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Serica Energy Case Study: Implementing SafeEx Cloud for Ex Maintenance

Serica Energy implemented SafeEx Cloud to support Ex maintenance activities across its offshore assets, in collaboration with its IT-managed service provider, Sword.

This case study outlines the implementation approach, system integration, and the observed impact on inspection workflows, data quality, and maintenance reporting following the transition to a structured digital platform utilising SafeEx Cloud.

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Client name

Sercia Energy

Industry

Oil & Gas

Timeline

5 Months

Summary

Serica Energy introduced SafeEx Cloud as part of its approach to managing Ex maintenance and inspection activities in an offshore operating environment. Working together with Sword, SafeEx Cloud was implemented and integrated with existing engineering systems to support digital data capture, inspection planning, and reporting. Following implementation, improvements were observed in data alignment, reporting efficiency, and overall visibility of Ex maintenance activities.

About

Serica Energy is a North Sea oil and gas production operator, founded in 2004 and becoming an operator in 2018. The company focuses on investing in existing assets to prolong production life while pursuing acquisition opportunities. In this case study, Serica Energy is the operator where SafeEx Cloud was implemented to support Ex maintenance operations.

SafeEx products used
SafeEx Cloud
SafeEx RFID Tags

The Results

Up to
0 %

Unplanned downtime during the implementation and integration of SafeEx Cloud.

...
0

SafeEx RFID Tags synchronised with Serica Energy’s engineering systems as part of the integrated Ex maintenance setup.

...

Paperless

Elimination of pen-and-paper-based Ex inspections and reporting through digital data capture in the field.

Overview

Serica Energy was founded in 2004, becoming a North Sea oil and gas production operator in 2018, and is now one of the top 10 producing companies in the UK. Their strategy is focused on investing in existing assets to prolong production life while pursuing further acquisition opportunities.

This case study was conducted in collaboration with Sword, Serica’s IT-managed service provider leading them to reach their strategic objectives. Sword selected SafeEx Cloud as the solution to optimise Ex maintenance for Serica. This case study is written based on Sword’s answers to the SafeEx questionnaires sent after completing the implementation process.

What is SafeEx Cloud?

SafeEx Cloud is an inspection and maintenance management system that simplifies maintenance routines’ complexities by streamlining maintenance operations. It provides powerful tools to automate maintenance tasks and create detailed reports that show the maintenance program’s performance.

SafeEx Cloud allows users to track and monitor maintenance activities and schedule preventative maintenance. Additionally, the software can be integrated with existing enterprise systems, providing users with a single source of truth for all maintenance-related data.

The Solution

SafeEx Cloud was implemented to address the challenges in data capturing, reviewing inspection, data accuracy and data synchronicity across the digital landscape. The goal is to complete inspections of all Ex equipment over a three-year timeframe. To make sure that core Ex inspections are being done regularly while also opportune inspections as part of routine maintenance activities, a two-pronged approach was decided upon. Instead of a separate campaign to put RFID tags on all the Ex equipment, it was decided to do this when the inspections were taking place.
SafeEx’s comprehensive software solution would allow inspections to be planned and scheduled based on the Ex equipment register, with inspectors assigned to complete high-quality guided inspections. SafeEx Cloud software would also enable Serica inspectors to capture and record data in the field, avoiding data loss and transcription errors while reducing the overall work burden.
To fully take advantage of the digital ecosystem, SafeEx Cloud was integrated into other engineering databases to build data synchronicity across the digital landscape, helping to reduce effort while simultaneously maintaining a high standard of data quality and integrity.

We have found the solution to be reliable, intuitive and extremely effective, especially since it works offline as many areas do not have Wi-Fi connectivity.

- Sword Team

The implementation process

IT and IM collaborated on technical implementation, integrated SafeEx with the Engineering database, and deployed new mobile devices for field inspection. A steering group, including an engineering focal point, oversaw business communication and change management.

SafeEx Ex technician in orange protective clothing holding a mobile device while working outdoors at an industrial facility.

From the time the software solution, SafeEx Cloud, was selected, the implementation process was completed in five months. During the onboarding phase, a SafeEx Cloud specialist closely worked with the Sword team to ensure a smooth implementation process.

Following the pandemic that occurred during the transition period, Serica was operating with a reduced POB (Personnel On Board) and, therefore, could not transport SafeEx specialists to the offshore facility to provide training. Alternatively, a Telecoms Engineer attended the onshore face-to-face training to support the offshore inspectors and a train-the-trainer approach for one of the Instrument Technicians.

The overall transition process was considered smooth and successful despite some hurdles. During the transition period, some challenges were faced around equipment approvals, tracking equipment that could not be inspected, and reporting constraints that were directly solved through improved collaboration among teams involved in the transition process.

Having a SafeEx Cloud specialist with a great understanding of the Ex regulatory requirements brought us huge value. We were advised throughout the process from experience and lessons learned in other deployments.

- Sword Team

The implementation process

With the SafeEx team, SWORD assigned an IT Business Analyst, Integration Specialist and Information Management Analyst to manage the integration process. A bespoke application was created for dashboards to communicate effectively with the SafeEx REST API to extract the relevant information for Power BI. This application performs the task of retrieving and storing the data in an internal database to make it more accessible and easier to utilise.

SWORD’s integration team discovered that access to a higher-layer or ‘abstracted’ data model would be more beneficial. Understanding the schema of the SafeEx database and how trigger points would work for both integrations was challenging. It required knowledge of individual tables in SafeEx and how to join them together. SWORD’s integration team discovered that access to a higher-layer or ‘abstracted’ data model would be more beneficial. However, The REST API was straightforward, and the SafeEx team rapidly filled the gaps as soon as they were identified.

After integration, SWORD Engineering systems send data for c. 26,000 engineering tags to SafeEx on a weekly basis and transfer inspection data from SafeEx on a daily basis which is downloaded for Power BI KPI reporting.

They clearly understood SWORD’s challenges and needs to meet our expectations and provide the best outcome.

- Sword Team

The Results and Benefits

No unplanned downtime occurred during the implementation and integration of SafeEx Cloud. All updates were quickly and efficiently executed. Managing the implementation only required a few people, confirming a compromise-free change implementation.
Transitioning to digitalised solution eliminated the pen-and-paper-based method and provided Serica with better visibility and control across Ex inspections. SafeEx Cloud enhanced the team’s insight into the equipment faults and improved the ability to address the issues, ensuring timely actions.
Capturing and recording data on the field and synchronising it with other engineering platforms enhanced Serica’s maintenance processes and data alignment. Integrating SafeEx Cloud with other digital platforms allowed the digital ecosystem to operate as one and at its full potential.
Data quality and completeness have greatly improved, providing greater confidence in data accuracy and ensuring an efficient, effective and safe operation. Tailored checklist selection information that validates and ensures minimal free text or typing, removing the possibility of error.
Capturing and recording data on-field with SafeEx Cloud provided a digital trail of all maintenance activities, allowing easy tracking and monitoring of all efforts. Extracting high-integrity reports to demonstrate compliance with the regulator was made more effortless.
Enhanced processes have reduced the workload for the maintenance team. All Ex equipment has been mapped on the layout diagrams, making it easy to locate equipment for inspection. Serica ensured that the inspection and maintenance procedures were carried out correctly and compliant with the standards.

Sword's overall feedback

All our objectives were met. We have found the solution reliable, intuitive and extremely effective, especially since it works offline, as many areas do not have Wi-Fi connectivity. Members of the SafeEx team are always available and helpful and respond promptly to queries. They are very open to discussing improvements, often with rapid turnarounds. Moving forward with SafeEx, we expect continual enhancements, robustness and strong quality control to continue to deliver an excellent mobile app and web software system.

- Sword Team

Check out more customer stories
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Serica Energy Ex Maintenance

Implementation of SafeEx Cloud and RFID tagging to support Ex maintenance, system integration, and digital inspection workflows across offshore assets.

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February 5, 2026

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