Offshore teams face complex industrial tasks, challenging weather, and the isolation of operating far from shore, which means safety procedures must function reliably despite changing conditions. From blast panels that protect your personnel from the process area to lifeboats designed to launch quickly and carry crews to safety, every part of an offshore installation is built to protect lives.

At the heart of offshore safety are two critical questions:

• Do you know where everyone is?
• Can you get them to safety quickly?

That’s where an Electronic Personnel on Board (E-POB) combined with a Real-Time Location System (RTLS) transforms operations, providing visibility of your offshore workforce so you can act quickly and with confidence.

Beyond Manual Headcounts

For years, POB simply meant knowing how many people were on a platform or vessel. By merging an E-POB system with RTLS, the installation gains real-time awareness of personnel identity, location, and movement. RTLS automates POB, providing continuous updates about who is on board, where they are working, and their movements between areas such as the process area, living quarters, or neighboring platforms. This information is delivered instantly to the control room or to offsite teams, ensuring accurate situational awareness, faster responses, fewer manual checks, and a comprehensive understanding of crew location and POB status.

Built-In Protection, Digitally Delivered

Every offshore installation relies on layers of protection to maintain operational safety, and the blast panel is one of the most important. It separates living areas from the process zone, absorbing energy in an incident to keep people safe.

An E-POB & RTLS system adds a digital equivalent. It shows who’s in affected zones, verifies status within seconds, and supports rapid, coordinated response. Combined with physical safeguards, it turns data into action and awareness into protection.

The Extronics RTLS Solution brings location data to life; connecting people, places, and systems in real time. It integrates seamlessly with existing site infrastructure, including Fire and Gas, PAGA, and Personnel Logistics systems, to create a unified safety and communication network.

Using both high and low-level interfaces, the system supports automated events and event management. For instance, if someone goes nears a restricted area, the system will automatically trigger an alert to advise of an incorrect entry.

This real-time integration transforms E-POB from a static headcount system into a dynamic personnel tracking and safety tool. Operators gain instant awareness of personnel locations, improving emergency response and reducing risk.

Smarter Mustering, Stronger Safety

When the evacuation alarm sounds, the given response depends on accurate, up-to-date personnel information. An E-POB system automatically detects each crew member’s tag as they reach muster points, displaying who’s safe, who’s still on the move, and where they were last seen.

If someone hasn’t arrived, the ERT (Emergency Response Team) can go straight to their last known location, making mustering faster and more accurate. The reduction of mustering time frames assists not only in the evacuation of the vessel or platform, but for testing it reduces disruption and helps personnel return to their tasks more quickly, improving overall operational efficiency.

Lifeboat Assurance Through Connected Data

With a POB system, every person is allocated a lifeboat seat, ensuring full accountability during evacuation.

The system can monitor lifeboat capacity in real time and send alerts if a limit is exceeded, ensuring a controlled, efficient evacuation. Should evacuation be required, control teams will already have crucial data, allowing for calm, coordinated action and improved emergency preparedness.

Reliable Connectivity, Safer Operations

Durable communication keeps tracking consistent, alerts reliable, and information current. iWAP enclosures support this by providing secure wireless connectivity in hazardous areas across offshore environments, helping E-POB, RTLS, and other wireless systems stay online, synchronized, and able to share data instantly.

With iWAP-enabled networks, operators benefit from:

• Integration across key safety systems and connectivities
• Real-time data sharing between platforms and control rooms
• Dependable communication, even in harsh conditions
• Deployment of standard WLAN and wireless products into both safe and hazardous areas

iWAP, E-POB, and RTLS form the backbone of a resilient safety network, ensuring people, systems, and information are seamlessly linked.

We recently deployed an E-POB system using our iTAG XB tags and anchors for a large offshore operator in the APAC region. The client had been relying on a traditional T-card system, which was limited in functionality and couldn’t provide real-time visibility of personnel locations across the vessel or platform. With the new digital E-POB system, they now have instant access to accurate location data, improving safety, efficiency, and confidence during both drills and real emergencies.

Digitalize Your POB System

Offshore safety has always relied on preparation and awareness. Now, digital POB systems and iWAP connectivity have enabled a more seamless process to keep crews safe and key data accessible. Get in touch to learn more about how we can support your offshore operations.

About the Author

Jon Miles

Regional Team Leader - APAC

Jon leads business development across Asia Pacific, expanding our presence in explosion-proof engineering and RTLS technologies. With deep experience deploying wireless and tracking solutions across high-risk industries, He works globally to deploy WIRELESS, RTLS/POB, and AUTOID systems.

Published on November 27, 2025

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