John de Wardt will presented a new technical paper at the IADC / SPE Drilling Conference in Galveston, Tx, March 3rd 202 titled “Verification and Validation of Sensors and Systems Using Systems Engineering Methods“.
This paper describes an approach for verification and validation (V&V) of sensors and systems leveraging experiences from the aerospace industry developed in cooperation with two leading aerospace / space experts. Both oil and gas (O&G) and aerospace have high-value assets where failures can lead to significant loss of life and huge financial impacts. Commercial aviation, in particular, has achieved a remarkable improvement in safety over many decades through design standards requiring functions be precisely defined and their implementation be verified against those requirements.
The demand for ensuring the reliability and accuracy of drilling sensor data is rapidly increasing with the rise of data analytics and automation. Proven systems engineering methodologies used in the aerospace industry offer the drilling industry a solution for assuring the reliability of sensor data and software processing of this data.
A major industry drilling expert we asked to review our work responded: “Certainly, if we are to put trust in automated control systems, particularly as we move towards autonomous control of certain functions, then the question of sensor capabilities will loom ever larger. This paper is an important foundation, one only hopes the industry will take note and then take action.”
Download the paper at One Petro.