and efficiently be carried out. Sensors are used to measure actual statuses of the equipment and to infer available times when a work order may be carried out even when a schedule says otherwise

1 . A method for coordinating schedules for executing work orders on an oilfield drilling rig, the method comprising:
 receiving a rig schedule that describes activities of the drilling rig as a whole, wherein the drilling rig comprises rig equipment;   receiving a plurality of work orders that describe maintenance work to be performed on the drilling equipment;   receiving an equipment-specific schedule for the rig equipment, wherein the equipment-specific schedule is coordinated with the rig schedule;   providing a composite schedule including the rig schedule and the equipment-specific schedule.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising monitoring the rig equipment for activity and updating the equipment-specific schedule according to the monitoring. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein monitoring the rig equipment comprises measuring at least one of temperature, movement, vibration, fuel consumption, position, chemical properties, and proximity to other components. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the rig equipment comprises a first component and a second component, wherein the work order comprises a description of work that can be performed simultaneously on both the first and second components, the method further comprising identifying a time during which both the first and second components are available for the work. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the rig equipment comprises at least one of a top drive, mud pumps, drawworks, a power component, and a hydraulic component. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether or not there is sufficient time to execute the work orders. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 assigning an availability value for the rig equipment;   assigning an invasiveness value to the work order;   assigning an interruption tolerance value to the rig schedule, wherein the interruption tolerance value pertains to the harm associated with rendering the rig equipment unavailable due to the work order; and   if a combination of the availability value and invasiveness value is sufficiently low and the interruption tolerance is sufficiently high according to predetermined values, authorizing the work order.   
     
     
         8 . A method, comprising:
 receiving a rig schedule of events for a drilling rig, the rig having rig equipment configured to execute various tasks according to the rig schedule, wherein rig equipment is designated as idle or busy during certain times;   identifying a schedule of the various tasks for specific rig equipment according to the rig schedule;   receiving a plurality of work orders describing work that is to be performed on the rig equipment;   monitoring the status of the rig equipment with a sensor deployed on the rig equipment, the sensor being configured to measure an observable parameter that dictates whether or not the rig equipment is in active use or is idle; and   if the status of the rig equipment is idle according to the monitoring status, authorizing a work order on rig equipment that is designated as busy according to the rig schedule.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 calculating an availability value for the rig equipment based at least in part upon the monitored status of the rig equipment; and   using the availability value to authorize the work order.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 calculating an invasiveness value based at least in part upon the work order that denotes the resources required to return the rig equipment to working order; and   using the invasiveness value to authorize the work order.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein receiving the plurality of work orders comprises receiving a work order from a source located remotely from the drilling rig. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the observable parameter is related to the nature of the rig equipment and denotes active use of the rig equipment. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8  wherein receiving a plurality of work orders comprises receiving a description of the resources required to execute on the work order. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the resources required include at least one of time, personnel, and parts required. 
     
     
         15 . An apparatus for use on a drilling rig, comprising:
 an operating portion configured to perform work related to a drilling operation;   a sensor operably coupled to the operating portion, the sensor being configured to measure at least one observable parameter that is related to the operation of the operating portion; and   a communication component operably coupled to the sensor and configured to communicate the measured observable parameter of the operating portion to a remote computing device to indicate the status of the operating portion.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15  wherein the operating portion comprises at least one of a top drive, a drawworks, a mud pump, a power component, and a hydraulic unit. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15  wherein the remote computing device comprises a scheduler configured to receive a schedule of rig operations and to coordinate operations of the operating portion with the schedule of rig operations, wherein the scheduler is configured to authorize execution of a work order pertaining to the operating portion based at least in part upon the measurements taken by the sensor. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the scheduler is configured to calculate an availability score based on the measurements. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the scheduler is configured to store information on past measurements of the observable parameter and past operation of the operating portion, wherein the scheduler is further configured to identify a similarity between a past operation and an upcoming operation of the operating portion and infer availability of the apparatus based at least in part upon the past operations. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 15  wherein the sensor comprises a plurality of sensors, each of which is configured to measure a different observable parameter related to a different aspect of operation of the operating portion.