Offshore Muster Station Tracking for Real-Time Crew Accounting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for tracking personnel on offshore drilling vessels during emergencies are inefficient, requiring manual roll calls and taking significant time to account for missing crew members, especially in large vessels with multiple muster stations.
Innovation Solution
A wireless personnel tracking system using portable transmitters and stationary receivers, combined with optical devices, to detect and locate crew members in real-time, associating them with a database for accurate muster station attendance and emergency response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If manual roll call is used to identify crew members at muster station, then the system is simple and requires minimal equipment, but the time required to account for all personnel increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of roll call with an automated electronic tracking system. Wireless transmitters worn by crew members communicate with receivers at muster stations, automatically detecting and locating personnel without manual intervention. This substitution of mechanical human effort with electronic automation directly reduces the time required to account for all crew members during emergencies.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking system operates autonomously without requiring manual operation. Crew members simply wear the transmitters, and the system automatically detects their presence at muster stations through wireless communication. The automated detection and identification process eliminates the need for overseers to manually conduct roll calls, allowing the system to serve itself and significantly reducing personnel accounting time.
2Reliability
If RFID tags are used to track crew members at checkpoints, then personnel location can be detected, but the system requires extensive infrastructure and cannot provide real-time continuous tracking
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless transmitters serve multiple functions: they continuously broadcast location data, automatically detect muster station presence, and provide real-time tracking without requiring separate infrastructure systems. The receivers at muster stations universally detect all transmitters within range, providing both location detection and attendance verification in a single integrated system, reducing overall infrastructure complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Crew members wear the wireless transmitters before emergencies occur, so their location tracking is already established and ready for immediate detection. The system performs preliminary setup by having personnel don the transmitters during normal operations, ensuring that when an emergency occurs and they proceed to muster stations, the tracking is already active and continuous real-time data is available without requiring additional infrastructure activation.
3Ease of operation
If multiple muster stations are established on large vessels, then crew members have closer access to safety locations, but the complexity of accounting for personnel across all stations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking system is segmented into multiple independent receiver units distributed across different muster stations. Each receiver independently detects transmitters in its local area, and the system aggregates data from all segments to provide comprehensive vessel-wide personnel accounting. This segmentation allows multiple muster stations to operate independently while maintaining simplified individual accounting at each location, with automatic consolidation of results.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides immediate feedback to overseers and command centers about personnel presence at each muster station through automatic detection and reporting. Real-time data feedback eliminates the need for manual verification and communication between multiple stations, allowing simultaneous monitoring of all muster stations and rapid identification of any missing personnel across the entire vessel without increasing operational complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables immediate and accurate identification and location of missing personnel, reducing the time to account for all crew members and enhancing emergency response efficiency by automating the muster process.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the wireless transmitters is configured to transmit a wireless signal associated in the database with one of the crew members. Each of the wireless receivers is configured to receive the wireless signals
Data Source
AI summary
A system and computer-implemented method is used for tracking crew members on an offshore unit. A static map is created in software and interfaces with a network of receiver nodes physically installed at a predetermined set of measurements to provide coverage to designated areas to locate and identify crew members, who have or wear Bluetooth beacons. During operations, crew members are located and identified in real-time through the network of receiver nodes installed over prespecified coordinates. Cameras and visual recognition processing can operate in the designated areas. The designated areas can include muster stations for crew members to gather in an emergency or can include designated areas in which personnel are restricted while equipment is operating or moving.