Wireless Transforms Safety at Refineries, Petroleum Review, March 2011

Safety has always been at the top of the agenda in the oil industry, but recent events have highlighted that the processes and technologies need constant improvement in an industry that is becoming ever more complex. Onshore operations are no less sensitive, and although the number of incidents has been declining, the industry is entering a new period of innovation in safety technology that offers major improvements to the management of
plants, assets and employees.

Until recently, technology has limited the industry’s ability to prepare for, and respond to, emergencies. However, with the advent of new wireless systems, made possible by the integration of existing standard technologies, the refining industry is pioneering the continuous life safety solutions that have long frustrated it. 

This Petroleum Review article by E. Kenneth Johnson, Accenture Life Safety Solution Lead, looks at the technology developments being made and the benefits that wireless systems can bring to the industry.

This article was first published in the March 2011 issue of Petroleum Review and is reproduced by permission of the Energy Institute, 61 New Cavendish Street, London, W1G 7AR.