The company Akere Energy, CA's main objective is to provide services to the oil industry, it is located in the southern part of the Anzoátegui State, where it has successfully operated in various fields in the eastern part of the country.
The service as such provided by the company's equipment, which are called Drills, consists of Reconditioning and Rehabilitation (RA / RC) and Maintenance of oil wells, where a set of activities are generated in productive wells (pre-existing) in order to maintain, restore or increase its production.
Of these equipment (Drills) that carry out these activities, their constitution is outstanding, since for the adequate provision of the service a set of components is needed, such as the self-propelled Drill itself, the substructure, the pressure accumulator, the generating plants electricity, the mud pump, the active tank, the storage tanks, among others; And in addition to these large components, there is the range of Tools, which are required to carry out the operation as such in the field, and are constituted, among others, by elevators, manual and pneumatic wedges, manual wrenches, baskets, rotary files and a fundamental tool, The Hydraulic Keys. The latter are used under the control of an operator to perform the operation of joining and / or uncoupling in a threaded way and creating torque through a hydraulic pressure system, the series of pipes and / or rods that are inserted or removed in what is called the Downhole Pipe String in an Oil Well.
The function and purpose of the Hydraulic Keys in the service provided by the company is quite remarkable; Therefore, it is important to mention that in the operation of a Drill, a large part of the Operational Time is fulfilled in a well using the Hydraulic Keys, which are currently presenting problems due to errors and failures in the service they provide and in this way considerably affects the named time factor.
Para Akere Energy, C.A., es fundamental mantener y en lo posible aumentar los Tiempos Operativos de los Taladros que trabajan en los pozos petroleros de PDVSA, ya que el cliente asume este factor como un indicador de eficiencia y de calidad de servicio de la contratista. Además de lo anterior, es importante mencionar que la facturación de la empresa depende directamente de la cantidad de horas mes efectivas en operación y en este punto es donde entra en consideración la necesidad de mejorar el proceso de servicio que prestan las Llaves Hidráulicas, pues cuando están en operación son determinantes para mantener el Tiempo Efectivo y evitar así los lucros cesantes causados por pérdidas de tiempo debido a fallas en el proceso.
In addition to this parameter of time that is highly linked to the Maintenance area, the company, for each of the drills it has working, is periodically evaluated by its contractor (PDVSA), which performs the so-called Performance Evaluations, where They touch on various points ranging from the quantitative to the qualitative of the work of the Drills, therefore Quality is a preponderant factor in these evaluations, which measure the image and development as a company.
In such a way that Akere Energy, CA, with its well-established vision of development, seeks to apply better Management schemes that are really relevant at the moment of seeing the results in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in its processes. It is then when the initiative arises to apply the Six Sigma methodology to the process that affects the benefits of the company, which is a Management Philosophy, which had its beginnings in 1980, created in the international company MotorolaÒ, and adopted in the following decade by AlliedSignalÒ and General ElectricÒ among others, and achieving a resounding success in its history.
Six Sigma, as Philosophy then consists of:
- A statistical measure of the performance level of a process or product, since the methodology requires the use of data and statistical analysis to determine errors in processes and noting their variability. A goal of achieving near perfection by improving performance, because it directs its efforts in a real way to three main areas, such as: Improve Customer Satisfaction, Reduce Cycle Time, Reduce Defects. A management system to achieve long-lasting leadership in the business and first-rate performance in a global environment, through the genuine approach of being sustained in a Proactive direction, adopting new habits, defining ambitious goals and reviewing them frequently.
Six Sigma, Technically consists then of:
The objective of reducing the variation of the process in its execution, such that a degree of variation of 6s (yield of 99.9997%) is considered as a limit specification defined for customers.
In such a way that Six Sigma refers to having a process with results less than 3.4 Defects per Million Opportunities (DPMO). And likewise the following general table of Sigma performance levels results:
| LEVEL IN SIGMA | DPMO | PERFORMANCE |
| 6 | 3.40 | 99.9997% |
| 5 | 233.00 | 99.98% |
| 4 | 6,210.00 | 99.3% |
| 3 | 66,807.00 | 93.3% |
| two | 308,537.00 | 69.15% |
| one | 690,000.00 | 30.85% |
| 0 | 933,200.00 | 6.68% |
The methodology indicates the Tactics (to achieve goal 6s), which consists of developing the five High Level Phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAMC), which are a compendium of techniques that when developed in a systematic and orderly, ensure the consistent application and success of the methodology.
The company has the initiative to use this methodology, which serves to conceive a solution to the problem presented in the service process of the Hydraulic Keys, and that with this new forms of study, analysis and promotion tools arise that help to achieve a service of final operation of the Hydraulic Keys "without errors", and achieve the improvement in this process, being profitable (by reducing lost profits, by studying the losses of operating time and correcting it) and with Quality (by eliminating in the Performance Evaluations made by the client company, the negative points caused by the errors in the service of the Hydraulic Keys)
1.2 Current Situation
With a great prospect of growth and leadership in the medium term, Akere Energy, CA, is emerging to position itself as one of the main and consolidated companies at the level of RA / RC and Maintenance works in the oil wells of the Anzoátegui state.
With this growth opportunity and with a well-supported vision, the company requires that all its processes are in accordance with its objectives, being efficient, reducing defects, managing resources, creating awareness of Quality, and innovating in, methods and processes that make the primary objectives of the company viable.
For this reason, it was important to review all the sub-processes involved in the provision of the company's service, and from this review, one of the main causes of errors and stops in the service process emerged in hierarchical order. the company realizes that it was the consequent appearance of failures in the service process of the Hydraulic Keys; and it was brought out, that these failures bring as consequences:
- The equipment stoppage in general The subsequent hours lost by the company The subsequent costs of lost profits due to the hours lost The (unforeseen) rental of this tool to solve the immediate situation The transportation and logistics costs associated with the unforeseen rental.The costs of spare parts and materials used as spare parts in the repair operations of the Tool. The negative points in the Performance Evaluations by the Client; and last but not least, the quantitative and qualitative "cost" of non-conformity by the client, due to the lack of quality in the service process provided by the company.
In such a way, that all the aforementioned consequences have meant that new and / or better methods of solving problems and posing opportunities for operational strengthening are now beginning to be glimpsed, since regardless of a good maintenance program carried out, It has become a necessity to achieve an acceptable level of Quality for the customer, and for this reason it is proposed to minimize defects and errors in this service by applying the Six Sigma methodology.
If the situation described above continues, there will continue to be large economic losses due to errors in the service process of the Hydraulic Keys; in addition to continuing the vacuum of understanding as to the true cause of the problems that occurred in said service process. And as for the operation of the Hydraulic Keys, the company will continue in that perennial state of no improvement in Operating Times and low performance in the operational context where the aforementioned tools are handled, in addition to continuing to apply solutions by intuition, improvisation and / or personal judgments that become subjective in the assessment.
1.3 Desired Situation
That for the subsequent period (years 2006-2007) at the Operational level a sustained decrease in the current time lost due to failures and / or errors in the service process provided by the Hydraulic Keys is obtained and in this way significantly increase the benefits in terms of general profits received by the company where the named service process is immersed; and this benefit is not only desired at an economic level, but also a series of changes in favor that the Six Sigma methodology brings with it, such as breaking bad habits in terms of Process Management, improving objectives in order to reduce errors or variables in the service process, and of course create awareness of change with Quality,that is absolutely aligned with the requirements of the Client and the eventual satisfaction of the same.
A complete systematic analysis with specific objectives will then be presented, seen from a new and innovative Management scheme, which obeys the new trends of obtaining the best results, through robust processes that allow reducing defects, failures and errors in the important service process provided by Hydraulic Keys.
1.4 Justification
Due to the high loss of Operating Time that currently occurs in the company due to failures in the service process of the Hydraulic Keys, as well as the present phenomenon of loss of Quality in the process, the need for change and taking of measures and actions aimed at reducing or in the best of cases eliminating these unwanted events in the company.
This study plans to solve the existing problem, so that a real and manifest solution is perceived in a timely manner, mainly to the problem of lost profits that the company has for this reason.
In addition to this “sine qua non” reason, this work shows high benefits that have been identified and that are reasons of special relevance both for the beneficiary company and for the student and the university entity.
Among the full reasons, and from the point of view of solving the problem for the company, we have:
- The analysis of the service process involved with the Hydraulic Keys.
This issue is extremely important, since with the application of the methodology, absolutely all parameters that affect or help in some way the process of executing the service provided by the Hydraulic Keys must be defined.
- The improvement of the service process provided by the Hydraulic Keys.
It will be improved, since the methodological framework of the application of the tool has as a priority a series of steps (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) that, when applied effectively, ensure the improvement of the service process provided by the Keys. Hydraulic.
- The eventual increase in the company's Invoicing.
Well, by minimizing the errors involved in the process, the effective hours of operation will increase and therefore the net hours to be charged will increase for this concept.
- The demonstration of the application of a new problem-solving methodology in the company.
With the completion of the Degree Project, it will be possible to demonstrate at both the Operational and Management levels of the company, that it is possible to obtain improvement results in a service process, through the execution and implementation of new methodologies that support and increase the cognitive and professional level of the actors involved.
From the point of view of the Technical and Cognitive contribution, the achievement of the Degree Work will generate:
- Contribution to the student to the knowledge of Mechanical-Hydraulic equipment.
As are the Hydraulic Keys, and it will also provide research methods and promote the creation of data regarding the mentioned equipment.
- Contribution to the student to the knowledge, research and application of a new Statistical and Management technique.
Six Sigma is a very powerful tool that has little or never been used in any subject or work that has been carried out in the university entity. In such a way that the mere fact of investigating and bringing this topic to the fore, implies not only increasing the cognitive power of the student, but also generating mutual gains at the R&D level with the UGMA
As an importance that justifies the realization and improvement of the subject in subsequent work for the university and other institutions, it will generate:
- Contribution to a little explored field.
Well, both the study of this equipment-tool such as the Hydraulic Wrench and the Six Sigma methodology, are topics scarcely studied, and therefore this will generate an interest in the student community to continue exploring and advancing in the issues raised here.
- Contribution to the student community to have a new vision of analysis.
Because the common denominator of the proposals in terms of Thesis topics is changed, and it is encouraged to begin to have a better perspective regarding a determining and influential element, but many times forgotten and neglected, such as Quality, in the Maintenance management.
In addition to the above, it will be shown that the use of new methodologies such as Six Sigma supports the Maintenance area as a problem solving tool, and it will also be shown that a Quality methodology has common objectives with Maintenance. and that this innovation motivates the creators of new trends to align themselves with the most ambitious theories of Management based on Quality parameters and the search for the desired minimum ranking of defects.
1.5 Background
In 2001, an investigation was carried out at the National Experimental University of Táchira (UNET) for the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, directed by the Engineer Salvador E. Valdez, and academically tutored by the Engineer Freddy Méndez, which was entitled "reduction of variability in the soap plant of Colgate Palmolive, CA through the application of the Six Sigma methodology ”This degree work was based on the reduction of undesired variables in the production process of the Colgate Palmolive soap factory, and The methodology was thus applied to a process of shaping or manufacturing a large-scale product.
In 2002, also at the National Experimental University of Táchira (UNET), an investigation was carried out entitled "Application of the Six Sigma methodology in the manufacturing processes of the Cardon lubricants bottling plant" carried out by Engineer Mayda A. Álvarez L. and academically tutored by Engineer Carlos Porras. The main objective of such project was to apply the Six Sigma methodology to a production type process, based on the shaping of plastic resins to manufacture lubricant containers.
The aforementioned studies differ from the present one, in that they apply the Six Sigma methodology to large-scale production-type processes, while the present one focuses on a service process. In addition to the aforementioned, the first work has as its main objective the reduction of variables, and it differs, since this is a complete application of the methodology and is not only limited to controlling or reducing the variables of a process.
As it is notable the location of antecedents of works elaborated with subjects that contain the same background of the present, it was null in the nuclei of the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho University.
2.- OBJECTIVES
2.1 General Objective
Improve the Operative Time during the service process of the Hydraulic Keys, based on the application of the Six Sigma methodology.
2.2 Specific Objectives
- Diagnose the current situation of the service process of the Hydraulic Keys in the company Apply the Define and Measure phases of the Six Sigma methodology to the service process of the Hydraulic Keys Apply the Analyze phase of the Six Sigma methodology to the service process Hydraulic Keys Apply the Improve and Control phases of the Six Sigma methodology to the Hydraulic Keys service process Establish an Investment Efficiency analysis to economically evaluate the subsequent application and development of the Six Sigma methodology in the company.
3.- METHODOLOGY
3.1 Type of Research
According to the level of knowledge achieved and the delimitation of the type of study with respect to the research scheme, this is classified as Descriptive, since the characteristic elements of the Hydraulic Keys process are obtained that you want to know and from which You want to get a response, in a given time and in relation to the capabilities and limitations of the process.
The previous approach is based on what is determined by Álvarez G. (1996) "Descriptive investigations are those that indicate the characteristic elements of a phenomenon or a situation through the systematic study of it, in a specific temporary-special circumstance" (p. 123)
3.2 Research Design
According to the particularity of the project to be developed and from the point of view of the internal objectives of the work, it can be established that it is a Field design, since it is based on the consequent solution of current events, based on searching for data in the field, analyze them and apply a systematic problem-solving methodology.
In this way, the previous statement can be based on what was stated by Sabino C. (1976) “field designs are based on primary data obtained from reality” (p. 94)
Or as Álvarez G. (1996) also points out “Field Design is one in which the data is collected directly by the researcher in the place under study, and consists of the direct observation of things, the behavior of people, groups, facts, etc." (P. 124)
Likewise, the focus of this research is based on an analysis of real and current data collected in the middle of the equipment in the Oil industry, and how these will improve their service process under the full application of the systematic analysis methodology of data and statistics called Six Sigma.
Now, to achieve the proposed objectives, a synthesis of the evolutionary and methodological series of each of the steps to be used is shown below:
- Diagnose the current situation of the Hydraulic Keys Service process in the company. Analysis and definition of the operational context of the service process of the Hydraulic Keys; Classification of existing equipment, compiling everything concerning the quantities and types of Hydraulic Keys, based on the field study and interviews with those familiar with the process, in order to determine the field of action of the investigation. the Six Sigma methodology to the Hydraulic Keys service process. Systematic implementation in the two Phases of the "Tolls", which are the subdivisions in each of them,that indicate a specific work and the series of steps to be carried out in an evolutionary and methodological way to fulfill the complete development of each of the stages of the Six Sigma methodology.
The Define Phase Tolls comprise the completion of the Six Sigma project chart, the completion of the customer requirements tree schema, and the high-level process diagram; all this to organize the project under the Six Sigma methodology, verifying the needs and requirements of the Client.
The Tolls of the Measure Phase include the creation of the data collection plan, by defining the parameters to be measured, the type of measurement to be used, and the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data of the process. This phase also includes the execution of the data collection plan, where the data obtained are ordered to obtain the calculation of the Sigma performance baseline.
- Apply the Analyze phase of the Six Sigma methodology to the Hydraulic Keys service process. Systematic implementation in the Tolls Phase (data analysis, process analysis and root cause analysis) where the data and the process itself are analyzed, which will finally lead to determining the root cause of the previously defined Sigma low performance.Apply the Improve and Control phases of the Six Sigma methodology to the Hydraulic Keys service process. Carrying out the Tolls in the Improve Phase, which include the generation of solutions and the choice of them. In this phase, a series of solutions will be provided aimed at improving Sigma performance.
Carrying out the Tolls in the Control Phase, which include the development of the technical control method and the creation of a response plan. In this last phase, a series of tools and techniques are applied to the improved process so that the improvement of Sigma performance does not decline over time.
- Establish an Investment Efficiency analysis to economically evaluate the subsequent application and development of the Six Sigma methodology in the company. Determination of the investment recovery period.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
- Arriojas, J. (2002) Guide for the elaboration of the special degree work plan, UGMA, El Tigre, Venezuela. Ballestrini, M (1997) How is the research project elaborated ?, Editorial Service. Caracas, Venezuela.Sabino, C. (1994) How to do a thesis, Editorial Panapo. Caracas, Venezuela.Álvarez, G (1996) Manual of writing and documentary research, Ediciones Librería Destino. Caracas, Venezuela Eckes, G. (2003) The Six Sigma For All, Grupo Editorial Norma. Bogotá, ColombiaBarradas, C. (2003) Magazine “Gestión de Negocios” Nº 03, Total Quality Committee AEC, México, DCSapag, C. (1993) Project evaluation criteria, Mc Graw-Hill / Interamericana de España, SA Madrid, Spain.
