| Written by David Gordon
Never compromise safety
With the offshore exploration industry putting more focus on QHSE and encouraging companies to move from manual to digital solutions, the demand has increased for alternatives to traditional paper-based safety regimes. The combination of remote locations, the exploitation of highly explosive materials, and the harsh environment has given the industry constant and pressing concerns about the safety of their personnel. Knowing the location of personnel on-site at any time and improving muster times at their dedicated locations during emergencies can add an extra layer of security. This makes the complex process more visible, efficient, and ultimately more profitable (see more about worker safety monitoring).
Despite efforts to increase the safety of working at an offshore location, accidents can occur at any given time, turning a work place into a danger zone. People attempting to escape emergency situations are trying to get out as fast as possible, only thinking about how to get away without following the companies evacuation policy.
The classical approach in such situations has been to bring personnel to a muster area to manually count who has arrived utilising a “T-card” system and manifest. A challenging task, even in ideal conditions.
In an emergency, things do not always go to plan in an orderly safely manner as it would in a controlled exercise drill. People’s behaviors inevitably change under stress due to the nature of the incident.
This challenge is amplified by the widespread and geographically dispersed area the industry has to deal with. Finding all the personnel is a crucial task (continue reading about "mobile mustering").
How can you increase efficiency and safety?
A key role in overcoming safety challenges is the emergence of automated locating and a mustering system to receive accurate real-time visibility of all personnel. Such a system can make a truly life-saving impact on emergency situations and offers many benefits to personnel and their respective company.
Crew Companion, an incident response management solution, delivers the required real-time visibility by equipping each worker with a transponder. The devices are located via an infrastructure, covering defined areas, such as life boats, mustering areas and red zones, with a modular location coverage. The location of personnel in these areas is constantly reported to the control center (onshore and offshore), providing full visibility for safety of all personnel at any time.
Crew Companion also provides access to automated headcount at various locations throughout the site; ensuring no missing personnel is in the defined areas during emergencies. Emergency operations and mustering drills can now be completed 60 % faster than any manual method. Faster drills can save lives in a severe emergency by knowing exactly where to direct rescue teams. A digitalized process also reduces the risk of human error (continue reading about Emergency Response Management).
