Case Study: Improve Efficiency During Site Turnarounds with RTLS

Turnarounds on refineries and other process facilities can be a huge logistical headache.

They typically cost significant sums of operational expense and can result in lost opportunity because of reduced production capacity while the facility is shut down.

It is essential that turnarounds are managed efficiently to safeguard workers and ensure costs are tracked. If poorly executed, turnarounds can cause significant disruption after startup.

This article describes an RTLS case study for a large petrochemical company turnaround project.

Background

A large petrochemical company were working with a management consultancy to ensure efficiency and profitability during their turnaround.

Turnaround Requirements

During the turnaround, the client had thousands of additional contractors on site – as well as their own workers. They wanted to locate everyone on the site to ensure safety, but also to monitor contractor invoicing for accuracy.

In addition, the client wanted to identify areas where processes could be improved, to ensure the turnaround finished on time and on budget.

An RTLS Solution

Intrinsically safe iTAG100 tags with TGUARD tag protectors were issued to all workers and contractors to be worn at all times. Using a Cisco Wi-Fi infrastructure that was also used for communications and data transfer, everyone’s location was relayed to the MobileView software, where it could be visualised.

The iTAG100 Active RFID Wi-Fi tags incorporate emergency call buttons, meaning all employees, contractors, and visitors could raise an alarm in real time. The tags transmit individual ID signals at regular intervals to specifically locate individuals, making it possible for the client to act fast in the event of an emergency during the turnaround.

The MobileView software allowed control rooms to quickly identify if a call button had been pressed and where on the site it was activated, reducing the emergency response time to the person’s location. An audit trail of events could then be stored – including date/time stamps, actions taken, and personnel involved – to then be transferred and implemented in future emergency training and planning improvements.

The management consultancy also offered additional analysis using RTLS data.

Solution Benefits

The client could analyse the data gathered by the RTLS to see exactly who was on site, and when. They could then ensure no invoice leakage for the contracted work and identify bottleneck areas to mitigate the delays by improving their processes for future turnarounds.

The turnaround was completed without serious safety incidents, on time, and on budget.

Hybrid RTLS Technology for Site Wide Tracking: An Interview with John Hartley

Extronics RTLS Rental Program

At Extronics, we understand that clients do not always have the same level of personnel on-site throughout the year. Personnel numbers can increase and decrease at any given time. This is especially true during a plant turnaround.

Extronics RTLS Rental Program helps you reduce the operational expenditure during a turnaround by providing additional tags and Mobileview licenses for the duration of your turnaround.

This solution is perfect for clients who have planned turnarounds where tracking additional contractor workers for a short period of time is required without the added cost of a full license.

Extronics offers different options to suite your needs.

EcoSystem Partners

If you need additional tags and licenses for contract workers during a turnaround, then working with one of ecosystem partners would be the best option. This allows you to gain short term access to additional RTLS tags and MobileView licenses for the duration of your turnaround.

Check out our ecosystem partners here – https://www.extronics.com/partners/

License Only

If you already have tags or have rented them elsewhere but still need additional Mobileview licenses, then Extronics offers these directly to customers for the duration of the turnaround.

Extronics is a global provider of AeroScout products and solutions for industrial customers, as well as developing new RTLS products for use in hazardous areas and harsh environments.

To make sure you remain fully operational, we offer a Maintenance & Support Plan with every solution. Each plan includes technical support from our trained engineers, access to the latest product updates for the best performance, and rapid exchange of any defective hardware.

If you have a planned turnaround coming up, please contact our team of experts today to discuss your use case. Contact us using the form below, email info@extronics.com, or call +44 845 277 5000