Positioning Augmented Reality in Oil and Gas Maintenance Support: A Strategic Plan During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

High-risk, hazardous, and harsh environments are synonymous with the oil and gas industry. Accidents are inevitable without proper maintenance for equipment installed in any asset. Therefore, maintenance is a critical activity required to operate oil and gas facilities. Existing methods consist of corrective and proactive maintenance, where operators are betting a bottom dollar on original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specialists to assess the functionality of the equipment. Nevertheless, beginning of 2020, the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has hindered most of the yearly turn around (TA) to maintain the assets due to travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine regulations. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a strategic plan during the COVID-19 pandemic to position augmented reality (AR) in the maintenance support of the oil and gas industry. This proposal used literature reviews related to AR and maintenance support as its research methodology. The strategies encourage remote support via suitable AR technology to reduce cost and shorter mean time to repair (MTTR).