Shell selects Globalstar Satellite Asset Tracking Solution
Globalstar Europe Satellite Services Ltd announced that global oil giant Shell has deployed a satellite-based asset management solution in the Netherlands to securely manage its movable assets on land and at sea.
By more closely and efficiently managing its high value assets and their associated test certification, Shell has achieved a positive return on investment (ROI) on the solution in just three months.
The Alltrack track and trace solution, provided by Globalstar’s Dutch-based Value Added Reseller Improvement-IT, incorporates QR codes, Globalstar’s SmartOne™ satellite asset managers and a cloud-based content management system.
Alltrack has been integrated with Shell’s internal mapping software utility to make it easy to precisely locate assets, while geo-fencing confirms that items are in the right place. The solution ensures that equipment test certificates are valid, eliminating paperwork while cutting time and costs as well as speeding up supply chain operations.
To date, Shell has deployed 250 SmartOne devices attached to a variety of high value assets including pumps, tools, power supplies and generators, which may be on land, in containers, in transit or offshore. With terrestrial mobile communications networks being incomplete, unreliable or non-existent in these locations, satellite was the only reliable communications option.
Improvement-IT chose to use Globalstar’s SmartOne simplex asset manager for communications because of its reliability, long battery life and ability to switch between battery and line-powered as required. SmartOne uses motion sensors, comparative GPS positions and sensors to gather and transmit asset status information over Globalstar’s satellite network.
Designed from the outset to be easy to use for non-technical staff, Alltrack requires just 15 minutes of training. There are currently approximately 100 users at Shell, with more being added.
Shell originally started by using 2D QR style codes to track down hole drilling tools for oil and gas platforms as they went into and out of its warehouses. Then, in 2015, Shell extended this facility to tracking assets being put into containers for transport or storage, and tracking them by GPS, communicating the containers’ status back to headquarters using Globalstar’s satellite network.
Daan te Nuijl, Managing Director at Improvement IT said:
“Shell has very challenging asset management requirements as its equipment is used down wells and in environments with high pressure and temperature. We created a specialist solution for Shell and chose the Globalstar network and technology for communications because of their reliability, security, low cost and ease of doing business with the company.”
“The deployment has gone smoothly and immediately started delivering benefits to Shell by cutting the time and cost involved in finding assets and ensuring the correct certifications were in place.”
Shell is now testing “track and trace” in other parts of the business, including monitoring pipe and tube materials, with a view to expanding its use. Plus, third parties who manage certification processes and those who manage tools for Shell can now benefit from using the system too.
Albert Bos, Team Leader, Well Services Workshop at Shell said:
“This new satellite-based solution ensures we get the full picture of where our assets are even if they are on a rig in the North Sea. We have gone from a paperwork-intensive environment to a hosted asset management system that makes decision-making quick and easy.”
“When a container arrives at the warehouse, security officers now already know what’s inside and the test certificates are automatically validated, saving significant time. We can also easily see which of our rented assets are being underutilised and so we can return them and cut costs.”
Corry Brennan, Simplex Regional Sales Manager – EMEA at Globalstar said:
“Shell’s use of Alltrack is a great example of how organisations can increase productivity dramatically by extending communications in remote locations and offshore with satellite technology. Alltrack has significantly improved the efficiency of operations at Shell and this will only increase as they use the solution to monitor more and more assets.”
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