Aker Yards Uses RFID to Ramp Up Worker Safety

With RFID interrogator antennas positioned at opposite ends of each footbridge, the system can determine if a person is embarking or disembarking by calculating the time difference between reads from the two antennas.

The first tags utilized in the project were EPC Gen 2 ShortDipole tags from UPM Raflatac. Vilant later switched to UPM's DogBone tags because they offer slightly better read ranges. In the beginning stages of the application, workers wore helmets with RFID tags placed on the back and covered in plastic. However, employees often bumped their heads or sat on their helmets, damaging the tags, so they were eventually placed inside the helmets instead.

When Aker Yards was installing the system, unions raised concerns regarding employee privacy. Therefore, the company agreed that the RFID system would be used only by firefighters and security workers.

The system can also be utilized for further security applications: If a worker remains on board for 12 hours, for instance, it may be a sign that individual has been injured, and that guards should begin a search. What's more, guards can use a handheld reader to scan a worker's helmet and pull up a picture of that employee to confirm that the correct person is gaining access to the ship. Because of these additional security benefits, union representatives began to value the system—and sometimes even complained if it took too long for Aker Yards to set up the readers when a new ship docked.

According to Virkkunen, the main challenges involved finding the proper tags for the project and getting directional reads. "A person needs to be 'visible' for 10 meters," he told conference attendees. The Motorola interrogators deployed take multiple reads as a person walks by, allowing operators to choose from four or five data points to calculate whether that individual is moving on or off the ship.

In the future, Aker Yards plans to expand its use of the system—which cost about €150,000 ($220,000) for the Turku deployment—to its two other Finnish shipyards, located in Rauma and Helsinki.