Title: Managing technology in oil pipelines industry

Authors: Prasanta Kumar Dey, Saumitra Shankar Gupta, William Ho

Addresses: Aston Business School, Operations and Information Management, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK. ' Senior Inspection Manager Western Region Pipelines, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Rajkot, India. ' Aston Business School, Operations and Information management, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK

Abstract: Operating oil pipelines in an optimum capacity throughout their life, effective construction management and failure free operations are considered to be critical success factors in the oil transportation business. Operating oil pipelines in derated capacity due to deteriorating pipeline health or lack of demand, inability to augment pipeline capacity despite demand, non-achievement of time, cost, and quality of pipeline construction projects, and many failures of pipelines in spite of huge expenditure in inspection and maintenance are common phenomena in the oil pipelines industry. These not only cause business losses, but also increase stakeholders| concerns for sustainable development. This study addresses the above issues using an analytical framework through stakeholders| involvement.

Keywords: oil pipelines; management; technology management; analytical frameworks; group decision-making; stakeholders.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2006.010003

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2006 Vol.7 No.2, pp.185 - 210

Published online: 07 Jun 2006 *

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