Marathon refinery to deploy wi-fi safety system

Marathon Petroleum Co. LLC plans to deploy a wireless gas detection system from Accenture at two units within Marathon’s 192,000-b/d refinery in Robinson, Ill.

Jerry C. Welch, senior vice-president of Marathon Petroleum, said the system will alert workers within the refinery of any gas incidents and will help colleagues outside the plant to find refinery workers.

“The refining industry has not been able to use wireless networks to remotely detect hazards or locate workers,” Welch said. He believes the system “has the potential to transform onsite safety in our industry and should be relevant to many other sectors.”

The dense amount of steel used in refineries and chemical plants makes it difficult to use wireless systems, Accenture said. The system uses a lapel-based wireless four-gas detector and wi-fi tags.

Colin Fulton, director of Accenture Plant and Automation Solutions, said several technologies from various companies were combined to create the Accenture Life Safety Solution system, which allows remote monitoring of incidents and provides continuous gas monitoring.