One of the main problems in Oil & Gas industry is connecting office with the field ensuring smooth dataflow between various locations. Field workers collect a lot of information that needs to be communicated to the office within limited periods of time and used for reporting and invoicing. Quite often this communication gets disrupted. In most cases it happens when it is paper-based.
Why traditional paper tickets don’t help any more
Before talking about electronic field ticketing we first need to mention what field tickets are. Most often this term is used when we speak about paper reports used by oilfield companies to record data and keep track of items (equipment, materials) or services provided or received and for invoicing.
A lot of business processes go wrong when paper reporting is involved. Completing, organizing, reviewing and filing paperwork has a lot of disadvantages:
It takes days or weeks to deliver paper field tickets to the office. Unnecessary travel time, extra people and vehicles are required to transfer paperwork from the field;
Handling papers and manually entering data into the system slow all business processes down;
Chances misspelling some information or inputting wrong data are very high, which results in mismatching numbers and declined invoices;
Paper processes often involve missing or illegible information;
Papers tickets get lost or damaged, which leads to decrease in revenue;
Paper workflow negatively affects various departments: operations, supply chain, accounting, etc.
These are just a few downsides of using paper tickets. It pushes companies around the globe to start switching to electronic field tickets, which empowers companies by digitizing the field ticketing process for faster ticket approval, invoice confirmation and payment.
Modern digital solutions tackle issues caused by paper field tickets and help improve communication between people even when they are long distances away from each other.
With electronic field tickets all information is typed and saved directly into a tablet or a smartphone. All data is stored on a server or in a cloud which field and office workers immediately have access to. When using oilfield ticket software a number of steps which seem unavoidable with paper tickets get eliminated right away. Users get access to all information from a laptop or a tablet from any location. Tickets are generated, reviewed and approved with just a few clicks in no time, invoices are generated in hours, not days. No more unnecessary travel dropping off and picking up paper field tickets, all data is available in real time to operational managers and accounting. Field technicians can capture customer signature electronically on their mobile phone and easily email the documents.
There are a lot of benefits that electronic field ticketing platforms provide:
Eliminate manual paper handling and data entry. Managing all reports in a centralized storage helps streamline business processes and save a lot of time;
Improve data accessibility and visibility. Online systems have an orderly and organized structure. As soon as field technicians input and save data all other users within a company have access to it;
Reduce billing cycles. Having updated information in the system allows to invoice clients and get paid without delays;
Increase revenue. Users get rid of a problem of lost field tickets, which allows them to invoice their clients for 100% of completed services;
Provide access to real-time data. Users always have up-to-date information about each piece of equipment: current location and technical condition, etc.
There are a few Field Ticket Software out there. One of them is RigER®, which is a digital field ticket solution designed specifically for Oilfield Services. It helps oilfield service and rental companies of any size to get rid of piles of papers filled with field tickets, capture data electronically and never risk losing paper tickets again.
Want to know more? Check this video.
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