Real-time job monitoring and performance control of primary cementing operations as a way to total quality management. H.F. Spoerker. SPE Drilling Completion, December 1995, 10(4), 233--237.

Attention is drawn to a relatively low cost method of improving results of primary cement jobs---particularly for onshore wells where the cost of highly sophisticated measurements cannot be justified. Ways of eliminating or at least controlling free-fall-induced problems through hydraulic simulation at the rigsite and comparison with real-time job parameters, such as pump rates, standpipe pressures, and annular return rates, are presented together with detailed descriptions of tested flowmeter equipment and logging experience gained during field testing. A number of case studies are described that compare predictions from job simulation with recorded data highlighting special trends such as fracturing formations, caused by excessive equivalent circulating densities during free-fall conditions.