Windshield Time

Windshield time refers to the hours crews spend driving to and travelling between sites. Reducing windshield time is the process of minimizing the amount of time crews spend driving to each facility for leak detection or repair. To reduce windshield time in methane detection, operators aim to streamline workflows so that teams go directly to verified leaks, which cuts out unnecessary trips and maximizes the  efficiency of field crews.

Technologies like Bridger Photonics’ aerial LiDAR help reduce windshield time by identifying specific leak locations in advance, allowing operators to dispatch crews only where action is needed. Bridger’s data also quantifies leaks so that operators can address emissions in a logistical, prioritized order. 

What Is Windshield Time and Why Does It Matter?

In oil and gas operations, every mile matters. Excessive windshield time leads to:

• Increased fatigue, exposure, and other crew safety risks
• Greater vehicle wear and fuel expenses
• Increased labor costs

When operators reduce windshield time, they move faster, spend smarter, and act on verified emissions while avoiding unnecessary site visits where no leaks are present.

How to Reduce Windshield Time (Brief Technical)

To reduce windshield time, operators need more efficient sources of methane leak information that don’t rely on sending ground crews. In methane leak detection and repair workflows, that means:

• Using aerial methane detection scans to pre-identify and locate specific equipment-level methane leaks across large areas
• Prioritizing leaks based on emission rate and location-based safety profile
• Sending crews out with leak coordinates, clear visual plume imagery, and emission rate (leak size) data
  

Bridger provides operators with methane data that includes high-resolution, georeferenced leak information with clear plume imagery, and equipment identification that empowers crews to travel directly to precise locations of confirmed leaks. That way, they don’t spend time traveling between sites and investigating equipment that doesn’t actually need their attention. Aerial LiDAR can detect equipment-level leaks across hundreds of sites or hundreds of miles of pipeline per day.

Key Applications in Oil and Gas

• Improving LDAR program efficiency
• Reducing and optimizing trips to the field
• Prioritizing field crew dispatch based on emission severity and location
• Shortening repair response time and increasing repair rates
• Supporting ESG, compliance, and cost reduction goals with operational metrics

Related: Methane Leak Prioritization, LDAR Methane Detection, Aerial Methane Detection, Gas Mapping LiDAR

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