Monitoring conditional red zones during drilling operations

Monitoring conditional red zones during drilling operations
Published Tuesday, January 7, 2020

With multiple people working in a small (hazardous) space surrounded by heavy equipment, drilling operations can be tough. Drilling crew and operators are used to working with so-called red zones. These zones are high-risk areas on the drill floor but despite this, the drilling crew still needs to enter these zones in order to perform specific tasks. This obviously leads to contradictory operational instructions.

Current contradictory instructions

The problem lies in the fact that red zones are permanently indicated as no-go areas, whereas the reality requires red zone access at specific times, when the red zone is acceptably safe to enter. The disadvantage of this contradictory way of communication (in which people are basically requested to breach a safety rule) could result in people struggling with how to judge safety rules in general. It requires an approach that is closer to the actual operational dynamics.

Conditional/dynamic red zones

A higher level of efficiency and safety on board of drilling rigs can be achieved. It is necessary to establish improved operating procedures: in case of high-risk operations, it should be clear whether or not it is secure to enter a red zone. Rolloos is expert in fully describing and working out procedures on board of drilling rigs. The company has even developed a conditional monitoring system, using advanced video analytics with deep learning technology to identify moving objects such as people or drilling equipment. The system conditionally defines red zones as secure (or not), hence signalling the possibility of access (or not) for the crew. . Our Red Zone Monitoring System always describes the actual situation: lights are red by default and when the situation is acceptably secure for drilling workers, the light turns green/orange.

Working with conditional red zones is quite a different concept for most, and it requires a change of attitude. Instead of expecting a fully automated system in the future, it accepts the fact that people are working on the drill floor today. The best approach in that case is get the right number of people in place, with the highest skills and the maximum situational awareness. Rolloos’ Red Zone Monitoring System supports in doing just that. And if a drilling worker accidentally enters a red zone when the red light is on anyhow, the system will alert within a split second.

Thanks to its conditionality, Rolloos Red Zone Monitoring System reveals the real status on the drill floor. This unique and easy-to-implement system is a reliable and straightforward tool. The chance of miscommunication is reduced to nihil, which highly improves efficiency and safety on a drilling rig.

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