Pipe Tally
Pason Systems • UX Designer
January 2021 – June 2022
In the drilling industry, the Pipe Tally acts as the source of truth during drilling operations. It is industry practice to record the length of all items used to drill a hole and then add them together to track the total hole depth.
UX Practices at a Glance
User-Centered Research
Conducted 1:1 interviews to uncover pain points and user priorities.
Consistent Design Systems
Applied a cohesive style guide to align with brand and improve usability.
Iterative Design
Redesigned features like the Pipe Tally and Catalog based on direct user input.
Workflow Optimization
Streamlined tasks and improved data accuracy for faster, more reliable rig operations.
Original Pipe Tally
Pipe Tally prior to redesign
In my 2020 UX research for Pason's EDR rewrite, users consistently identified the Pipe Tally as their top frustration. It was difficult to navigate, inflexible to edit, and visually outdated. After redesigning the main EDR page, Pason prioritized the Pipe Tally as the next major update.
User-Centered Research
My initial research for the project started with conducting 1:1 interviews with Drillers. I found that they needed more flexibility when editing the Pipe Tally. Lacking this, Drillers were using workarounds such as manually entering data across various places in the interface in an attempt to get accurate documentation. However, this was leading to confusion, redundant checks, and difficulty tracking equipment on the rig.
“It would be nice if the Tally behaved more like a spreadsheet, allowing you to edit things and move pipes around. I spend a lot of time trying to make sure the info is reliable.”
Improved Sheet Flexibility
The original Pipe Tally mimicked a spreadsheet but lacked basic functionality like moving rows. Drillers’ top request was to make it behave more like Excel or Google Sheets. In response, the redesign introduced full sheet-editing capabilities, enabling users to easily reorganize items between the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) and Drill String tabs, significantly streamlining their workflow.
Reduced Duplicate Entry
A new catalogue system centralized equipment data—like pipe and drill bits—reducing repetitive entry and improving report accuracy. This reduced the need for entering the same information into various parts of the interface.
Refreshed UI
To maintain brand consistency, I applied Pason’s new rigsite style guide—developed in a prior project—to the redesigned Tally and Catalog screens.
Final Mockup of the Pipe Tally
Final Mockup of the Catalog
The Result
Drillers praised the new Pipe Tally and Catalog for added flexibility and time-saving workflows. Reports were easier to build, data entry was streamlined, and accuracy improved. These enhancements supported a January 2023 price increase, contributing to record revenue growth and added shareholder value.
“I’ve hated Pason’s Tally for years. Thanks for finally fixing it!”