Further significant investment in the Academy

New Technology at The Academy

In February 2016, the Academy took delivery of a new drilling simulator from Drilling Systems UK. The simulator, a DS 5000 classic, provides a true to life replication of the rig floor on a drilling rig and the downhole drilling operation.

The simulator can be used for familiarising students with the physical operation of the equipment and the procedures during drilling operations as well as replicate actual downhole conditions that are present during drilling operations. This allows the instructor to create ‘problems’ or ‘scenarios’ on the simulator computer that sends signals to the equipment modules allowing students to recognise and interpret changes and provide a solution.

The installation, commissioning and training of the Academy staff on the simulator took over 20 days.

The installation process took 10 days and included installing a false floor to allow the multitude of cables to be connected between the different components. After the floor was completed the individual rig floor components were positioned and then connected.

The commissioning process systematically tested thousands of operations the simulator is able to perform, each one being tested against a special test procedure. The Simulator is a very complex machine containing 10 individual computers that measure signals from each equipment module, which are then sent to the main simulation computer. After processing, these signals are returned to show changes to the displays on the modules. This process involved both the engineers from Drilling Systems and the staff from The Academy.

Two very experienced engineers, Steve Cooper and Willie Zukiwski, from Drilling Systems put the Academy’s staff through a rigorous five day coaching program that covered the full operational and programming spectrum of the simulator. This gave the team the opportunity to discover the extensive capabilities of the simulator itself.