PTC > Case Studies > National Oilwell Varco uses PTC University’s eLearning and assessment solutions to improve design and accountability

National Oilwell Varco uses PTC University’s eLearning and assessment solutions to improve design and accountability

Company Size

1,000+

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

PTC Creo
PTC Windchill
PTC University Precision LMS
PTC University Pro/FICIENCY
PTC Mathcad

Tech Stack

eLearning
Competency Management System
ModelCHECK
Expert Model Analysis

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Digital Expertise
Innovation Output
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Asset Management Systems (EAM)
Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Oil & Gas

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Manufacturing System Automation
Predictive Maintenance

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
Training

About The Customer

National Oilwell Varco (NOV) is a worldwide leader in oilfield products and services, based in Houston, Texas. Established in 1841, the company has a long history of providing innovative solutions to the oil and gas industry. NOV's Pressure Control Group (PCG) designs products that improve drilling safety by preventing oil well blowouts and controlling wells during drilling operations. The company has been using PTC's products for over 20 years, with PTC Creo being the primary design tool for the PCG for more than a decade. NOV aims to technically dominate its industry and produce robust and reliable products that are designed right the first time.

The Challenge

National Oilwell Varco's Pressure Control Group (PCG) was facing challenges in training and assessing its engineers to ensure they design quality products, meet regulatory requirements, and follow strict internal guidelines. The traditional industry practice of pairing new hires with mentors was proving inadequate due to the mentors' own project commitments. The lack of formalized training and accountability led to significant rework, slowing the design process and potentially impacting product quality. The company needed a paradigm shift in its training approach to improve engineering quality and accountability. Additionally, the company was struggling to deliver on a tremendous backlog of business due to substantial business growth over the past several years.

The Solution

NOV instituted a global initiative, the NOV Competency Management System (CMS), to train engineers in design best practices and demonstrate their competence. PTC University played an integral role in the PCG’s CMS, providing management and assessment tools to assist their efforts to train employees and evaluate their skills. The CMS used PTC’s eLearning courses to develop a series of learning paths tailored to the needs of different roles. The CMS also used 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. The CMS tailors PTC training and assessments to three different types of individuals: new hires right out of college, experienced new hires, and existing staff.

Operational Impact

Improvements in new hires’ understanding of PTC Creo functionality.
New engineers are prepared to design better products more quickly.
Creation of a positive environment so new engineers feel confident that they can do the job the way their supervisors want them to.
Removal of the trial and error process which ultimately removes the need for rework and results in better products.
Existing employees are assessed for their skill levels and assigned only the training they need, minimizing their time away from the job.

Quantitative Benefit

Reduction in 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.