POWER July 2022 - 38

SAFETY
Leveraging Digital Confined
Space Technologies to Mitigate
the Growing Labor Shortage
It's becoming harder and harder for managers to find the skilled labor needed to
operate and maintain power plants. That's why utilizing technology to enhance
safety and efficiency is so important. Digital confined space monitoring is an
innovative tool that reduces the labor burden while improving monitoring capabilities-
a literal win-win for system users.
Bridget Shelton
F
or years leading up to the pandemic,
power industry observers were
warning of the need to attract and
retain skilled labor. In 2019, the Global
Energy Talent Index reported that the
labor shortage continued to grow due
to multiple factors, including retirement
and job switches to more attractive industries.
COVID-19 only made matters
worse, as laborers left the workforce
with no intention of returning.
Technology to the Rescue
But, like many other challenges brought
about by the COVID pandemic, labor
ambiguity, costs, and safety measures
can all be combatted with digital technologies
that allow for greater flexibility,
reduced head count, and increased efficiency.
Take digital confined space monitoring
(DCSM), for example. Traditionally,
confined space monitoring has been performed
with one safety attendant monitoring
one confined space (1-1 ratio). This
traditional safety attendant is generally
responsible for the following:
■ Checking permits before entry.
■ Verifying personal protection equipment
(PPE) requirements.
■ Documenting entry and exit times.
Alerting rescue personnel should an incident
occur.
Documenting any other notable activity.
Due to a lack of information from inside
the confined space and historical
work methods, traditional safety attendants
are limited in their means to act.
Should an accident occur within a confined
space, there is little means to alarm
contractors inside and littler information
available to guide rescue personnel. Consequently,
it is also difficult to concretely
identify and learn from the incident.
With these working methods, sites
planning for turnarounds must account
for not only one safety attendant to every
confined space, but also for standby firewatchers
and rescue personnel, all whilst
needing to reduce headcount, contact,
and costs in the growing wake of the labor
shortage. This is just a fraction of the
new challenges faced by turnaround planners.
So, how can contractors, planners,
and operators emerge as industry leaders
post-pandemic? Well, now, more than
ever, may be the time for energy industries
to seize digitalization opportunities.
Setting Goals
To find solutions to labor shortage challenges,
the first step is to identify your
objectives. Common objectives shared
amid the growing labor shortage during
the global pandemic include:
■ Cutting costs.
■ Increasing efficiency.
■ Decreasing headcount.
■ Increasing safety.
These objectives can seem contradictory
at first, especially when applying traditional
business rationale, but when innovative
thinking is applied and technology is factored
in, the possibilities are endless. The
trick is to simplify what your tangible objectives
are. Digitalization, data, and technology
can all be intimidating and complicated
words-the results should not be. When
thinking back to the example of confined
space monitoring, achieving the mentioned
objectives under today's pressures can be
relatively simple with DCSM technology.
DCSM is the process of combining people
and technology to make confined space
work more insightful, safe, and efficient. A
traditional DCSM system works by combining
a series of components, such as cameras,
alarms, and sensors, inside and outside
of the confined space. The equipment is
used to collect data from the field (Figure 1).
Data collected from the field components is
then transmitted, in real time, to the monitoring
operator station for remote monitoring
capability (Figure 2).
DCSM technology has been around
1. Digital confined space monitoring (DCSM), remote gas detection, access control and management,
and people and asset tracking are achievable through a series of modular components
that integrate into the VISICS system. Courtesy: Mobile Shutdown System B.V.
38
www.powermag.com
since early 2007 when a small team of
industrial partner companies in Western
Europe started innovating based
on the safety needs of a few industrial
clients. Later, in 2009, this technology
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POWER July 2022

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