Radio - LyondellBasell

Known and Trusted is the Safest Solution

When looking to upgrade its two-way radio system polypropylene manufacturer LyondellBasell Carrington went for the known and trusted – Pennine Telecom.

When you’re in the petrochemical business safety tends to pre-occupy the mind.  That’s one reason why LyondellBasell Carrington trusted Pennine Telecom, its supplier of some 20 years standing, to come up with a safe and effective upgrade solution for its two-way radio operation.

The company manufactures polypropylene at the Carrington site to serve a range of industries, including the consumer, automotive, and packaging sectors. 
Because of the nature of the petrochemicals manufacturing environment Basell staff make use of two-way radios compliant with the ATEX directive to communicate within the site boundary. These radios emit minimal electrical energy to prevent ignition of potentially flammable atmospheres in hazardous areas.

The challenge facing LyondellBasell’s Senior Electrical Engineer Andy Beaumont was that the site’s existing radio system had become obsolete. “We’ve always had a two way radio system and the current system supplied by Pennine supplied some 20 years ago, has regularly been serviced and upgraded. However due to its age, some parts of it, particularly the base stations, were becoming unsupportable through obsolescence,” explains Andy Beaumont.

After consulting with Pennine’s two-way radio experts, Andy Beaumont opted for Motorola’s GP340 digital base stations operating in analogue mode, complemented by a number of five channel radios and fixed units for use in vehicles. “We looked at the digital trunking route but decided we’d stay with analogue because that’s what works best for us. But, as part of the discussion with Pennine, we came up with a future-proofed solution using the new base stations. We use multi-channels, five licensed frequencies which, because of the risk of cross-talk and everything else, we opted to stick with. From a safety point of view  we wanted a known and trusted system.” Not only is it known and trusted but with digital capabilities, it’s future-proofed.

He adds that each plant has its own specific frequency and the radio handsets have all available frequencies assigned to them, including the emergency channel. “We can speak to each other within or between plants on their dedicated frequencies and everything links back to our on-site fire station, so if we have an emergency situation as many personnel as possible can go on that frequency if needed.”

Safety also informed a necessarily well-planned switchover. The site operates 24/7/365, never shutting down and so, therefore, relies on the communications network. “Maintaining the integrity and safety of all the systems is vital so we planned the switchover so that we changed the plants over one at a time. The transitional period, the installation of new equipment on the mast, removal of the old equipment and replacement with the new base stations was almost seamless so we had continuous radio service throughout. It all went very smoothly”

Post-installation Andy Beaumont’s enthusiasm remains as clear as the new system’s reception. “The new Motorola system is definitely better and more reliable than we had before. It all went smoothly and we’re very pleased with the system, from start to end everything went very well.”