Notes, Collaboration Key to Remote Diagnostic Services

Founded in 1983 and based in Elkridge, Maryland, Tidewater Environmental Inc. is an environmental support service provider focused on the environmental, construction, and facilities industries. Devin Murdock, driller and alternate site safety and health officer, has been working for the company for 18 years and with the Geoprobe^® Kansas Service Center (KSSC) team for almost as long.

“I was working as a helper, alongside the lead driller, on a project during the summer of 2009,” Murdock said. “I don’t recall all the specifics, but I clearly remember being the new guy and figuring out how to diagnose problems in the field with the KSSC. We were ultimately able to get the rig operating and from that day forward, I’ve always called Geoprobe^® service whenever I have a question or confronted with an issue.”

Most of Murdock’s work focuses on environmental drilling projects, such as soil and groundwater sampling, site remediation, and risk assessment/management. His fleet is exclusively Geoprobe^® machines, but his most-used rig — a 7822DT — ran into a major problem. During a solenoid repair, he removed the hood for better access and rewired the gauges.

“While disconnecting the wiring, a spacer to protect the wire and keep it from touching the gauge accidentally fell off,” Murdock said. “We fixed the original problem, and it worked for a little bit. But then we ran into an electrical problem causing the MC module fuse to blow every time you started the rig.”

Accessible Remote Diagnostic Services Team

Murdock knew who to turn to for help: the Kansas Service Center. He had several phone calls with Bryan Lorenson, KSSC rig specialist, for remote diagnostic services.

“The situation was stressful, because I could not figure it out. The worst-case scenario would have been replacing the entire wiring harness throughout the machine, a costly repair,” Murdock said. “But the team was very helpful and eager to help me.”

Aside from expertise, Lorenson’s ongoing communication and support was appreciated by Murdock.

“Bryan’s sense of humor definitely lightened up the situation and he talked me off a ledge a few times,” Murdock said. “When he couldn’t sit with me, he would tell me a few things to try out and say, ‘Take a break, come back in 30 minutes’. On a few occasions, Bryan reached out to follow up before I even had a chance to call him.”

Rig Service Note Logs

What ended up saving the day was reviewing the maintenance logs housed in Centerpoint for Tidewater’s 7822DT. Reviewing all the service done to the rig lead to the remote diagnostic services breakthrough.

“Roman [Burrows, KSSC manager] figured out that a module fuse also had a connection that was on the gauge, and he remembered I called about rewiring the gauge. A light bulb went off, and 10 minutes later, we diagnosed the problem, and it was solved,” Murdock said.

Caring, Collaborative Service Team

The rig has since been running with no issues. Murdock credits the success of the remote diagnostic services not only to the accuracy of the service notes, but to the team’s collaboration.

“I’ve worked with other manufacturer service providers where you can sense a vibe that the person on the phone either doesn’t know the answer or is just going through the motions to check the boxes,” Murdock said. “But working with the Geoprobe^® team feels different. They send specs, diagrams, and whatever else is needed to help resolve the issue. And if it’s not resolved right away, they’re with you every step of the way until it is.”