The presence of people on a drill rig is, although crucial, also a risk. At Maersk Drilling, great effort has been put into helping the drill crew to work as efficiently and safely as possible.

For this purpose, the ‘drilling team’ of the Maersk Discoverer has recently been asked about the main challenges encountered that could lead to loss of time, unsafe situations, and other undesired circumstances. From their cabin, the driller and his assistant usually have a good view of the drill floor and so-called red zones. The people on the drill floor heavily depend on their eyes for moving around safely. They literally need to look towards the driller’s cabin to see if the coast is clear. One of the key challenges faced by the drill crew is that their view on the cabin is not always optimal. They often have to take an extra look, which can hinder the process or, in order to prevent this, they take the risk and decide to enter the red zone without being sure if it is safe or not.

A unique trio, formed by the driller contractor Maersk, the customer BP, and the supplier Rolloos, tackled this issue with the implementation of Rolloos Red Zone Monitoring System. For the Maersk Discoverer, it was decided to use a system that could be (de)activated both manually and automatically. For the latter, the system had to be integrated into the drilling equipment. As soon as the equipment starts to operate, the signalling light of the Red Zone Monitoring System lights up red, indicating that people are not allowed to enter the red zone(s). A short delay has been built in to allow people enough time to safely leave the red zone.

With Rolloos Red Zone Monitoring, Maersk Drilling was able to raise efficiency and safety on the drill floor. The drill crew no longer has to rely on looking at often unclear signals from the driller or his assistant. By using the system, Maersk Drilling and BP can also analyse and learn from human behaviour on the drill floor. In fact, the system builds a database of the information collected through its cameras, which includes heatmaps showing exactly how and when people move around the drill floor. This information reveals whether or not movements on the drill floor take place in accordance with procedures. The knowledge can furthermore be used to improve the layout of the drill floor, enabling people to move around more logically and safely.

Maersk Drilling and its customer BP are so far satisfied with the implementation of Rolloos’ Red Zone Monitoring, which is a true pay-off both in efficiency and safety. Maersk Drilling, BP, and Rolloos will present their findings at the IADC World Drilling Conference (19 and 20 June) in Milan.

If you want to know more about this project and our Red Zone Monitoring System, please contact us. We are looking forward to telling you all about our innovative solution.