Description
The primary conclusions from this paper include the following key points:
The oil and gas industry is still trying to resolve the issues surrounding the widespread adoption of Intelligent-Energy solutions. One such issue is the misalignment of corporate goals and individual motivators.
Factors inhibiting the adoption of IE solutions include the workforce's reluctance to change, the principles of Maslow's Hierarchy, and the 10,000-Hour Rule. Industry-wide circumstances, such as data overload (as illustrated by Miller's Magical Number 7 concept) and the need to minimize operational risk, are driving the need to adopt IE practices. Ultimately, widespread adoption of IE principles is highly dependent on acceptance by the individual.
Transformation requires change, and change threatens the status quo. Maslow's work tells us that change will be deeply resisted by the Hierarchical Cultures defined by Cameron and Quinn (2005).
People (as manifested and represented by their culture) are a major factor in our industry's slow pace of change and limited adoption of Intelligent-Energy principles.
Successful adoption of Intelligent-Energy principles will only be mastered with an extended period of deliberate practice, which means learning through many cycles of trial and error.
The Magical Number 7 (now reduced to 3) suggests a limitation on the type and number of issues that can be processed/handled in short-term working memory. This means that as long as the industry relies on individuals to oversee and monitor more than 3 critical aspects of an operation without appropriate decision support systems, an element of excessive operational risk will be present.