System for Full-Cycle Manufacturing of Oil & Gas Pipeline Joints

About Our Client

Our Client provides software and hardware engineering services focused uniquely on the needs of the oil & gas industry.

Product Idea to Reduce Manufacturing Costs of Pipeline Joints

The Client planned to create a new software product to help O&G companies manage a full life cycle of joints, from design to manufacturing and maintenance. The product would employ the Client’s patented method of calculating the working life of a designed joint based on the parameters of its components: flanges, gaskets, bolts, etc. This would help manufacturers prevent reworks at the assembly stage and release joints with long service life, thus optimizing the overall cost of joints.

The product was planned as multi-tenant SaaS with a flexible licensing model.

Developing Software for Full-Cycle Joint Engineering

ScienceSoft started the project with a team of a project manager, a business analyst, three .NET developers, and a QA engineer. Over the course of the project, we also engaged a DevOps engineer and a UI designer for short-term tasks.

As the Client had a well-documented and clear product description, our goal at the discovery stage was document parsing to structure functional requirements. At that time, we met with the Client’s stakeholders three times a week to synchronize our understanding of the future product. When the functional specification was ready and the development started, we switched to a standard communication schedule with weekly meetups.

The product we built consists of four modules:

• An engineering module where users set up required joint parameters and get an assembly diagram visualized. The system automatically calculates the joint’s probability of failure and the operational lifetime.
• A procurement module where users can plan what materials and components they need to stock. The module is used to centralize the information regarding the procurement process and does not cover communication with suppliers.
• An assembly module where the progress of a joint assembly process is marked. The module is an intermediary between the shop floor and the production control.
• A maintenance module where all released joints are registered. Users can access the joints’ specifications and plan the improvements if needed.

To enable multi-tenancy, we set up a shared infrastructure and tenant-specific data processing and storage. Each tenant will access its own isolated data while using a single instance of the system.

At ScienceSoft, we routinely work with SaaS products and know how important the design is for the product’s marketability. As a rule, we engage a UI designer to create key screens. But in this project, the Client wanted strict, clean, and replicable design for all product modules. So, our designer created a UI kit with interface components, and we reused them to compose the product’s screens. This way, we designed a sleek and easy-to-use product and managed to shorten the design stage and reduce the project’s cost.

Following the Client’s requirement to offer flexible licensing, we considered different usage scenarios and enabled:

• Concurrent licensing. One license can be used by several users, but not simultaneously. This type of licensing suits best international companies with production units in different time zones.
• Licensing per module. Companies can buy the whole product or separate modules they need.
• Licensing per company and licensing per plant. We considered different budgeting models of manufacturing companies: they can either pay centrally for the licenses of different subsidiaries or each subsidiary can pay separately.

The Product Is Ready in 8 Months

The Client got its product idea realized within the agreed time and budget. The product performs the expected function — it helps manufacturing companies manage the life cycle of pipeline joints and ensure long service life for created pieces. It supports multi-tenant access and usage and offers diverse licensing options.

The Client plans to evolve its product, and ScienceSoft will be happy to continue the partnership and make the product even more useful for manufacturing companies.

Technologies and Tools

.NET, PrimeNG