BHA & Inventory
Redesigned BHA management and built inventory tracking from zero - replacing Excel workflows on the rig
2
Modules delivered
~4 months
Development time
20+
Component types with tailored specs
4
Beta clients
Apr 22, 2026
Production launch
Overview
Role
Sr. Product Designer - sole designer (handed off post-release)
Team
1 PM · 1 Developer · 1 Designer
Timeline
~4 months to beta · parallel with other projects
Status
Live · April 22, 2026 · Nabors, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron
BHA (Bottom Hole Assembly) is the lower section of a drill string - the part that directly interacts with rock thousands of feet underground. Every component matters: a wrong specification, a missed failure flag, or an incompatible connection can halt a $1M/day drilling operation.
I joined this project from the Drilling Live team to help the Directional Drilling team build something they didn't have: a centralized system for managing drilling equipment. The scope was two interconnected modules - BHA Inventory (a catalog of all tools on the rig) and BHA Details (a detailed assembly builder) - designed to replace the patchwork of Excel spreadsheets and disconnected systems that rig crews were using.
I owned the design end-to-end: research, information architecture, component taxonomy, interaction patterns, validation logic, and the full UI across both modules. After release, I stayed for 2 months to support the product through early feedback, then handed it off to another designer as I returned to my primary projects.
Excel spreadsheets on a drilling rig
Rig crews were managing mission-critical equipment in spreadsheets. Directional drillers entered the same BHA data into multiple systems manually. Operations managers tracked inventory in disconnected files. And Corva's existing Drillstring page was outdated, riddled with technical debt, and missing entire categories of functionality.
Triple data entry
The same BHA had to be created in Corva, in the competitor's tool, and often in Excel, just to keep all systems in sync.
No inventory at all
Corva had no way to catalog what equipment was physically on the rig.
Silent configuration errors
Dirty or failed components could end up in active assemblies because nothing tracked their status.
Lost operational notes
DD Comments (the directional driller's field observations) lived separately from the BHA they described.
Competitive pressure
The main competitor had built a tool that rig crews actually preferred. If we didn't act, we'd lose this critical workflow entirely.
Before - Excel & old Drillstring
✗Old Drillstring page with technical debt
✗No inventory system
✗BHA data in Excel + competitor tool + Corva (triple entry)
✗No equipment status tracking
✗DD Comments disconnected from BHA
✗No validation
✗No export / no reports
After - BHA & Inventory
✓BHA Details with 20+ tailored component types
✓BHA Inventory with 7 categories + shipping
✓Single source of truth - one system for everything
✓Inline status flags (In BHA / Dirty / Failed)
✓DD Comments integrated on the same page
✓Advisory validation with 50+ rules
✓PDF / Excel export for everything
Designing for the rig floor
This project tested a different set of skills than my real-time monitoring work on Traces or Real Time Value. Those products visualize streaming data. This one is a data entry and management tool - closer to an enterprise ERP than a dashboard. The design challenge was making a system with 20+ component types, 50+ validation rules, and complex status logic feel simple enough to use on a drilling rig at 3 AM.
Shaping the product with a first-time PM
The PM had deep oil & gas expertise but was new to product management. I stepped into a more active role in structuring the scope: helping translate domain knowledge into prioritized user stories, defining what belonged in MVP vs. future phases, and establishing a design-to-development handoff that worked for our small team. The PM's rig-floor knowledge was invaluable - my job was to give it structure.
Designing for three user groups in one interface
Directional drillers on the rig need speed - they enter data between operations, often on mobile in low light. Drilling engineers in the office need completeness - every parameter, every validation, every audit trail. Operations managers need overview - what's on which rig, what's broken, what needs to ship. One UI had to serve all three without compromising any.
Dark theme as a functional requirement
This wasn't a style preference. Data entry happens on drilling platforms in limited lighting. The dark theme directly affects usability in the actual environment where the product is used.
Directional Driller
On the rig · mobile · low-light
Does
- Builds inventory
- Creates BHAs
- Enters specs & files
Needs
Speed, reliability, minimal clicks
Dark theme is essential
Drilling Engineer
Office · desktop
Does
- Analyzes configurations
- Calibrates BHAs
- QC verifies
Needs
Full data, audit trail, validation details
Calibration Preview is key
Operations Manager
Office · multi-well view
Does
- Monitors equipment across pad
- Manages shipping logistics
Needs
Overview, status at a glance
Well / Pad toggle is key
Decisions that defined the product
BHA Inventory
The equipment catalog - a centralized view of every tool on the well or pad.
Category-based inventory instead of a flat list
7 collapsible categories (Bits, Directional Tools, Measurement Tools, Collars & Pipes, Subs, Shock Tools, Specialty Tools) with item counts. An engineer opening the inventory instantly sees the shape of what's available. The previous approach - everything in one long list - was the main reason people avoided the tool.
Drag-and-drop assembly + inline status
Components drag from the catalog into the BHA assembly. Status flags (In BHA / Dirty / Failed) show directly in table rows - no separate filter needed. The engineer sees component condition alongside specs in the same view.
Well / Pad toggle
One switch to see inventory for a single well or across the entire pad - critical for operations managers overseeing multiple wells simultaneously.
Visual identity for every component type
Each of the 20+ BHA component types needed its own visual representation - an icon that engineers could recognize instantly in the table without reading the label. I collaborated closely with a graphic designer on this: we went through multiple iterations for every single element, referencing real tool photographs and engineering diagrams to make each icon as physically accurate as possible. A Mud Motor looks like a Mud Motor. A PDC Bit looks like a PDC Bit.
This level of detail matters. Directional drillers scan the BHA table at a glance - they need to spot the stabilizer or the MWD without reading text. The icons became a visual language that speeds up comprehension across the entire system, from Inventory categories to the BHA Table to the printed PDF report.
BHA Details
The assembly page - where engineers build, review, and manage individual BHA configurations.
Read Mode / Edit Mode separation
The same page serves two very different moments: reviewing a BHA (quick scan, no risk of accidental changes) and editing one (full access, validation active). Read Mode shows KPI cards, General Info, DD Comments, and the component table cleanly. Edit Mode activates inline editing, reveals the Inventory tab for drag-and-drop assembly, and exposes calibration tools.
Component-specific specification panels
A Mud Motor needs rotor/stator parameters, bend angle, and stabilizer info. An MWD needs sensor measurements and gamma constraints. A PDC Bit needs nozzle configuration and IADC dull grading. Instead of a generic form, I designed 20+ tailored spec panels - each showing exactly the fields that component type requires, in the order engineers expect them.
7 categories · 20+ component types · each with tailored spec panel
12+ columns at 1440px without horizontal scroll
The BHA table is dense: serial numbers, OD/ID/Max OD, connections, lengths, weights, status flags, files. I used variable column widths (56–301px), compact 56px rows, and left-aligned numerics to fit everything without scrolling. This is a tool people stare at for hours - every pixel of wasted space is a pixel of lost information.
Keyboard navigation matching the spreadsheet mental model
Users come from Excel. I designed full keyboard navigation: Tab moves right, Enter moves down, Escape cancels, arrows navigate, Ctrl+Z undoes with a proper stack. The goal was zero friction in the transition - if your muscle memory works in Excel, it works here.
Tab
Move to next cell
Enter
Confirm & move down
Escape
Cancel edit
↑ ↓ ← →
Navigate cells
Ctrl+Z
Undo with stack
Ctrl+C/V
Copy / paste rows
Del
Clear cell
F2
Enter edit mode
Validation
Warn, don't block
BHA components have strict physical constraints. OD must exceed ID. Bit must be first or last. Sensor offsets have maximum ranges. I designed a validation system with 50+ rules that warns about issues but never blocks saving. The Calibration Preview shows all warnings in a clear list before the final step.
Validation flow - warn, never block
Calibration Preview
Full warning list - user reviews before commit
Engineers enter data incrementally. Hard blocking would force workarounds and kill adoption.
The features that changed the workflow
The product launched to beta with Nabors, Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron - and goes to production for all users on April 22, 2026. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
BHA duplication in one click
Previously, copying a BHA required remembering the source well name and BHA number, then filling out a form. Now it's a single action. Teams running similar assemblies across wells save significant time on every new BHA.
PDF & Excel exports everywhere
BHA reports, Run Summary PDFs, Excel exports, per-well Inventory PDFs. Rig crews print BHA sheets constantly - this was one of the most requested capabilities.
Shipping manifests
The inventory shipping function generates a PDF manifest showing exactly what equipment was sent where. This solved a logistics tracking problem that had no digital solution before.
Cumulative tool usage tracking
For the first time, teams can see how many hours each individual tool has operated across slide drilling, rotary drilling, and circulation time. This data is critical for maintenance planning - and it was completely untracked before.
All BHAs list with failure tracking
A new overview page shows every BHA with filters, active status clearly marked, and the reason each BHA was pulled out of hole. Equipment failures are now tracked to the specific tool and BHA number. This information simply didn't exist before.
All-in-one General Info
Engineers no longer search across the platform to find what they need. Operational parameters, DD Comments, tool specs, calibration status, and QC badges are all on one page.
Handed off and growing
I built the foundation for BHA & Inventory in ~4 months, supported it through 2 months of post-release iteration, then handed it off to the Directional Drilling team's designer. The product launches to full production on April 22, 2026 after successful beta testing with four major operators.
What I'm most proud of: the architecture scales. New component types (Coiled Tubing, Whipstock, Fishing Tools) plug into the existing category and specification system without redesigning the core. The validation framework handles new rules without structural changes. The design decisions I made at the start - advisory validation, component-specific specs, keyboard navigation, Read/Edit mode separation - held up under real operational conditions and real user feedback.
This was also a project where I grew beyond pure design work. Structuring the product scope with a first-time PM, bridging domain expertise with product process, and building something that had to work on a rig floor at 3 AM - those challenges made me a better designer.
Key outcomes
2 interconnected modules - Inventory catalog + BHA assembly builder, working as a unified system
20+ component types - each with tailored specification panels, validation rules, and status tracking
Replaced Excel workflows - centralized BHA and inventory management integrated with Corva's operational data
Advisory validation - 50+ rules - warns without blocking, respects incremental data entry workflow
Full audit trail - Calibrated BHA and QC'd BHA badges with timestamps and user attribution