In the wake of all the data coming from the Internet of Things, businesses are in the throes of what some industry leaders are calling “digital exhaust.”  There is so much data coming from the IoT that leaders are in a quandary as to how to use it.  One 2015 McKinsey study reports a certain consulting firm noted a rig with 30,000 sensors uses only 1% of that data.  So how can your business avoid digital exhaust and operate more efficiently?

The data that is being collected seems to be used primarily for equipment issue detection and control, rather than optimization.  Businesses are also realizing rapidly they need an expert to utilize the data, and those people are few and far between!  The data is there, but we are still developing ways to create value from it.

In addition to leveraging the data for critical information, working with innovative technology through better design can also generate serious gains in terms of efficiency and profit.  When bitumen profits fluctuate wildly or the market is glutted, having the right equipment can make the most of your current profits, no matter what the industry is doing.  Having a static inline heater or a desuperheater with no moving parts contributes to less sludging (and downtime) and highly replicable testing along the line.  The designs also mean that there is no need for large amounts of pipeline in order to make the process work.

Working with data to optimize efficiency makes sense for some industries.  Oil rigs, for instance cost hundreds of millions of dollars and exploration costs just as much.  So it pays to continue to work with the data to create value through prediction and analytics, say, in improving geological survey data, for example.

By utilizing data informatics to predict better drilling locations and working with top quality, innovatively designed equipment promotes a healthy bottom line and an edge in the marketplace.