The Oil & Gas Industry consists of three stages of operations – upstream, downstream, and midstream. The upstream operations are responsible for identification, extraction and production of the raw material. Whereas the downstream operations focus on the post production of oil and natural gas (refining.) The midstream operations act as a link between upstream and downstream by managing the transportation.
The global Downstream O&G sector and its challenges
The global downstream market grew from $2,876 billion in 2022 to $2,972 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 3.4% (Oil Downstream Products Global Market Report.)
One of the key challenges faced in the O&G Industry, specially by downstream operators, is difficulty with communication due to extreme background noise. The average background noise in a typical oil refinery ranges between 80 to 100 dB. For example, personnel working close to the compressors are exposed to sound levels of 100 dB or above. The combination of high noise and the use of hearing protection can make it impossible for the teams to communicate clearly when using traditional walkie talkie devices. This lack of clear communication results in accidents, loss of operational efficiency and productivity. On top of the real risk to human safety, the cost of downtime in a typical oil and gas refinery can range from $10,000 to $100,000 per hour (ARC Advisory Group.)
Digitisation of communication
The oil and gas industry has invested around $50 billion in digital transformation initiatives between 2014 and 2018 (McKinsey & Company). The global digital oilfield market is expected to grow from $24 billion in 2020 to $32 billion by 2025. This includes the digital communication technologies for the O&G industry.
With the increasing investment in digital communication technologies, some of the key initiatives taken by downstream O&G operators to make teams more connected includes:
- Enabling and implementing remote expert programs
- Onboarding communication platforms like MS Teams and other Push-To-Talk (PTT) software
- Deploying smartphones and tablets on site
- Deploying super fast 5G connectivity on site
One huge limitation to these high investment initiatives is that their performance drops significantly, to the point of being unusable, in high background noise environments. To avoid the cumulative loss of value-add that these technology investments bring to site, operators must address the challenge of maintaining team safety and effective collaboration in these extreme environments.
Unlocking a connected workforce
Mobilus Labs developed mobiWAN, a next-generation bone conduction audio headset which delivers a superior voice communication experience in extremely noisy Industrial environments including Oil & Gas refineries and heavy manufacturing facilities. mobiWAN acts as a wireless, ears free Bluetooth accessory to your walkie talkie and other communication platforms like MS Teams. With the bone conduction technology, the voice completely by-passes the ears and goes straight to the inner ear through micro vibrations. mobiWAN’s microphone completely isolates the background noise by picking up body vibrations instead of air vibrations.
“mobiWAN allows our teams to transmit and receive communication in high noise areas, while maintaining single or double hearing protection. It also helps us minimize the risk of hearing loss while maintaining safe communication between workgroups.”
(Connected Worker Team, Chevron)
mobiWAN enables you to protect your ears with hearing protection and still hear incoming messages through bone conduction audio transmission. Likewise, while in noisy environments the bone conduction microphone isolates the users voice from the high environmental noise allowing them to transmit clear, low noise audio in high noise environments.
By enabling teams to communicate in extreme noise industrial environments, mobiWAN helps O&G operators to unlock the full potential of their connected workforce.
- Compatibility with communication devices and platforms through wireless connectivity
mobiWAN uses Audio Bluetooth 5.0 standard so that it can connect to any Bluetooth device (smartphone, radio, tablet, etc.) without having any hanging wires around the body. Our product acts as a wireless, ears free extension to your communication device and platform, overcoming the barrier of high background noise. - Ability to use remote expert functionality in high noise environments
Industrial environments such as refineries are difficult and hazardous places to work. Full of complicated processes, machinery and equipment. Prior to the ‘connected worker age’, experts would be flown all over the world to advise, guide and train site personnel on this equipment.
With mobiWAN’s wireless connectivity and compatibility with communication platforms, experts are able to be on site digitally, using collaboration tools, which allow them to see the environment of the onsite personnel such as through tablets, smartphones and wearable technology. mobiWAN is enabling these remote expert tools to be used properly in high noise environments, so the remote experts are no longer limited by the environment that the onsite personnel are working in. Bringing the same advantage of an in person expert, while also benefiting from productivity and safety benefits of instant remote expert access. - Certified for use in hazardous environments
mobiWAN has been designed for use in hazardous locations and is C1D2 certified. It is rugged, drop tested, waterproof, dustproof, and safe to be deployed in environments where volatile flammable liquids or gasses are used. This ensures that our products deliver the best voice communication experience even in the harshest environments.
Breaking the barrier of high background noise
As mentioned earlier, difficulty to communicate clearly in a high noise industrial environments is one of the biggest barriers to unlocking the full potential of a connected workforce.
mobiWAN, our advanced voice communication technology, breaks that barrier with its unique bone conduction microphone and speaker. By isolating your voice from the high background noise, mobiWAN enables your teams to clearly transmit and receive voice communication while they can still protect their ears with hearing protection.
With its ability to connect with communication devices including radios, smartphones, tables and compatibility with Push-To-Talk (PTT) software, mobiWAN also facilitates Industrial teams to use the functionality of remote experts in a high noise environment.
If you would like to experience the magic of our bone conduction technology, you can book a demo with our team here.
