Established in 1841, National Oilwell Varco (NOV) of Houston, Texas is a worldwide leader in oilfield products and services. NOV’s Pressure Control Group (PCG) designs products that improve drilling safety by preventing oil well blowouts and controlling wells during drilling operations. Since the Deepwater Horizon drilling incident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the oil and gas industry has made a push to improve accountability. NOV’s PCG evolved with the new standards by improving training and assessments to demonstrate that its engineers design quality products, meet regulatory requirements, and follow strict internal guidelines. Since PTC® Creo® has been PCG’s primary design tool for more than 10 years (NOV as a whole has relied on PTC’s products for 20 years), the PCG training team needed to develop a plan to properly train engineers and to prove their competence in using PTC Creo tools for designing and manufacturing the PCG product line. At the same time, NOV aims to technically dominate its industry. The PCG must produce robust and reliable products that are designed right the first time. Delivering on this objective has been challenging since substantial business growth over the past several years has left the company straining to deliver on a tremendous backlog of business. The PCG needed to ensure that new hires could hit the ground running. Contact our Training Advisors with any questions regarding PTC University eLearning. http://www.ptc.com/training/contact/

1. Case Study
National Oilwell Varco uses
PTC University’s eLearning and
assessment solutions to improve
design and accountability
®
National Oilwell Varco, Houston
Established in 1841, National Oilwell Varco (NOV)
of Houston, Texas is a worldwide leader in oilfield
products and services.
NOV’s Pressure Control Group (PCG) designs products that improve drilling safety
by preventing oil well blowouts and controlling wells during drilling operations.
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2. Case Study
Since the Deepwater Horizon drilling incident in the Gulf of Mexico
in 2010, the oil and gas industry has made a push to improve
accountability. NOV’s PCG evolved with the new standards by
improving training and assessments to demonstrate that its
engineers design quality products, meet regulatory requirements,
and follow strict internal guidelines. Since PTC ® Creo® has been
PCG’s primary design tool for more than 10 years (NOV as a whole
has relied on PTC’s products for 20 years), the PCG training
team needed to develop a plan to properly train engineers and to
prove their competence in using PTC Creo tools for designing and
manufacturing the PCG product line.
At the same time, NOV aims to technically dominate its industry.
The PCG must produce robust and reliable products that are
designed right the first time. Delivering on this objective has been
challenging since substantial business growth over the past several
years has left the company straining to deliver on a tremendous
backlog of business. The PCG needed to ensure that new hires
could hit the ground running.
Yet the longstanding industry training practice of pairing new hires
with mentors was inadequate. Explained Steve Larimore, engineering training manager for NOV’s PCG, “New hires were thrown into
the fire and expected to complete projects. Although mentors were
available to answer questions, they didn’t always have time to teach
new hires because they had their own projects.” The lack of formalized training and accountability led to significant rework, which
slowed the design process and could negatively impact product
quality. NOV needed a paradigm shift in the way it trained employees to improve engineering quality and accountability.
5th Generation Control Pod for a Subsea Stack
Enter the Competency Management System
NOV instituted a global initiative, called the NOV Competency Management System (CMS), to train engineers in design best practices
and demonstrate their competence. NOV is the first organization
in its industry to achieve accreditations for its CMS with the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), the Offshore
Petroleum Industry Training Organization (OPITO) and the Scottish
Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Tension Ring Assembly
PTC University plays an integral role in the PCG’s CMS. Two subject matter experts within the PCG CMS use the management and
assessment tools provided in PTC University Precision LMS to
assist their efforts to train employees and evaluate their skills.
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3. Case Study
eLearning modules
Today, two PCG subject matter experts deliver training both through
instructor-led courses and using PTC University’s eLearning
courses. Explained Larimore, “We chose PTC’s eLearning solutions
because they allow us to do our training in house for a far lower cost
than sending engineers offsite. The ability to assign learning and
track users’ progress is a big plus.”
The CMS used PTC’s eLearning courses to develop a series
of learning paths that teach PTC Creo and PTC ® Windchill ®
fundamentals in a manner tailored to the needs of different roles:
• The Engineering Learning Path introduces engineers to
PTC ® Creo® Parametric™ and PTC ® Creo® Elements/Pro®
Data Management with PTC ® Windchill® PDMLink®
Summary page for PCG Training Paths in
PTC University Precision LMS.
• The Engineer/Designer Learning Path introduces designers to
PTC Creo Parametric productivity tools, and covers detailing,
advanced modeling, and advanced assembly design using
PTC Creo Parametric
• The Drafter Learning Path introduces drafters to PTC Creo
Parametric productivity tools, and covers detailing and
advanced modeling with PTC Creo Parametric
• The Controls Learning Path trains users to employ PTC Creo
Parametric for piping
• PTC ® Mathcad®
• Targeted PTC Creo training on the latest version being used
Assessment tools
The CMS also uses ModelCHECK and PTC University’s Pro/FICIENCY™
and Expert Model Analysis (XMA) tools to evaluate the skills of new
hires and current employees as well as assess their progress and
design quality after completing training courses.
PTC University Pro/FICIENCY provides online testing that measures
the individual’s proficiency levels. This tool measures engineers’
proficiency with specified objectives by asking knowledge questions
and by having them complete various exercises. The results pinpoint
what an individual knows and where they require additional training.
ModelCHECK is an integrated application that runs transparently
inside PTC Creo. When PCG engineers finish their work for the day
and check in their model, ModelCHECK analyzes parts, drawings,
and assemblies to ensure they meet basic design standards to
improve the effectiveness of downstream users and design reuse.
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NOV Configurable Subsea Stack
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4. Case Study
The CMS also uses XMA to evaluate a model’s use of best practices
to provide evidence of the designer’s competency in following best
practices, standards, and regulatory requirements. XMA takes
a model and runs it against various indicators of model quality.
This analysis determines whether the designer has employed best
practices, and if so, whether these practices are documented or
have gaps that require improvement. The CMS will also use XMA to
evaluate the overall quality of projects designed by teams of engineers. Should XMA uncover any weaknesses, the training group
can develop targeted training.
A Fully Tailored Experience
The PCG’s CMS tailors PTC training and assessments to three
different types of individuals:
• New hires right out of college – The CMS requires new hires
right out of college to take a series of workshops and eLearning
courses over a 12 month period to learn best practices, guidelines and regulatory requirements. Trainees then complete a test
project. A passing grade on this project provides proof of competence and means students are ready to move on to real projects.
If students fail, two subject matter experts on the training team
show them what went wrong and monitor them moving forward.
Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP)
• Experienced new hires – The PCG uses Pro/FICIENCY to assess
experienced new hires to determine their skillset and place them
at the right level within the organization.
• Existing staff – The PCG uses Pro/FICIENCY to evaluate the skill
sets of existing employees to deliver only the training they need.
It also uses PTC’s ModelCHECK and XMA to prove that each
engineer is using best practices and designing the NOV way.
In the future, the PCG plans to alternate between training and
assessing employees on new tools and information one year
and performing a full PTC Creo assessment the next.
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Operators
Speed the Learning Curve, Boost Confidence,
Improve Results
Although the training program implementation is in its early stages,
the subject matter experts already see improvements in new hires’
understanding of PTC Creo functionality. As Larimore explains,
“Previously, the subject matter experts (SMEs) would get broad
and vague questions from new hires about how to do things with
PTC Creo. Now they’re getting good questions that are technical,
targeted, and about how to do specific tasks better. This allows the
SMEs on the training team to focus on the more challenging aspects
of PTC Creo.”
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5. Case Study
The group predicts that the training program will also prepare new engineers to
design better products more quickly. Explained Larimore, “This method of training
creates a positive environment so new engineers feel confident that they can do the
job the way their supervisors want them to. It removes the trial and error process we
used previously which ultimately removes the need for rework and results in better
products. It’s a win/win for everyone.”
Minimize Employees Time Away From the Job
Existing employees may resist training because it takes time away from the job at
hand. “By using Pro/FICIENCY to assess the skill levels of existing employees and
assign only the training each employee needs,” says Larimore,
“
we save 50%-60% of time that would be
necessary if they had to go through the
comprehensive course of training.”
Simplify Software Migrations
The PCG has also used PTC eLearning modules to smooth the organization’s transitions to new versions of its design tools. Said Larimore, “Usually a new software
version creates a lot of hassles, rework and downtime. We wanted to be proactive
when we rolled out PTC Creo 2.0 by providing just in time training so people could
use the new version ASAP.”
“
As a result of this program, we reduced
the learning curve to a bump.”
Improve Designs and Enhance Lean Engineering Efforts
The CMS uses both ModelCHECK and XMA to evaluate designs on an ongoing basis and
thereby improve product design and usability. Not only does XMA show the PCG where
models fail so assessors can remediate problems and resolve issues, it also identifies
ways that engineers have improved on company best practices. This XMA use case supports the PCG’s 5S Lean manufacturing initiatives, enabling the group to continuously
identify improvements and roll out new best practices across the organization.
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6. Case Study
The PTC Academic Program
PCG also plans to take advantage of PTC’s Academic Program. With this program,
PTC consults with both NOV and local universities to help universities develop
courses that address NOV’s real-world job requirements. Says Larimore, “This
program benefits the schools by making students more hirable. From our perspective, it reduces the time and cost of getting someone up and working. Instead of
a new hire spending their first three months on training, they can get up to speed
within 30 days. Moreover, the PTC Academic Program gives us confidence that
students who take the time to meet our requirements while they were still in
college want to work for us. Students demonstrate their initiative by being proactive
in their education and their career.”
Overall, NOV’s PCG group feels that working with PTC University will help it solidify
its dominant position in its industry. As Larimore explains, “We’re at the top of our
industry, but we’re not satisfied. We want to do better. We want to make ourselves
bigger and better to be the best company in the world through our customers’
eyes. Providing the best training and assessments of our employees on their design
tools is a critical step in the right direction.”
© 2013, PTC Inc. (PTC). All rights reserved. Information described herein is furnished for informational use only, is subject to
change without notice, and should not be taken as a guarantee, commitment, condition or offer by PTC. PTC, the PTC logo, PTC
Creo, PTC Creo Parametric and PTC Creo Elements/Pro, PTC Windchill, PTC Windchill PDMLink, PTC Mathcad, Pro/FICIENCY,
and all other PTC product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC and/or its subsidiaries in the
United States and other countries. All other product or company names are property of their respective owners. The timing of
any product release, including any features or functionality, is subject to change at PTC’s discretion.
J2490_PTCU_NOV_CS_EN_0713
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