Panasonic Toughbook 29s Give Drillers Real-Time Access To Pressure And Environment Information

Stone Energy Corporation, an exploration and production company, has quickly grown from a small business to a billion-dollar enterprise. To meet their needs, they installed an IP network in the Gulf of Mexico—an especially tough environment for laptops. After experiencing frequent expensive and interruptive repair issues with their old PCs, they chose to deploy Panasonic Toughbook 29s. Dave Kennedy, Stone's Director of Information Technology, explains, "The drilling rigs are a harsh environment with salt, a lot of chemicals, machinery and moisture. They do washdowns on the drill floors, so the laptops get drenched. We had a high laptop turnover rate, so I looked into Toughbooks."

The rugged Toughbook 29, which converts from keyboard to touchscreen with a quick swivel and offers integrated wireless, a magnesium alloy case and shock-mounted hard drive, fit the bill. Says Kennedy, "Our guys can go from one job to the next and know that their laptop will work the same exact way. They also know they can take the Toughbooks down to the drilling floor to record information rather than having to do it by hand. The special screen makes data input a breeze. The offshore guys live and die by the touchscreen."