COVID-19 surveillance in Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda: strengths, weaknesses and key Lessons.

INTRODUCTION: As part of efforts to rapidly identify and care for individuals with COVID-19, trace and quarantine contacts, and monitor disease trends over time, most African countries implemented interventions to strengthen their existing disease surveillance systems. This research describes the strengths, weaknesses and lessons learnt from the COVID-19 surveillance strategies implemented in four African countries to inform the enhancement of surveillance systems for future epidemics on the continent. METHODS: The four countries namely the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda, were selected based on their variability in COVID-19 response and representation of Francophone and Anglophone countries. A mixed-methods observational study was conducted including desk review and key informant interviews, to document best practices, gaps, and innovations in surveillance at the national, sub-national, health facilities, and community levels, and these learnings were synthesized across the countries. RESULTS: Surveillance approaches across countries included - case investigation, contact tracing, community-based, laboratory-based sentinel, serological, telephone hotlines, and genomic sequencing surveillance. As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, the health systems moved from aggressive testing and contact tracing to detect virus and triage individual contacts into quarantine and confirmed cases, isolation and clinical care. Surveillance, including case definitions, changed from contact tracing of all contacts of confirmed cases to only symptomatic contacts and travelers. All countries reported inadequate staffing, staff capacity gaps and lack of full integration of data sources. All four countries under study improved data management and surveillance capacity by training health workers and increasing resources for laboratories, but the disease burden was under-detected. Decentralizing surveillance to enable swifter implementation of targeted public health measures at the subnational level was a challenge. There were also gaps in genomic and postmortem surveillance including community level sero-prevalence studies, as well as digital technologies to provide more timely and accurate surveillance data. CONCLUSION: All the four countries demonstrated a prompt public health surveillance response and adopted similar approaches to surveillance with some adaptations as the pandemic progresses. There is need for investments to enhance surveillance approaches and systems including decentralizing surveillance to the subnational and community levels, strengthening capabilities for genomic surveillance and use of digital technologies, among others. Investing in health worker capacity, ensuring data quality and availability and improving ability to transmit surveillance data between and across multiple levels of the health care system is also critical. Countries need to take immediate action in strengthening their surveillance systems to better prepare for the next major disease outbreak and pandemic.

Successful Drilling of the Deepest and Hottest HPHT Carbonate Well in Offshore Malaysia, its Lesson Learnt and Way Forward

HPHT wells are typically associated with high complexity, technically challenging, long duration, high risk and high NPT as many things could go wrong especially when any of the critical nitty- gritty details are overlooked. The complexity is amplified with high risk of losses in carbonate reservoir with high level of contaminants compounded by the requirement of high mud weight above 17 ppg during monsoon season in an offshore environment. The above sums up the challenges an operator had to manage in a groundbreaking HPHT carbonate appraisal well which had successfully pushed the historical envelope of such well category in Central Luconia area, off the coast of Sarawak where one of the new records of the deepest and hottest carbonate HPHT well had been created. This well took almost 4 months to drill with production testing carried out in a safe and efficient manner whereby more than 4000m of vertical interval was covered by 6 hole sections. With the seamless support from host authority, JV partners and all contractors, the well was successfully delivered within the planned duration and cost, despite the extreme challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper will share the experience of the entire cycle from pre job engineering/planning, execution, key lesson learnt and optimization plan for future exploitations which includes an appraisal well and followed by more than a dozen of development wells. Copyright © 2023, International Petroleum Technology Conference.

Operations Sustainability During COVID-19 Pandemic

The paper aims to describe the experiences, challenges faced, and lessons learnt on how The Company Well Services division is managing the risks associate to COVID-19. The global COVID-19 pandemic spread in late 2019 and turned into one of the biggest challenges facing all industries including the oil and gas industry- in decades. The most challenging aspect of COVID-19 is its contagion rate, and its ability to spread from both non-symptomatic and symptomatic people to others who are in close contact through respiratory droplets, by direct contact with infected persons, or by contact with contaminated objects and surfaces. Today, we must consider this new reality into business continuity planning and take all necessary precautions to mitigate its spread within the organization. As the health and safety of the employees and contractors is paramount to the Company and based on the Company commitment to provide better service quality to its clients, a thorough emergency response system that includes precaution measures to help fighting against COVID-19 and its potential to negatively impact the business was created. Furthermore, The Company COVID-19 Management Standard set the minimum requirements, to manage the risks associate to the COVID-19. A Crisis Management Team was formed to oversee the implementation of COVID-19 decisions and raise awareness within the Company. All field personnel were required to comply to COVID-19 precautions during operations. With the implementation of new procedures, we were able to maintain the lowest confirmed case numbers among all the companies in our operational sector. Though it was challenging at the beginning for employees to comply, the new requirements have become the normal standard today. These new measures focus on the importance of employee health and safety when working through COVID-19 pandemic and has helped to educate people on the importance of following health and safety procedures as way of life for everyone while maintaining the Company Operational Sustainability. Copyright © 2022, International Petroleum Technology Conference.

Halliburton Saudi Arabia Crisis Management and Lessons Learn During COVID-19 Pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

During the first quarter of 2020, the world encountered a crucial and unprecedented health crisis. The global transmission of COVID-19 poses a significant challenging situation for Oil and Gas industry, particularly in the absence of standardized procedures and recognized methods. Like many other countries worldwide, Saudi Arabia implemented the lockdown for utmost public and private services and controlled population movement through curfew. With the execution of these tight mitigation requirements, Halliburton Saudi Arabia has been able to maintain business continuity by looking at the basic approach of health, safety, and environmental (HSE) processes through crisis management decision making and utilizing digital solutions. The purpose of this paper is to showcase how Halliburton Saudi Arabia developed sustainable adjustable process and methods that reduced exposure and the pandemic-related potential risks associated with working in offices, rig sites, workshops, and laboratories while maintaining business continuity in operation, manufacturing, and technology. Halliburton Saudi Arabia preformed risk analysis, tracking systems, exposure modification methodologies, communication strategies and management decisions that helped the company overcome challenges during the pandemic. The implementation of risk assessments, adaptable safety procedures and utilizing more than 5 digital platforms, served Halliburton employees and its work force throughout 2021 and into 2032. In this paper, we share lessons learned during the pandemic, how we overcame the unprecedented health crisis and how we continue to deal with the pandemic impact. Copyright © 2022, International Petroleum Technology Conference.

Challenges and Lessons Learnt Operating During Covid 19 Pandemic in Remote Location: A Success Story of Mauritania Deepwater Abandonment and Decommissioning Campaign

In March 2020, upon declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, operator was faced with difficulty of continuing operation as the Host Country activated border lockdown. The operator managed to continue operations for remaining well and demobilized drillship and personnel safely. Operator has successfully retrieved three (3) subsea Xmas Trees, P&A three (3) wells and intervened six (6) other wells for tubing cutting before operations was suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic. Operator used the suspension phase to devise a methodology to resume operation in the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation. The challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the steps taken for resumption are highlighted in this paper. It is expected that this paper will serve as guidance in highlighting challenges and efforts taken to resume operation in the event of unforeseen suspension due to any reasons. It is also hoped that the details shared in this paper can assist other Operators in better operation planning for remote locations. Copyright © 2022, Offshore Technology Conference.

Online Learning in the post-pandemic era: Some Lessons Learnt from the Covid19 Pandemic Terms

In this paper we present some ideas of what we consider a model for online Engineering courses in the post pandemic era should include. As universities worldwide returned to the campuses after two long years of online teaching in some countries, some lessons or good practices could be taken for designing new models for online teaching in the coming years. Online education has shown its value during the pandemic terms and students and universities are now moving on new teaching models that could benefit from online education. In this work we present some perceptions of what a group of students in a Mexican private university think of their overall online experience during the pandemic terms and some ideas or suggestions that are given based on their own experience for universities to consider when designing new teaching models that include online education. © 2022 Owner/Author.

Student innovation capability in virtual team projects: lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic era

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine students' innovation capability in virtual team projects from the COVID-19 pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers conducted an empirical study and the data were collected from a total of 308 participants engaging in virtual team projects. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the relationship of the conceptual framework. Findings: The findings showed that virtual team culture positively influenced propensity to innovate. Also, knowledge management and communication influenced propensity to innovate through the mediation of support for innovation. Practical implications: Developing a strategy for propensity to innovate in any organization demands that project team members should be able to seamlessly communicate. Developing knowledge management, communication and support for innovation strategy in a virtual team may prepare an organization for permanently different post-pandemic events and the future turbulent business environment. Originality/value: This study highlights innovation capability for the propensity to innovate, a topic that is not widely researched, especially in the context of virtual teams. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Holistic Performance Review of Through-Tubing Sand Screen as Remedial Sand Control: Best Practices and Lesson Learnt from Past Installations in Offshore East Malaysia Oil Fields

Low oil prices, coupled with operational challenges in offshore environment due to COVID-19 restrictions, have driven oil and gas operators to implement low-cost technological solutions to optimize fields' production. For mature oil fields in offshore East Malaysia, sand production has become one of the onerous challenges that requires this approach. Sand production is known to adversely affect the well deliverability and it also contributes to safety concerns due to surface flowline leak and equipment failure. Hence, it is of upmost importance for operators to address the sand production downhole. To achieve this, through-tubing sand screens (TTSS) installation is opted due to its ease of installation and low-cost slickline operation. Although there have been many TTSS installations to date, there is still limited understanding of the factors that affect TTSS lifespan, and this has led to frequent TTSS changeout. Based on the operator's experience, TTSS lifespan can vary significantly across different wells ranging from just a few days to years of production. To improve the understanding of TTSS performance with the aim to increase TTSS longevity, a comprehensive study on potential contributing factors has been conducted by analyzing the past TTSS installations. Over the years, there were more than 75 TTSS installations performed in oil fields offshore East Malaysia. Lookback analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of TTSS as remedial downhole sand control and investigate the factors affecting TTSS performance such as TTSS type, well production rates, TTSS deployment method, installation depth relative to perforation interval and well interruption frequency. Several criteria identified as the key performance indicators have been investigated to evaluate the performance of each TTSS installation, including the well flowing parameters, production uptime and sand production trend. Thorough study across different TTSS installations has concluded that TTSS lifespan varies according to well properties and well operating parameters. This paper presents best practices and lessons learnt from past installations to predict and improve the mean time between failures (MTBF) for TTSS. Case studies for several wells have been scrutinized to highlight the learnings for further enhancement of TTSS lifespan. Additionally, recommendations for further research and development of erosion resistant TTSS technology are also discussed. Copyright © 2022, Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Moving a Project-Based Information Systems Development (ISD) Capstone Module Online: Lessons Learnt

Project-based capstone modules are challenging in a face-to-face environment and even more so when trying to move them online. In an information systems development (ISD) capstone module at a South African university, students are required to work in teams and engage with their real-life clients whilst consulting with their lecturers and completing several deliverables throughout the year. This paper reports on a case where the teaching of this project-based module was moved online due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. The contribution lies in the lessons learnt and insights derived during this time. Students were still able to continue to deliver high quality work that enabled them to meet the learning outcomes of the module. With the IT industry in the post COVID era moving online, working remotely or in a hybrid fashion, the online PBL experience prepared students for the ‘new’ work life which makes them ‘industry ready’. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

epiDAMIK 5.0: The 5th International Workshop on Epidemiology meets Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery

Similar to previous iterations, the epiDAMIK@KDD workshop is a forum to promote data driven approaches in epidemiology and public health research. Even after the devastating impact of COVID-19 pandemic, data driven approaches are not as widely studied in epidemiology, as they are in other spaces. We aim to promote and raise the profile of the emerging research area of data-driven and computational epidemiology, and create a venue for presenting state-of-the-art and in-progress results-in particular, results that would otherwise be difficult to present at a major data mining conference, including lessons learnt in the 'trenches'. The current COVID-19 pandemic has only showcased the urgency and importance of this area. Our target audience consists of data mining and machine learning researchers from both academia and industry who are interested in epidemiological and public-health applications of their work, and practitioners from the areas of mathematical epidemiology and public health. Homepage: https://epidamik.github.io/. © 2022 Owner/Author.

Wireless and Mobile Security Research and Teaching in the Post-Pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of our lives at a global scale. This includes the disruption of the research and teaching we perform within the security and privacy community. As the pandemic is weaning off, the lessons learnt during the pandemic can be very valuable in the future, both for navigating pandemic-like situations, and for accommodating greater inclination towards remote work and education. In this panel, international experts with various professional backgrounds and different points of view will discuss the impact they faced over the last two years, such as halting (or starting) specific research problems due to pandemic-related restrictions, unique challenges in deploying new experiments and how they overcame them, and finding novel ways to facilitate social events like conferences and hackathons. © 2022 Owner/Author.

Successful Project Completion During the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Lesson Learnt

COVID-19 pandemic has taught us how to continue with the day-to-day activities interacting and working from remote locations. In this paper, we have highlighted the positive approach necessary to complete a project with success under this constraint by interacting regularly with the relevant stakeholders keeping focus on the final project deliverables. The salient points with supporting references are chalked out which might be helpful for others to follow if faced with stressful situations that COVID-19 pandemic taught us. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Challenges and Lessons Learnt on Waste Management and Disposal from Mauritania Deepwater Abandonment and Decommissioning Campaign

Abandonment and decommissioning activities of oil and gas assets had been on the increasing trend. As an activity of minimal to no economic value return, the investment into Abandonment and Decommissioning (A&D) should be properly strategized to ensure all objectives are met safely within available time and resources. This paper will discuss Operator's strategy in planning and handling waste from A&D activities of fifteen (15) deepwater subsea wells in Mauritania, West Africa. The approach of this A&D project at a remote location was done in two separate campaign instead of a single campaign based on technical and commercial evaluations performed by Operator. Subsea structures, Christmas trees, tubulars and others are expected to be retrieved and disposed according to local and international standard. In general, Operator are expecting two (2) type of waste which are nonhazardous waste and hazardous waste due to hydrocarbon or naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) contamination. Due to the limitation of capable hazardous waste handling and disposal in country, Operator decided to export waste to identified facilities outside of country at the end of the project via sea-freight. Operator appointed one contractor to provide a full-service related to the waste management and disposal that covers field services and onshore services that includes radiological monitoring to identify NORM waste, labelling, packaging at offshore, onshore storage, transportation and logistics that include Trans-Frontier Shipment (TFS). The strategy of appointing one contractor for full service of waste management and disposal has promoted a single - point accountability to the contractor and this has enabled the objective been delivered effectively. COVID-19 pandemic posed a great challenge on cross-border logistic planning due to additional measure been imposed by receiving country. Furthermore, the new development of United Kingdom exiting European Union (BREXIT) also posed some level of uncertainty to the contractor to obtain relevant approvals for waste export. To reduce the amount of waste to be export, Operator continuously looking for and successfully found a local recycling facility that able to handle the non-hazardous waste while meeting local regulation, Operator's and industrial standard. All outlined strategy was proven to be effective for waste management in remote location, uncertainty on cross-border waste export challenge, as well as capitalizing on the limited local resources available. Copyright © 2021, Society of Petroleum Engineers

Student innovation capability in virtual team projects: lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic era

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine students’ innovation capability in virtual team projects from the COVID-19 pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers conducted an empirical study and the data were collected from a total of 308 participants engaging in virtual team projects. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the relationship of the conceptual framework. Findings: The findings showed that virtual team culture positively influenced propensity to innovate. Also, knowledge management and communication influenced propensity to innovate through the mediation of support for innovation. Practical implications: Developing a strategy for propensity to innovate in any organization demands that project team members should be able to seamlessly communicate. Developing knowledge management, communication and support for innovation strategy in a virtual team may prepare an organization for permanently different post-pandemic events and the future turbulent business environment. Originality/value: This study highlights innovation capability for the propensity to innovate, a topic that is not widely researched, especially in the context of virtual teams. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

A Hybrid and Flexible Model for Structural Engineering Courses: Lessons Learnt During the Covid-19 Global Pandemic

This work presents the latest results on how to successfully apply a hybrid and flexible model for teaching Engineering Courses, particularly Structural Mechanics courses to students from Architecture and Civil Engineering programs during emergency conditions such as those due to the Covid19 Pandemic. This model has been used for the last few years with tremendous success in the performance of the students and their overall satisfaction as it has been shown in [1]. For the pandemic conditions, the synchronous sessions were changed from the classroom on campus to the online classroom with videoconferencing. Some new types of activities were included for online teaching such as video documentaries and also some modifications were made to the standard synchronous sessions, which are discussed in this work. A total of 200 students have taken the courses that use this model during the spring term, summer term and fall term of 2020. The students come from different cities across Mexico and are located in three different time zones. These students answered a survey that include several aspects of the online experience: problems faced by students when connecting online, type of connections available at their homes, preferred type of sessions, courses that are better suited for online teaching and their personal experience with the course, among others. This paper shows the results of the analysis of the questions answered by the students and some important graphs are included. Some recommendations are also given that future implementations of hybrid and flexible (HyFlex) models can take into account for a better overall experience of both, students and professors in Structural Engineering courses. This model can also be applied for the new normality where some toggle terms are expected, that is, some weeks on campus and some weeks with online teaching as new covid19 cases are detected in each region. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

Investigative and probabilistic perspective of the accidental release of styrene: a case study in Vizag, India

In addition to revealing the cracks in global health care, emergency preparedness, and response systems, COVID-19 also exposed the lack of capacity to run chemical plants safely under such conditions. On 7th May 2020, self-polymerization runaway reaction from an atmospheric storage tank in a polymer facility triggered the release of styrene to the atmosphere, resulting in 12 fatalities and hospitalization of more than 1000 individuals. A similar incident had happened 35 years back at Bhopal involving the release of methyl isocyanate resulting in one of the deadliest process safety incidents to date. Therefore, it is very important to understand the causal factors so that such high-risk incidents can be prevented in future. This paper presents a comprehensive investigative study of styrene gas leak at Vizag with special emphasis on probabilistic risk analysis of the loss of containment. Hazard perception study was performed to understand the possible hazardous scenarios in bulk styrene storage facilities for preventing such catastrophic recurrences. Energy barrier analysis was performed to study the inadequacy of pro-active and reactive barriers with respect to the accident case study. The analysis also considers the escalation factors resulting from extremities of COVID-19 lockdown. The self-polymerization reaction that resulted in toxic styrene dispersion was preventable owing to the advancements in safety engineering and loss prevention since Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984). Based on the investigative analysis, it can be pointed out that this accident would have occurred even in the absence of COVID-19 restrictions, mainly due to negligence and complacency shown towards safety by the company's management. © 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers