vide quality industry, technical, patent and intellectual property information. “If an engineer wants to calculate a formula for a pres- sure vessel, we subscribe to a service that allows them to use interactive formulas,” says Dean Gronostaj, Chemical Information Center supervisor. “We also pro- vide access to a search tool that allows a chemist to draw a mol- ecule and conduct a search on it, resulting in the display of patents and journal articles containing chemical reactions and synthesis for that molecule.” The centers produce daily, weekly and monthly news alerts for senior managers, industry news for business and technical teams, competitor information, and technology updates for com- pany analysts and engineers – all designed to provide insights into current industry developments. “We help the company antici- pate industry trends, which aids decision-making,” Rucker says. Coordinating resources While each information center is specialized, they work together to coordinate resources to provide the most effective access to knowledge. For example, staff from the centers recently partici- pated in a benchmarking survey of worldwide pipelines. “The company’s cross- functional information special- ists provided us comprehensive, globally sourced data to help our engineers develop approaches for mitigating pipeline risks,” says
Brian Lawless, ExxonMobil’s man- ager of global pipeline integrity.
Fast and accurate The staff prides itself on quick turnarounds. “The advice one of our information centers gives – ‘If you can’t find it in 15 minutes, contact us’ – really applies to us all,” says Information Specialist Dana Higgins. “We want our clients to get the best information in the timeliest manner so they can make the best decisions.” Jay Dias, chief scientist with ExxonMobil Chemical, says that rapid input is critical for discovery. “A day in the library can save you a year in the laboratory,” Dias notes. “The information centers provide the foundation for research. Their input forms the basis for new projects and also provides quick access to evolving trends in sci- ence, technology and business.” For Tim Nedwed, senior technical professional advisor with ExxonMobil’s Upstream Research Company, speed of information is powerful. “It al- lows my group to cycle through ideas quickly,” he says, “making the research and development process much more efficient and enabling us to stay on top of technology.” And that’s the real value the network brings. “We’re here to accelerate development and support innovation,” McLennan adds. “We’re about enhanc- ing the agility of our various businesses, vetting information to make sure that it’s accurate, reliable and timely.”
Photo by Robert Seale
“Someone in Procurement may request pricing information in a certain market, or Public and Government Affairs may need to know about political and social issues in a particular country where we operate,” she says. In-depth searches In this day of Google and other search engines that provide in- stant links to information, the centers help employees sort through the clutter and zero in on quality information. “As the Internet grows, it can be difficult to find precisely what you’re looking for,” says Rebecca Rucker, section head at the Downstream Technical Information Center. “We have the tools and expertise to sort
through myriad information to find what’s relevant and accurate for employees to do their jobs.” That includes information for project teams, searches for technical data and patents, man- agement of proprietary informa- tion, and answers to copyright questions. “While today’s workers are very adept at searching for informa- tion,” says James McLennan, supervisor of the Upstream Technical Information Center, “the difference is that we have propri- etary internal ExxonMobil docu- ments and reports that aren’t available in external databases.” Besides providing access to leading industry books, journals and periodicals, the centers subscribe to databases that pro-
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