Ubisense today announced that its real-time location
system (RTLS),) is being used by BIL Solutions Ltd., formerly BNFL
Instruments, to develop a new way to measure and record radiation dose
rates that could dramatically improve safety measures and quality
assurance for nuclear plants and their employees. This new solution is
being trialled by British Nuclear Group, the parent company of BIL
Solutions, in a project funded through Nexia Solutions by The Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (The NDA).
BIL Solutions is a world leader in detection, monitoring and
measurement technologies serving nuclear, defense, civil,
environmental and industrial sectors. The company has integrated the
Ubisense RTLS platform with dosimetry, the principles and techniques
involved in mapping radiation dose rates, to produce a real-time map
that reflects radiation levels and the location of each worker.
British Nuclear Group began trialling the system in January 2006, and
is further considering the benefits of the automated safety and
quality assurance controls this technology offers. The Ubisense system
may also be used to improve workforce efficiencies enabling employees
to spend more time working in the safest area possible. British
Nuclear Group expects scalable and measurable improvements in its
overall work process.
The Ubisense platform relies on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to
locate people and assets within 30 cm in 3D. In this particular
deployment, the precise level of tracking accuracy generated by the
Ubisense platform enables British Nuclear Group to track and locate
employees in real-time to monitor and evaluate work and safety
conditions.
"We have been able to measure radiation levels with dosimeters but
until now, we needed employees to read the meters in order to obtain
the data. We had no way to extract this information and relate it,
automatically, to the location at which the measurement was made. We
now know both the exact location of any given worker and the dose rate
that they are working in," said Karl Hughes, project manager, BIL
Solutions. "We consider the Ubisense platform a significant
technological breakthrough. The real-time visibility it provides helps
us to keep our employees safer and identify ways we can improve
workplace processes. This solution has the potential to radically
transform business processes for plant decommissioning."
Ubisense, the leading provider of precise, real-time location
technology, partnered with BIL Solutions on this development project,
working closely with the BIL Solutions team to ensure reliable
performance in the challenging environment of a nuclear plant.
"This is a prime example of how our UWB technology is impacting
companies around the world," said Richard Green, CEO, Ubisense. "We
aren't selling our RTLS platform because customers want to replace old
generation infrastructure. Customers want our technology because it
provides precise, detailed visibility into business processes that
enables companies to quickly and easily identify efficiencies and
safety measures, such is the case with British Nuclear Group. We are
enabling businesses to measure and track people, assets and processes
in a radically new way."
About Ubisense
Ubisense delivers a precise, real-time location system (RTLS)
utilizing ultra-wideband (UWB) technology that locates people and
assets within 30 cm in 3D. Customers spanning logistics and
manufacturing, workplace, military, healthcare and hazardous
environments rely on the innovative Ubisense system to analyze and
dramatically improve complex processes resulting in significant
operational savings. The company is headquartered in Cambridge,
England with offices in Denver, Colorado; Dortmund, Germany; and
Singapore. For more information, visit http://www.ubisense.net.