Arkema - safety, prevention and efficiency

The Arkema Group is a global leader in the production of advanced materials and innovative solutions for the chemical industry, and operates in approximately 55 countries with a presence in Italy, where it has seven production sites. The company has decided to improve workflow management at its facilities in Porto Marghera and Rho, and enhance staff safety by leveraging Ascom’s Enterprise Solutions.

All Arkema sites have already been equipped with Innovaphone's IPBX and gateway services in addition to Ascom’s DECT services, which include: 5 IPBL modules, 72 antennas, 2 Unite platforms, 36 locators and 185 mobile terminals, most of which are d81 Atex Protectors, used by mobile staff operating in potentially isolated environments within the facilities.

At its facilities in Porto Marghera and Rho, Arkema has adopted Ascom's workplace safety solutions including lone worker safety and identifying workers' location, which help optimize operational efficiency, staff protection, and shorten response times when needed. The design and development of these services at Arkema sites has been implemented by ERT Srl, a company specializing in providing IT solutions for the industry.

At the Porto Marghera site, due to the highly articulated context that defines the plants in terms of access, transit routes and areas with the potential presence of operators, 36 9dLD locators with 3D precise localization have been installed. If an alarm is generated voluntarily by the operator, or automatically by phone, such as man down, no movement, the system allows users to view the routes followed and access points on a map in the control room, practically in real time in relation to the occurrence of the event. The results that were achieved are remarkable in terms of detail and accuracy, and have fully met Arkema's expectations and have compensated and rewarded the effort that was invested in the study (supported by high-level technical documentation) of these sophisticated applications, which require a very rigorous approach in terms of the evaluation of radio coverage and the adjustment of locators in order to deliver reliable results.

At the site in Rho, which is different in terms of its construction, location applications have been performed on an antenna base. These have always had satisfactory results, and include integrated messaging functions for emergency events that enable alerting to all mobile operators. In the future, the usefulness of conveying technical alarms of various kinds to the DECT network may emerge, so events can be transformed into alerts and a more efficient integrated use of the handheld terminal as a valid work tool (and reliable support in case of staff danger) can be achieved. Finally, the many benefits offered by this solution can be appreciated when implemented in a complex business such as Arkema.