Doug Woodbridge looks at the application of RFID
(Radio Frequency Identification) in Personnel Location
Awareness and Personnel on Board (POB) control
Knowing where your personnel are
when it counts really matters
whDoug Woodbridge looks at the application of RFID
(Radio Frequency Identification) in Personnel Location
Awareness and Personnel on Board (POB) control
Knowing where your personnel are
when it counts really matters
when it comes to offshore oil and
gas facilities.
In 1988, the Piper Alpha oil platform inthe
North Sea caught fire and exploded. Piper
Alpha remains the world's worst offshore
oil disaster and has been the catalyst for
many changes in regulations and legislation
leading to a greater overall focus on safety
in the Oil and Gas industry. Evidence of
this has been the ever increasing
importance of the location awareness of
personnel and the implementation of
enhanced safety precautions. For example,
POB (Personnel on Board) counts are
carefully managed and Muster drills are
now carried out weekly to ensure, should
the worst happen, everyone is prepared and
has the best chance of survival.
Hess Corporation is operator of South
Arne, one of Denmark's most significant
fields. The facility is located
approximately 150 miles west of Esbjerg
in the Central North Sea. The South Arne
Complex comprises the main South Arne
Platform bridge-linked to an adjoining
drilling platform. Where two or more
offshore installations are bridge-linked, it
is important to ensure that at any time the
population of each installation does not
exceed the number of lifeboat seats
available on that installation.
Previously, control of POB on-board
the South Arne platform used a manned,
paper-based, bridge control system
involving a person permanently stationed
at the bridge-link taking counts of those
crossing between the drilling and
production platforms. In an effort to
improve safety by reducing the risk of
human error Hess took the decision to
invest in an electronic solution.
Upgrading the POB system on South
Arne was important for Hess so they
would know at all times those on-board
and, in an emergency, be 100% confident
that all personnel could be safely
evacuated using the facilities available.
To address this requirement, S3 ID
supplied an Automated Bridge Portal with
'Traffic-light' Control and a remote alarm
system in the South Arne Central Control
Room to warn of exceeding the
maximum POB. Moving away from the
manual system provided an additional
benefit for Hess, as it saved the cost and
bed-space of having two people offshore
just to monitor the bridge.
Giving the green light for safety
S3 ID's 'Traffic light' technology uses RFID
Personnel Tracking Tags which are
automatically read by the Bridge Portal and
POB system. This replaced the manual
paper-based alternative and now monitors
the movement of personnel across the
bridge-link between South Arne and the
Drill platform. Simple, visual and highly
effective, the 'Traffic light' system
automatically ensures that the maximum
POB is not exceeded.
Safety Procedure
All personnel are required to wear an
individually Identifiable RFID active
transponder tag. As a member of
personnel passes the bridge portal, their
unique Intrinsically Safe (IS) RFID tag is
read by the bridge-mounted Ex certified
reader unit, which is configured with four
antennae to enable the reader unit to
detect the presence and direction of travel
of the transponder tags. These are worn
by all platform personnel crossing the
bridge - i.e., whether they are entering or
leaving the installation. Their identity is
captured by the system and the
installation POB count automatically
updated. This is then compared against
the maximum allowed POB number.
As the person is entering the facility
they see in front of them a 'traffic light'. If
the system calculates that the maximum
POB count for the installation they are
about to enter is not exceeded by their
presence, then this will light 'Green' to
advise that it is safe to proceed. However,
if their presence brings the total POB over
the safe limit, then the red or 'flashing
yellow' for some clients, will illuminate
cautioning them that they should not
proceed further and should leave. If they
continue, a hardwired alarm contact
signalling 'maximum POB exceeded' is
triggered which is connected directly to
the platform ICS system.
Two PTS client workstations, one
located in the South Arne Heli-Admin
and the other on the Drill/Hotel platform
display an operator interface. A graphical
display shows current POB for the both
the South Arne platform and the
Drill/Hotel. Both PTS workstations are
attached to a PTS tag allocator. This
enables transponders to be allocated to
personnel on arrival at the platforms.
Conclusion
Electronic Bridge Controls provide an
enhanced level of safety and security for
personnel by removing the human risk
element (as far as possible) and
improving communication ensuring
maximum POBs are not exceeded.
Doug Woodbridge is head of sales &
marketing at S3 ID.
