You Are Here:

• Home
• > About ENSCO
• > Annual Report
• > 2009 Annual Report
• > Research + Development

Research & Development

Every success has a starting point—at ENSCO, research and development is where challenges are taken apart, ideas are explored, risks are taken, and innovative solutions are born.
 

At ENSCO, we stake our reputation on our ability to assess our client’s challenges and provide the optimal solution. Our research and development efforts—systematic research and experimentation that pushes the risk envelope—are the apex of the technologies we innovate on behalf of clients. The best explanation is an application, which can be seen in the new test rail installed at our Springfield, Va., location.

To keep ahead of the industry’s changing needs, ENSCO rail engineers required unrestricted access to a railroad to conduct real-time experiments on new systems and to calibrate the division’s fleet of hi-rail trucks. To meet this need, our engineers installed a 70-foot, standard gage railroad that features the standard ballast, ties and fasteners encountered in the field. The test rail is already proving invaluable in expanding the capabilities of our Joint Bar Inspection Systems and will help advance emerging safety systems.

“R&D really is the heartbeat of innovation at ENSCO. It’s the inception of the creative process, the place where it all begins and from which we create truly amazing solutions to the challenges our customers face.”
   - Jeff Piotrowski – Deputy Division Manager, GeoSystem Solutions

Successful R&D cannot occur in a vacuum; we listen to our customers and tailor our solutions to their unique needs. For example, today’s military pilots receive too much in-flight data to process in the split-second decision making environment of a jet cockpit. In response, ENSCO developed a 3-D visualization system for submarine hunting in the P-3 Orion. The 3-D image provides an accurate perspective of the underwater terrain and acoustic data that determines activity, such as submarine movement. The detailed terrain maps and ability to visualize the acoustic data, terrain and submarine contacts in 3-D take the art of submarine hunting to a new level.

Reconfiguring air transportation systems is a priority for the FAA. The FAA sought ENSCO’s help shaping its Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) because of our experience in meteorological systems, particularly that garnered through work with United Airlines. Though still years away from execution, ENSCO will play a vital role on the R&D team that brings NextGen to fruition.

Given the right collaborative environment, innovation is organic. As demonstrated by these R&D advances, one challenge can lead to a number of valuable solutions.

Top