Examination arrangement

Course content

This course will address the use of remote operations in the energy sector. Remote functions are typically performed from a distant remote location, hundreds of kilometers away from the production site, in premises that are in a safe area, such as a company’s administrative building or more generally from any site including premises of a vendor providing support).

Remote operations, and remote control or remote monitoring have long been used in oil and gas production facilities, and in several other industries like the utility sector. More recently, advanced remote functions have been developed. Remote day-to-day operations, engineering, maintenance, and environmental monitoring are increasingly performed at greater distances from production sites. The primary case for remote operations is usually to limit the number of personnel on a production site and thus limit exposure to hazardous environments, as well as to enable easier and faster access to expert support independently of the location. Ongoing digitalization (e.g., broadband subsea links, sensor networks, Digital Twins, Artificial Intelligence) presents several opportunities but also new challenges for current and future remote operations.

The design, planning, and performance of remote operations requires a multidisciplinary approach to define division of functions and responsibilities between remote and local operations, identify suitable technological solutions, enforce control-of-work policies, assure the reliability of remote communications, and not the least to identify and prevent the operational risks and challenges associated with the use of remote functions including cyber security risks.

The course will:

• Explore four generic configurations of remote operations, by critically evaluating their advantages, disadvantages, and risks: the remote-control room, the remote collaborative centre, remote at vendor premises, and remote access from anywhere
• Conceptualize remote operations as an information infrastructure encompassing technical, competence, work processes and governance configurations
• Address the technical, organizational and competence-related challenges in the design, planning, and use of remote operations from a sociotechnical perspective

The goal of the course is to:

• Expose students to the state of the art in remote operations configurations
• Enable students to identify and critically assess the technical, organizational, and competence-related challenges in the design, planning, and use of remote operations
• Foster collaborative student learning through group work and presentations

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

• Define the concept of remote operation, its features, advantages, and disadvantages (risks)
• Describe how remote operations have developed and their sources of origin
• Illustrate the basic interests and stakeholders that exist in the field of remote operations
• Represent the development of remote operations as an information infrastructure with technical, competence, work processes and governance configurations
• Identify the challenges related to scalability and replicability in remote operations in light of ongoing digitalization
• Identify the challenges related to collaboration across boundaries (time, domain, space) in light of ongoing digitalization

Skills:

• Determine the basic steps to conduct an ‘as-is’ study of present conditions in an empirical setting in the utility sector
• Plan the basic change process to take advantage of remote operations configurations and digitalization capabilities

General competencies:

• Identify and assess the main sociotechnical challenges in a real-world deployment of remote operations
• Plan remote operations in a real-world scenario by deploying an appropriate configuration of the human, technology, work process and governance resources

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, seminars, group work, e-learning, assignments, project work, reflection.

Compulsory assignments

• Mandatory activities

Further on evaluation

Compulsory gatherings: There will be two gatherings each lasting 2.5 intensive days. Each full day will be divided into modules, each corresponding to a targeted topic. There will be 7-9 modules in total, approximately 4 per gathering. Each module will consist of one lecture/seminar, groupwork, and student presentations. Each day will consist of 1-3 modules. The full details of the topics will be defined later in coordination with the other subjects in the master program. In the first gathering (2.5 days) the students are expected to perform a preliminary oral (PowerPoint) presentation of the student assignments/essays. Each student must be prepared to present a short 5-10 minute to present ideas to their essay topic. The scope of the essay will be approved in the first gathering. In the second gathering there will be individual discussions student-supervisor in addition to the presentation of topics (2 days). In the concluding gathering lasting 0.5 day the students are expected to present their individual essays in a plenary session for discussion and feedback. The students are expected to prepare a 20 minutes presentation of their case, method, theory and preliminary findings. There will be no additional lectures outside the 2 x 2,5-day gatherings. The gatherings will take place in the Trondheim area and both Norwegian/English languages used.

Self-study: Self-study and assignment writing are expected between the gatherings. All assignments will be provided via the NTNU learning platform.

Exam: The exam consists of an essay will be in the form of an essay on the topic approved during the first session and discussed with the supervisor during the second gathering. The deadline for submitting the essay will be three weeks after the last gathering The essay should analyze and discuss an empirical scenario of a remote operation setting. The essay should be around 12-15 pages, 1.5 pt line distance. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

Same as for the study program

Required previous knowledge

Same as for the study program

Course materials

Articles and book chapters, to be defined at the beginning of the course.