Case Study: Personnel Positioning Project for the Off-Site Fuel Supply System at Shanghai Pudong International Airport’s Expansion Phase

I. Project Background

As one of the world’s major aviation hubs, Shanghai Pudong International Airport has seen steady growth in its operations, leading to an ever-increasing demand for aviation fuel. To meet the airport’s future development needs, an expansion of the off-airport fuel supply system has been put on the agenda. Within this project, the fuel depot—serving as the core facility for fuel storage and blending—has a capacity of 200,000 cubic meters and houses substantial quantities of highly flammable and explosive aviation fuel, posing extremely high safety risks.

In the daily operations of an oil depot, personnel management is a critical component for ensuring safety. Traditional methods rely primarily on manual patrols and record‑keeping, which suffer from low efficiency, delayed information, and difficulty in comprehensively tracking staff movements. In the event of a safety incident—such as unauthorized entry into hazardous areas or non‑compliant operations—it can be challenging to detect and address the issue promptly, potentially leading to severe consequences. Consequently, the adoption of advanced personnel‑positioning technologies to enable real‑time, precise monitoring of individuals within the depot has become an urgent necessity for safeguarding its safe and reliable operation.

II. Project Overview

This project is an important component of the off-site fuel supply expansion at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, focusing on personnel positioning management within the oil depot area. The oil depot covers a vast site, with a positioning area of approximately 102,187 square meters, and hosts a large number of daily operational staff—up to 200 individuals. The project aims to deploy an advanced Positioning System to enable real-time personnel tracking and trajectory monitoring within the depot, thereby enhancing the efficiency and safety of personnel management and providing robust support for the safe and stable operation of the oil depot.

III. Implementation Plan

(1) Selection and Planning of the Positioning System

After thorough market research and technical evaluation, the project adopted a Positioning System based on Bluetooth technology. This system boasts high positioning accuracy, flexible deployment, and low cost, making it ideally suited for environments like oil depots that are complex and large in scale. Prior to implementation, the technical team conducted a detailed survey of the depot’s layout, architectural structure, and staff movement routes, and developed a scientifically sound and well‑reasoned planning scheme for the Positioning System.

(II) On-site Equipment Deployment

Within the oil depot area, a large number of Bluetooth Beacons have been strategically deployed according to the planning scheme. These Beacons are installed at key locations such as walls, columns, and equipment surfaces, creating a dense signal network that ensures seamless Bluetooth signal coverage throughout the entire positioning zone. The installation height and spacing of the Beacons have been meticulously calculated to guarantee signal stability and positioning accuracy.

(3) Personnel Positioning Equipment Provisioning

A chest-mounted locator has been provided for the 200 staff members at the oil depot. This locator is compact and lightweight, easy to wear, and equipped with a built-in Bluetooth module and battery, enabling it to operate continuously for an extended period. The locator is linked to the staff member’s identity information and communicates with nearby Beacons via Bluetooth signals, transmitting its location data in real time to the backend management system.

(IV) System Debugging and Optimization

After the equipment was deployed, the project team conducted comprehensive debugging and optimization of the Positioning System. Through field testing and data analysis, they adjusted and refined the Beacon parameters and positioning algorithms to ensure that positioning accuracy meets the 3–5 meter requirement. At the same time, they rigorously tested the system’s stability and reliability to guarantee normal operation under various complex environmental conditions.

IV. Functional Applications

(1) Real-time Personnel Positioning

The backend management system can display the precise locations of 200 staff members within the oil depot in real time. On an electronic map, each person’s position is clearly indicated by an icon, allowing managers to intuitively grasp the distribution of personnel. By clicking on a personnel icon, users can access detailed information such as name, department, and job title. In the event of an emergency, managers can quickly pinpoint the location of affected individuals and promptly coordinate command and rescue operations.

(II) Trajectory Query

The system automatically records personnel movement trajectories, enabling managers to query, as needed, the travel routes and locations of individuals over any specified time period. By analyzing this trajectory data, it is possible to gain insights into employees’ work habits and patterns of activity, thereby identifying potential safety hazards. For example, if an individual is found to frequently linger near a hazardous area, timely warnings and training can be provided. Additionally, the trajectory‑query function can be leveraged for accident investigations and the determination of accountability.

(3) Regional Personnel Counting

The system can dynamically track the number of personnel in each designated area in real time. Administrators can define distinct zones—such as the tank farm, pump house, and loading/unloading areas—and the system will automatically calculate and display the headcount for each zone. If the number of people in any given area exceeds a preset safety threshold, the system triggers an alarm to alert management, enabling timely evacuation and resource allocation to prevent crowd‑related safety incidents.

(4) Boundary Crossing Alarm for Hazardous Areas

To ensure the safety of the oil depot, the system has designated multiple hazardous zones within the facility, including the top of oil tanks, high-voltage switchgear rooms, and areas storing flammable and explosive materials. When personnel enter these hazardous zones, the system immediately triggers audible and visual alarms and displays an alert on the backend management platform, providing administrators with information on the intruder’s identity, location, and time of entry. At the same time, the locator emits a vibration alert to prompt the individual to leave the hazardous area as soon as possible.

(5) Intelligent Inspection

For equipment inspection at oil storage facilities, the system offers an intelligent patrol‑inspection function. Managers can create detailed inspection schedules, defining inspection routes, checkpoints, and timing. Once inspectors wear a positioning device, the system records their patrol paths and timestamps in real time. Upon reaching each checkpoint, the system automatically prompts the inspector to perform equipment checks and log relevant data. If an inspector fails to follow the scheduled route or misses a checkpoint, the system issues an alert, ensuring that inspections are completed on time, to the required quality, and in full compliance with established standards.

V. Project Outcomes

Through the implementation of this project, the personnel management at the off-site fuel‑supply depot of Shanghai Pudong International Airport’s expansion has been significantly enhanced. Real-time personnel positioning and trajectory‑query capabilities enable managers to promptly track staff movements, thereby accelerating emergency response; regional headcount monitoring and perimeter‑breach alerts effectively prevent crowd gatherings and unauthorized access to hazardous areas, reducing the risk of safety incidents; and intelligent patrol functions have improved both the efficiency and quality of equipment inspections, ensuring the reliable operation of depot facilities. The successful deployment of this project has provided robust support for the safe operation of Shanghai Pudong International Airport and offers valuable experience and best practices for personnel‑location management in other similar facilities.