Applying RFID to Oil & Gas Pipeline Construction

  • Managing, tracking and maintaining equipment
  • Checking the inventory of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and building tools
  • Tracking on-site personnel and authorizing qualified workers for specific tasks
  • Tracking and managing personnel time and schedules eradicating overlaps in work
  • Ensuring safety of pipeline technical work, working environment, ecological environment

RFID systems can be designed to systemize on-site productivity, ensuring efficient and proper operation of equipment, tools and personnel as well as increasing safety and security to help prevent injuries, material and environment damage and unforeseen expenses.

Exploring RFID in the Oil & Gas Pipeline Construction Industry

The Oil & Gas industry is continuously improving operational procedures to adhere to strict Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) protocol. Managers of drilling rigs rely on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and technology systems to meet safety codes. Our experience in customizing RFID solutions for various industries may help to eradicate the guess work of locating and confirming proper usage of PPE, and systemizes the maintenance of heavy equipment to ensure safety measures are met for optimum security of personnel and the environment.

Applying Equipment Management

The working conditions and accessibility of equipment used for Oil & Gas Pipeline Construction such as pipelayers, drilling rigs, excavators, swivels, vacuum trucks, makes a great difference in the efficiency and productivity of a job site. The maintenance of building equipment and oil and gas pipeline inspection equipment should be recorded and systemized to prevent equipment failure resulting in damage, work stoppage, or worse; gas and oil leaks causing negative impact to surrounding environment and/or injury and fatality. Our ability to track assets can provide accurate data on equipment utilization, maintenance records and the precise location of equipment on site. Every piece of equipment can be assigned an RFID Tag. This tag contains all of the equipment’s information and can be used to pinpoint its physical location. This not only reduces the risks of damage and injury but decreases the loss of equipment; ensuring projects are completed in a timely and safe manner.

Managing Inventory

Industry specific PPE tools such as harnesses, H2S emission meters, helmets, etc., should be accessible at all times to prevent serious injury and fatalities which could lead to time-consuming investigation, penalties, and work stoppage. RFID extends beyond tracking large assets; using the smallest RFID tags, the technology can be used to track and monitor inventory and provide data to indicate if PPE are being worn by workers and the precise location of PPE on site helping to meet procedures set forth by HSSE guidelines which can often make the difference between life and death. The ability to track assets allows managers to track tools to ensure correct usage and guarantee that none are left behind once the tasks are completed. Essential tools used for pipeline cleaning, inspections, crack detections, corrosion detection, leak detection, can all be tagged and processed using our RFID, which not only reduces replacement costs but eradicates work stoppage. Most importantly our Asset Tracking System can also be used to automatically track inventory levels and provide tallies in seconds to help managers know when to restock the site.

Applying People Tracking

Oil & Gas Pipeline Construction rig management which includes overseeing personnel tasks and hours is critical for cost efficiency and safety. Factors such as confirming the number of field workers needed and designated to perform specific, high-risk tasks such as: pressure relief, inspection of gauges etc., is crucial to efficiently completing the jobs and ensuring the safety of workers and environment Using the fundamental of RFID tracking technology can enable contractors and managers to schedule qualified workers for specific roles on site. By assigning every worker with a Rugged RFID Tag that can be worn on hard hats, the ability to track people can track the movement and location of all personnel, ensuring the necessary supervision for safety during high-risk tasks. In our experience, the Personnel Tracking System reduces the risk of fatigued workers as it enables managers to have a clear visibility on job tasks and time spent, providing key data for scheduling and the efficient overlapping of jobs and length of tasks assigned to each worker. In addition, the specialized RFID tag logs the actual hours of personnel labor and can be integrated easily with existing payroll systems for a truly seamless payroll process.

Locating Personnel

RFID is also a efficient at quickly locating personnel on-site in emergency situations. Emergency responses can be improved as workers will be able to signal alerts with their RFID badges; the system also works to automatically detect falls, enabling help to arrive to the worker quickly. A customized system can save time and gives construction managers a piece of mind to focus on the tasks at hand.

Applying Access Control

Securing and controlling access to construction site perimeters or specific areas of the site is essential to worker safety and eliminating property damage/loss. RFID technology allows only personnel with the correct safety credentials and competencies to enter the site or specific areas of the site and have access to specific tasks.

Integrating RFID with your Existing Management Software

Once developed, our specialized RFID systems can be deployed as a standalone solution or can be integrated with other software solutions, according to your needs. At the core of our solution is GAO RFID’s AUTO-ID Engine which incorporates middleware and essential RFID functions that perform RFID data collection and information processing. Our AUTO-ID Engine seamlessly integrates with a wide variety of construction management systems so that you can access the data it collects directly via the system or systems you currently have in place. Our team comprises of seasoned professionals that can combine our RFID experience with your industry experience and provide a customized solution that will smoothly integrate the appropriate GAO RFID Solution with your IT architecture. The result is an RFID solution that is seamlessly unified with your construction management system. We can work with you to integrate the RFID tracking data collected from our custom solution with today’s leading information management systems in your industry. 

Contact us for more information on how our RFID experience can help your organization.