The customer
A major international oil company has a network of oil wells and a large processing plant deep in the Colombian jungle, together with a pipeline to the coast.
The challenge
For an oil company, poor communications can have a high cost - both money and lives. This company wanted to replace its old conventional system, which had congested channels, with a reliable trunked network with call groups for different operational areas and emergency calling to link all staff.
Tait initially provided a five-site, 40-channel TaitNet system connecting 1,500 staff at the oil wells and processing plant. About 700 Intrinsically Safe portables and mobiles are used on the system, which features a despatcher facility with telephone interconnection.
In 2006, the trunking system was upgraded to a more advanced system - the TN5100 trunked radio system. An extra site was then added to the network to cover a new geographical area. During this upgrade, the company also opted to upgrade the Network Management Terminal to allow a greater level of remote functionality.
The solution
The oil company in Colombia can now enjoy effective wide-area coverage and reliable communications between different operational groups throughout the field.
The greater channel availability of the trunked radio system means users can communicate when they need to, without having to wait for a channel to become free or having to hear other groups' conversations. High audio quality allows for clear voice communications throughout the network. Low operating costs due to the new remote monitoring features that the trunking system offers allows more efficient co-ordination of activities between the processing plant and oil wells.
The outcome
The upgrade to the TaitNet system provides users at the oil company with enhanced security and instant, dependable communications across the network.