Performing an engineering document control process review will help companies identify and treat bottle necks, transforming processes through automation

Poor document management is a completely avoidable catalyst for energy project setbacks following pandemic induced schedule delays and budget overruns and is no longer acceptable against the backdrop of the climate challenge. Instead, companies should perform regular engineering document control process reviews to identify opportunities for automation. This is according to Idox, a leading developer of specialist information management solutions to engineering companies in complex process industries, including oil and gas, power generation and utilities.

As the globe came to a standstill in its battle against a deadly disease, global lockdowns resulted in a record-breaking emissions plunge of 7%. However, as the world is acutely aware, this has been painfully short-lived with carbon dioxide forecasts soaring, putting hopes of climate targets out of reach. And with the recent IPCC report compounding for many people what we already knew to be true, inaction is no longer an option.

For energy companies who want to get ahead of the curve when it comes to reducing emissions, performing an engineering document management maturity assessment is a low-OPEX first step to ensure that they are operating as efficiently as possible, complete with actionable learnings to make measurable improvements. With project handovers, for example, making use of an automated extraction engine and tag centric viewer can reduce the time needed to extract and validate tags by 80%, reducing delivery time, increasing downstream cost savings, and expediting the energy transition.

Steve Bruce, Product Director, Idox: "Automation can make an enormous difference at every stage of an energy project - driving efficiency, reducing costs and reworking and improving schedule adherence by supporting staff in their respective roles. Applied appropriately, not only will these digital technologies be the cornerstone of economic recovery but can also play a pivotal role when it comes to reducing emissions by simply operating at ultimate efficiency."

Steve continues "While large firms have been developing sustainability programmes for some time, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are yet to determine how they too can have a meaningful impact. These small, but meaningful interventions to document process automation can have a truly transformational effect on the ability to roll out projects to time, speeding up the energy transition while subsequently reducing scope 1 emissions from inefficiencies."

For more information on engineering document control process reviews, get in touch with Idox.