In environments as hazardous and complex as ships and offshore platforms, knowing where people are and when can be the difference between life and death. This article examines the human and operational costs of missing real-time location awareness in maritime operations.
Crew members in the offshore industry face daily challenges. They may work on wind turbines as high as 500 feet and must often cross open water from a service operation vessel (SOV), sometimes in extreme weather conditions. Each year, around 5 million passengers are transferred by crane, with an average of just over one fatality annually. Importantly, 90% of crane accidents stem from human error, often caused by miscommunication, operator mistakes, or limited situational awareness. While fatalities are not always the result of location errors, the lack of real-time coordination and monitoring can increase the risk of collisions or falls.
On SOVs, muster and search-and-rescue procedures are often recorded manually, leaving room for human error. If a crew member is injured in a remote location, they may remain unnoticed, with limited chances of receiving timely assistance.
Traditionally, personnel tracking has remained a largely manual process. Paper logs, clipboards, and Excel sheets have long been the default tools, even as the complexity of operations and safety requirements has increased. Crew can be logged under the wrong team and muster drills are slowed by manual roll calls. Relying on handheld radios for incident reporting, which is common, can delay response due to background noise or radio interference. This leads to valuable time being lost when personnel need to be located in an emergency.
In one case, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) found a crew member missing after 90 minutes; in freezing waters, survival beyond 20 minutes was unlikely. Another case involved a crew member who entered an enclosed space unnoticed and was found too late. The absence of RTLM in both cases made the difference between a rescue and a tragedy.
To find out more about how wireless technology is transforming maritime safety, efficiency, and data management, explore the fullĀ Thought Leadership report, Unlocking Safety and Operational Insights Through Wireless Intelligence, created in partnership with ScanReach.
