When you’re standing in a line and you see almost everyone in sight interacting with their mobile phones by viewing, listening, swiping or typing—do you ever wonder how people used to pass the time while they were waiting?
The Pew Research Center says 95 percent of Americans own a mobile phone and 77 percent own a smartphone. These numbers are also similar for Canadians and for those across North America under 30 years old, the percentages are even higher.
More significantly, in 2017 experts estimate that 73 percent of web browsing was done on a mobile device. This is up from only 12 percent just 9 years prior and mobile web browsing is continuing an upwards trend.
In light of this, let me ask you another question: Does your oil and gas company (producer or service) use mobile apps to manage your data or even operations?
Let’s face it; the oil and gas industry is technologically lagging behind everyone else. This is most likely due to the nature of boom and bust cycles and their negative impact on technological advancement.
Still, now is a better time than ever to get mobile apps on the forefront of innovation in the oil and gas sector and keep up with other industries. That’s what we’ve done at Zedi with our Zedi Go app. Our app was state of the art for the oil and gas industry when we launched it in 2017 and is getting more robust on a monthly basis. If your company has yet to realize the benefits of mobile apps, Zedi can get you there on short notice.
Here are three key reasons for the oil and gas industry get on board with mobile apps.
First, almost everyone has a smartphone.
The newest workforce generation knows how to use apps, and most have their smart phone on them everywhere they go. Think of your entire workforce interacting with important operational and production data on an effective platform they already own.
As an automation field service example, mobile apps have the ability to wirelessly interface with onsite sensors and controllers in order to make changes in configuration or operation. This reduces inefficiency when connecting with a laptop to each device separately—one stop, a few remote button pushes on screen and your technicians are on their way.
Second, that app will act as a SCADA system on the go.
This makes data available instantly for monitoring, remote control and data entry to all stakeholders that need it. If it’s on the cloud—which you can do with a privately-held system, or Zedi can do for you as a software as a service—it is available on any mobile device, anywhere, anytime.
Third, mobile apps improve employee efficiency.
Access to data through a smartphone allows personnel to use that data to make informed, timely decisions wherever they are. Now I’ll admit that out of context, instant access to data can be a mixed blessing—such as getting an alert while you’re relaxing on the weekend. But remember: It wasn’t that long ago that you’d have received a page requiring you to drop everything and blindly drive to a well site 50 miles into the desert to see what’s going on (that’s a West Texas example y’all).
This way you can get the alert, see the important data instantly and make a quick call on plan of action, allowing you to get right back to your weekend plans faster.
Mobile apps are a technical innovation that has pure upside and I cannot think of any compelling reasons to delay. “We’ve always done it this way” is no longer an excuse, especially for the next generation of workers and the new technologies driving the oil and gas industry.
