The Oil and Gas industry consists of some of the most dangerous work environments. The current COVID-19 outbreak makes it even more hazardous with the increased risk of exposure and spread with the number of workers onsite.
How can you ensure that workers maintain sufficient distance between themselves while working? In the event that someone tests positive for the COVID-19 virus, is there a way to track other workers who have come in close contact with the affected person? How do you keep track of all your onsite workers effectively and locate them immediately in an emergency?
TeQ Shield™ Tracker is a family of services designed to address these challenges. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, United Safety and its partner Litum IoT provided RTLS (Real-Time Location Services) using personnel badges and ultra-wideband sensors to track each person’s location within a few feet.
The software creates geofences, business rules, alerts, and reports that help clients improve safety and productivity.
TeQ Shield™ Tracker supports a wide range of applications across multiple industries. Key applications are outlined below:
RTLS personnel tracking
One-stop solution for all your personnel tracking and monitoring requirements
Need to keep track of your onsite workers and locate them immediately in an emergency? Do you know your exact mustering count and those left behind? Are workers in the wrong place adding to your safety risk? Do you know exactly how much time your workers are spending in the productive areas? Do you know if they are being productive?
The TeQ Shield™ Tracker is a flexible, scalable, cost-effective and versatile tracking system that can help you solve all of the above challenges. Our Real time Location System (RTLS) leverages instantaneous positioning technologies: Active Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) or Ultra-Wideband (UWB) for real-time monitoring, tracking, locating and managing your personnel and assets from a central point.
The result? Reduced risk, lower cost and improved productivity.
Maintaining social distance and contact tracing at the worksite
The same RTLS technology is now used to reduce the risk of virus spread in workplaces. Once implemented, it operates on two levels.
First, it helps employees maintain safe social distance by alerting when too many people gather within a set range. Second, if an employee tests positive, it identifies others who were within six feet for a defined period over the past 14 days.
This contact tracing process allows companies to confidentially identify and notify potentially exposed employees without using personally identifiable information.
Vehicle Proximity Alert Safety System (VPASS)
Another unique application of the TeQ Shield™ Tracker is its Vehicle Proximity Alert Safety System (VPASS).
The Vehicle Proximity Alert Safety System warns workers when they are within a set distance of a vehicle equipped with the system.
When a VPASS-equipped vehicle approaches a worker wearing a VPASS-enabled tag, the tag alerts the worker that the vehicle is nearby. The alert can be a vibration, a sound, or both.
The alert distance is configurable and can be adjusted in real time based on the vehicle’s location within the plant.
To ensure enhanced safety of onsite workers, it comes with an improved human-machine interface including forklift collision avoidance, crane exclusion zone control with dynamic geofencing, vehicle and equipment tracking and muster services.
The VPASS can be configured on forklifts, cranes, big trucks and any other vehicles which could pose a potential threat to workers onsite.
