Following two years of development, Aberdeen Drilling Consultants has launched its new ADC Virtual Academy division, offering the world’s first online course focussed on drilling equipment for the oil and gas industry.

Understanding Drilling Equipment is a foundation course that will help participants achieve a greater understanding of the equipment on offshore or land-based drilling rigs. The aim is to improve competence, effectiveness and safety, through a better understanding of all the drilling equipment and systems.

As the first-ever online training of its type, Understanding Drilling Equipment can be accessed anywhere in the world where there is a broadband internet connection. Participants can also choose to study at times that best suit themselves and their work schedules. The result is substantial cost savings, in terms of time, travel and accommodation, compared with equivalent ‘classroom-style’ training courses.

Commenting on the launch, Douglas Hay, Managing Director of Aberdeen Drilling Consultants, said: “The subject has never been taught and illustrated like this before. We have developed the Understanding Drilling Equipment course for new entrants to our industry – such as graduate engineers – and also for all existing personnel whose roles would be enhanced by a greater understanding of rig equipment.


“We also see this course becoming an important element in the operating companies’ training programmes to increase management understanding and also to provide an insight for their engineers, accountants, administrators, commercial and logistics personnel.

“The aim is to achieve even greater competence, safety and efficiency by increasing understanding of the equipment used by drilling contractors and how it impacts on the operator’s programme and budgets, should the rig breakdown.

“When we decided to develop Understanding Drilling Equipment, we set about contacting all the OEMs who provide drilling equipment and support to the rigs. After negotiations we reached agreement with Aker Solutions, NOV and others to utilise their excellent equipment animations, as a teaching aid.

“After researching options for a system on which to develop the course, we chose Absorb LMS, an award-winning learning management system. The result, after some nine months of intensive development work by our in-house team, is this ground-breaking e-learning programme.”

The 30-hour Understanding Drilling Equipment course has eight modules, including health and safety, drilling equipment, well control, mechanical equipment, electrical equipment, deck equipment and audit.

Each module is built on an introduction to the equipment, a breakdown of all the parts, how to inspect the equipment for (FARSI) functionality, availability, reliability, serviceability and integrity. This is followed by all the ADC engineers and associates giving an insight into common faults that they have seen, based on their many years of experience and the examination for students, based on the module.

The early reaction to the new Understanding Drilling Equipment course have been very positive, as Douglas Hay explains: “We are already in negotiations with one International organisation that has 1,000 students each year and they are talking about our course becoming a regular feature in their curriculum.”

(GK)