通信增强了能源和公用事业领域的工作人员

Enrique Bolivar

March 05, 2024

移动端的实时解决方案, with cloud-based apps, 帮助现场服务管理最小化操作风险.

从2014年到2019年，美国85%的石油和天然气开采(OGE)工人死亡.S. 都是由于职业伤害，根据 疾病控制和预防中心. 从历史上看，该火狐体育手机的受伤率是美国所有火狐体育手机的7倍.S. workers.

That datapoint alone makes preserving the safety and security of field workers of paramount importance to any energy and utilities company. Yet, while these amenities are vital to society – making them both high profile and price sensitive – the workplace can often be hazardous.

事实上，现场工作人员经常面临使他们处于危险之中的挑战. The pressure to maintain quality of service and operational efficiency can create a sense of uncertainty around operational tasks. This is exacerbated by the fact that they often work alone in locations that may be remote or demanding, 没有实时通信和协作工具.

这些都是可以解决的挑战. In this blog I will discuss some of these concerns as well as the solutions that will make the life of the energy and utilities field worker much safer and more productive.

A challenging mission

Energy and utilities off-site workers are exposed to many kinds of tasks that put them at risk of falls, electrocution, 甚至窒息或极度身体危险. These tasks include:

• Climbing scaffolding or working at the top of radio or electric power line transmission towers to maintain or repair equipment
• 在密闭空间或地下处理燃气设备, 关闭燃气管道或修理倒下的线路和高压柜

还有来自公众的伤害风险, 谁会因为服务中断而感到沮丧而做出过激反应.

In some situations, the remoteness of the work may lead to a sense of isolation and be demotivating. As a result, the field worker may feel disconnected from their organisation and be unable to deal properly with deadline pressures, 导致他们承担不必要的风险.

流动性和隔离工人保护

Real-time communications solutions based on Isolated Worker Protection (IWP) capabilities and cloud-based applications, 专为移动设备设计, 是否对帮助现场服务管理最小化这些风险至关重要.

IWP, based on a DECT infrastructure, is intended for both indoor and outdoor campus sites. The DECT handset enables constant monitoring of the field worker and can trigger an alarm when help is needed. The man-down, red button, pull cord and explosion-proof capabilities for hazardous environments are some of the functionalities that allow the field worker to cope with security risks. 符合DGUV 112-139单独工人认证, the handset has features such as prevention of device switch-off and prioritisation of alarms over any communication. In a scenario where the field technician performing a critical task in a gas plant falls unconscious due to a toxic gas leak, the DECT handset will detect lack of movement in either a horizontal or vertical position and trigger a man-down alarm that will alert control centre staff to react.

协作和远程协助

At times, hazardous situations and complex tasks for the field technician require real-time assistance from an expert in the control centre. This is the case inside high voltage cabinets, where there is a risk of burns or electrocution. With the cloud-based Remote Visual Assistance (RVA) solution, the expert can “see what the field technician sees” through a multimedia video session and provide instructions to safely complete the task. Staff can also share files, take pictures and record video offline to be uploaded in the server for tracking and training purposes.

As well, 因为现场服务效率会影响为客户提供的服务质量, field service is closely tied to customer satisfaction and retention – and ultimately company revenues.

而现场服务效率取决于许多因素——技术人员的知识, tool availability, task reports, 服务和生产停机时间, real-time information to reschedule tasks – fixing a problem on the first and only visit is ideal. In fact, according to Aberdeen Group research*, a First Time Fix Rate (FTFR) of more than 70% equates to customer retention rates of 86%.

这是RVA可以提供帮助的另一个领域. Real-time remote collaboration with an expert means field technicians can resolve more problems without a follow-up visit.

培训和知识共享

Facilitating the training process and knowledge transfer are fundamental to improving the expertise and efficiency of field workers.

Rainbow ClassRoom is a digital training and knowledge sharing tool that equips experts to deliver training through virtual and multimedia sessions, Rainbow ClassRoom enables the field worker team to stay up to date with new technologies and access concrete examples of scenarios they will deal with every day.

野外工作者的未来

All of these tools are available to field service workers today, and more are coming. Cloud-based applications, Augmented Reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR), IoT and AI can be integrated into the current ecosystem to enrich working conditions. And the openness provided by APIs is fundamental to interworking between different systems and adding value to the current environment.

Imagine a scenario where a field worker must troubleshoot a failure at the electric switchboard in a high voltage cabinet. With XR capabilities, 总机的三维模型, 完成专家笔记, is accessible in advance: the worker can review it and be fully prepared for the task upon arrival.

All these technology building blocks enable the field worker to be more efficient, productive and safer, 使客户满意, corporate success, and a steady flow of the energy and utilities that our communities need to thrive.