Navigating The Digital Oilfield: How Connacher Oil Optimized Compliance And Efficiency With Meridian

Having reliable and easy access to accurate drawings is very important to me. While I do go on-site regularly, I am not there all the time, and I need to be able to plan projects and make decisions from the office. I can only do this if I can trust that the drawings that I am looking at are up-to-date. When using Meridian, I am confident that I am accessing the latest version.” 

- Danielle Heinz, Junior Process Engineer, EIT, Connacher Oil

 

The Challenge

Driven to modernize, Connacher needed to upgrade its document management system. Despite being central to its operations, the company’s current system of 12 years was beset with several issues that were hindering business-critical activity. Many of these issues were because the version it was running was no longer supported. As a result, the company struggled with: 

• Data silos: Required information, documents and drawings were stored across multiple platforms, making it tedious to access all relevant information for a project.
• Compliance and version control issues: It was difficult to prove that documents met regulatory requirements or that employees were working on the most up-to-date versions.
• Complex workflows: Overcomplicated workflows were created to manage the document lifecycle. Problems were hard to identify and often even harder to resolve.
• Usability issues: The system was not intuitive and required significant training and trial and error for users to navigate effectively.
• Publishing errors: The system sometimes failed to publish PDFs to the viewing platform, meaning the most up-to-date drawing was not always available, and users had no way of knowing if they were working from outdated versions.
• Inefficient transmittals: Creating transmittals was a time-consuming process requiring multiple steps. Due to file size limitations, documents often had to be sent separately using another tool, complicating workflows and delaying approvals.

These concerns became more apparent with ongoing expansion projects and a growing need for efficient document management. To resolve the issues, Connacher sought a solution that would streamline operations and improve collaboration across teams.

 

The Solution

Connacher had an established relationship with Kinsmen Group, a trusted solutions provider, which recommended Accruent Meridian, an EDMS, as the ideal solution. Meridian met the company’s essential requirements while also offering valuable additional features. Specifically, Meridian offered: 
Cloud-based software: Secure, cloud-based storage, reducing reliance on internal IT support and removing the limitations of on-premise infrastructure. 

• Robust integrations: Seamless integration with Maximo and other critical programs, allowing engineers to access crucial documentation directly within their workflows, improving operational efficiency.
• Advanced search: Advanced search capabilities made it easy to locate documents by number, tags, or keywords, significantly streamlining processes.
• Compliance capabilities: Robust compliance and version control, enabling engineers to track document changes and maintain regulatory standards through clear versioning and approval workflows. 

Additionally, a well-planned migration strategy ensured minimal disruption, preserving the structure of around 37,000 existing documents while maintaining business continuity.

The Results

The implementation of Accruent Meridian led to significant improvements to Connacher Oil and Gas Limited’s document management and overall operational efficiency. Using Meridian, engineers can now instantly access documents from any location, reducing downtime and enabling faster decision-making. Compliance processes have also been streamlined with clear version tracking for regulatory-controlled documentation, making audits more efficient. Additionally, teams across departments can collaborate on shared documents without duplication or confusion, improving overall workflow. 

Meridian’s intuitive interface also decreased training time, allowing new users to adapt quickly without the need for extensive onboarding. The transition from its old system was carefully managed to minimize disruption, with multiple training sessions and ongoing support ensuring a seamless experience for end users. 
With Meridian fully implemented, Connacher is exploring further enhancements, including deeper integration with Historian to bring real-time instrumentation data into engineering workflows. The company is also working to optimize vendor document management to ensure external partners adhere to naming and filing standards. 

I find Meridian easy to use and intuitive [..] Searching in Meridian is excellent. If I don’t know the document number, there are far better filters. Additionally searching the document itself for a specific tag is great as some drawings can have a lot going on so the tag can be difficult to find.”
– Danielle Heinz, Junior Process Engineer, EIT, Connacher Oil