Edison Chouest Offshore Deploys Mojix STAR System in RFID Initiative 
Mojix Inc announced Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), C Logistics Division, is deploying the Mojix STAR system in a large scale RFID initiative to bring a new level of visibility, precision and operational efficiency to the oil and gas industry at their Port Fourchon, Louisiana facility, a large scale shorebase operation which services the majority of offshore logistics for offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
Following a successful pilot of the Mojix system, the deployment to fully equip Port Fourchon’s C-Port and C-Port 2, an 18-slip operation, is underway, and will “light up” the entire port providing RTLS visibility utilizing passive RFID. In addition, RFID visibility will be expanded to all remaining production areas of Port Fourchon as well as warehouse facilities within the Edison Chouest Offshore family of companies. ECO, a leading provider of integrated supply management for drilling, production, and construction projects in deepwater and shelf locations throughout the Gulf of Mexico, is implementing RFID initiatives to support their ability to maximize efficiency, reduce cost and solve the critical issues of staging, manpower, space, loading, scheduling and logistics for oil drilling and production operations in the Gulf of Mexico. ECO plans to offer RFID enabled value added services as an option to their customers, which include the leading oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
„This RFID deployment enables improved precision, visibility and accountability to C-Logistics services. Based on our current analysis, we expect the deployment to render greater return on our customers’ investment in services, and in addition long term benefits of visibility to workflow and process that are expected to be significant,” said Dane Vizier, General Manager, Edison Chouest Offshore, C Logistics Division. „With the RFID solution we have the ability to know exactly where an item is at all times. Storage and staging will be improved with both textual and graphical representations of locations and definitive time records. This enables us to reconcile and standardize data, which improves the existing reporting functions we provide our customers.”
„The Edison Chouest RFID initiative is well aligned with Mojix vision for passive RFID, to enable ubiquitous, low cost visibility of goods and assets across the supply chain,” said Dr. Ramin Sadr, CEO and Founder, Mojix Inc. “We look forward to supporting this pioneering initiative to deliver a new level of effectiveness to supply and asset management in port operations serving the oil and gas industry.”
Port Fourchon is a land base terminal and dock operations for offshore oil support services as well as a land base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP). Every widget and gadget needed to support the oil and gas industry is handled as cargo and moves through container, bulk, stand alone items, pallets, even personnel. ECO C-Logistics Division has consolidated all aspects of in-port service, offering a one-stop service capability that expedites vessel and material movement, and administers in-port staging and storage operations. Supplies range from liquid bulk commodities such as oilfield fluids, heavy waters, cement, and fuel, to machinery, pipe, specialty tools, dry bulk, food, garbage, and personnel.
New Level of Visibility, Operational Efficiency
During pilot testing at Port Fourchon, the Mojix passive RTLS solution was demonstrated to be well suited to port operations. The Mojix system deployment now underway at C-Port & C-Port 2, which includes the installation of 8 Mojix STAR receivers and 165 Mojix eNodes, addresses the goals of lowering costs and mitigating risks associated with a number of longstanding challenges in port staging operations. These include: lost or misplaced assets or goods, inventory accuracy in vendor staging areas, improved customer service delivery and time of processing through the port, and operational safety and workflow optimization.
Real time location capabilities throughout the port operation allow for automatic data collection of inventory. Combining the capabilities of real time location systems, with the unique ability to utilize low cost passive and battery assisted passive tags, provides a system which determines the location of all tagged assets within the coverage area and renders high volume tagging viable. The architectural advantages of the Mojix STAR system centralized receiver and distributed transmitters provides an RFID environment that can be scaled from basic large zone coverage to very accurate location information.
Data collected by the Mojix system is passed to the C-Logistics proprietary software, Triton, a cargo and logistics application, which is used for services to multiple oil and gas customers. Real-time and past reporting of inventory, movement history, vendor and ultimate consuming customer location is provided by Triton and data is backed up and stored indefinitely. Expansion is also planned to develop and incorporate documented manifests that are required for over-the-road and ocean going vessel movements.
The Mojix STAR system is a revolutionary UHF passive RFID system that brings unprecedented levels of precision, scalability and return-on-investment to radio frequency identification applications. The Mojix STAR system uses advanced digital signal processing and a flexible new RFID systems architecture to deliver expanded utility and value to RFID deployments. The ability to read passive RFID tags over long range, determine tag location, and secure and authenticate tag data in one multi-faceted, multiple purpose system changes the economics of RFID. The Mojix system taps the performance features of active RFID with the more attractive economics of low cost passive RFID.
