Systems Engineering
Beyond NASA
Systems Engineering Applications in Houston Energy
Industries
Goal
 Translate NASA Systems Engineering into terms
understandable in the Houston Energy Industry
 Broaden perspective of Systems Engineering beyond
NASA
 Facilitate long term build up of NASA Systems
Engineering by understanding terms and identifying the
right resources to bring on board
About Philip
 12 years of engineering projects at NASA
 6 years as a PE/PM for ISS CHeCS health/medical
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hardware with Wyle Labs
6 years SE&I for Constellation EVA with ESCG
 Trade studies/analyses, requirements, verifications
4 months unemployment
Interviewed and hired on as a Cost Estimator for
Centurion Pipeline subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum
Actually working PMO project management process
improvement
Disclaimer
 “Expertise” comes from career transition efforts and 3
months industry experience
Technical Overview
Systems of Interest
Midstream
Downstream
Upstream
Upstream
 Involved in removing oil from the ground/ocean
 Drilling, extracting
 Projects include:
 Product/Technology Development
 Horizontal Directional Drilling
 Hydraulic Fracturing “Fracking”
 “Christmas Trees”
 Pumps, valves, control systems
 Building new systems for oil production
 “Capital Projects”
 Upgrade/improvement/maintenance of existing facilities
 “Operations Projects”
 Houston companies
 FMC Technologies, Halliburton, Technip, Occidental, Shell,
Chevron, etc.
Midstream
 Moving oil/gas from drilling sites to production/refineries
 Pipeline companies
 Trucking/train transport
 Less engineering, more transport/logistics
 Projects:
 Less technical, more land and legal – broader big picture to
integrate the system
 Build up of new facilities/capabilities – “Capital”
 Improvement of pipeline infrastructure – “Operations”
 Houston companies:
 Centurion Pipeline, Kinder Morgan, Spectra Energy, Plains All
American, Magellan
Downstream
 Chemical and petroleum refining
 Projects include:
 High-pressure “turn-around” or “shut down” projects
 Time is money, project must be very well understood and
choreographed
 Development of modular refinery equipment - Ventech
 Capital and operational projects
 Typically the Houston ship channel refineries in
Pasadena, Texas City, etc.
 Lyondell Bassell, Dow Chemical, Valero, Marathon
Organizational Overview
Project Life Cycle
NASA/GOV’T
Start Project
CONTRACTOR
NASA AEROSPACE
Feasibility and
Scope
OWNER/OPERA
TOR
Requirements
Design
Fabrication
Start Project
Feasibility,
Scope, and Cost
Estimating
OIL/GAS/CHEMICAL
Scope, Requirements,
Design
Verification and
Acceptance
EPC,
HARDWARE/SERVICE
PROVIDER
Construction
Commission and
Handover to
Operations
Owner Operator
 Similar to NASA-gov’t role as “customer” to contactor
work force
 Big names like Exxon, BP, Chevron, Shell, etc.
 Provides the business case/rationale for a project
 Systems Engineering roles:
 Develop business case into a technical project scope
 Assess feasibility and trade-offs of project
 Part of “FEED” – Front End Engineering Development
EPC’s
 Engineering, Procurement, and Construction
 Engineering support contractors
 Utilized in all sectors of oil/gas/chemical
 Picks up at Project Start
 Continued FEED effort of requirements/design
development
 Oversight of construction through commissioning
 Typically Project Manager/Project Engineer roles
 Employers: S&B Engineering, Jacobs, WorleyParsons, Bechtel, Mustang
Products/Service Providers
 They may follow their own product development life
cycle
 May also integrate with life cycle of EPC and/or
Owner/Operator
 Companies like FMC Technologies, Halliburton,
Ventech, GE
Roles/Responsibilities
Terminology Difference
 NASA Systems Engineering – Cradle to Grave technical
project development life cycle
 Systems Engineer in oil/gas – the engineer who is a
specialist in a certain type of petroleum production system
 Typically an 15-20 year engineer
 Not typical for a NASA systems engr to transition into this role
 FEED – Front-end engineering development
 The conceptual, requirements, and early design phase of a
project
 Common terminology in oil/gas/chemical
Project Engineer
 NASA systems engineer = project engineer
 Technical leadership/coordination of a project
 5-15 years engineering experience
 Also known as:
 Reservoir engineer – upstream drilling projects
 Improvement engineer – downstream facility upgrade
projects
 Facility engineer – treats a facility as a project, slightly
different than NASA facility engineer
Project Manager
 NASA systems engineering +
cost/schedule/administrative duties
 Typically more experienced 10-20 year engineers
 Utilized in all sectors
 Some very technical, others more managerial
 Also called:
 Product Managers
 Project Coordinators – often a career predecessor to
becoming a PM
Safety, Environment,
and Health
 A subset of NASA-systems engineering, but a HUGE
deal in oil/gas
 Needs a grasp of the big picture of a project and how it
impacts safety, environment, and health
 Often a big enough task to warrant a dedicated
engineering team to take on these tasks
 Technical, diplomatic, and coordination-oriented
Project Controls
 The business end of Systems Engineering
 Historically a job for “business majors” but some places
are looking for more technical/systems acumen to be
able to do “controls” related tasks
 Tend to be hands-on, going out to facilities/job sites to
interface with team members
 Common Job Titles:
 Project Scheduler
 Cost Estimator
 Cost Engineer
Continuing Education
 Project Management Institute (PMI): Project
Management Professional (PMP) certification is HUGE!
 Very similar in nature to CSEP
 Six Sigma green/black belt also very marketable
Wrap Up
 Technical
 Systems Engineering in Oil/Gas projects
 Product/technology development
 Well-orchestrated construction
 Business
 Owner Operator vs EPC
 Different phases of SE&I life cycle
 Similar dynamic to JSC community
 Roles/responsibilities
 Actual job titles with SE&I applications
Wrap-Up
 NASA systems engineering from an outside
perspective
 An opportunity to connect dots between NASA and
industry
Questions?