Abu Dhabi Offshore Oil & Gas Leader Cuts Red Zone Violations by 80% with viAct AI
A leading offshore oil & gas leader in Abu Dhabi, operating across multiple rigs, faced mounting risks in managing high-hazard “red zones” around cranes, drill floors, and heavy lifting areas. Despite established safety protocols, manual spotters often struggled to detect unauthorized entries in time, leading to repeated near-miss incidents and costly downtime during mandatory investigations. To strengthen frontline safety and reduce operational disruption, the leader implemented viAct’ AI-powered Red Zone Management solution across its offshore platforms.
10x Improvement in Safety Score
with continuous AI-driven monitoring.
50% improved annual productivity
through reduced incident-related stoppages.
Easy Shift Coordination
by aligning multiple contractors’ activities in real time.
Company Overview
An Abu Dhabi–based offshore oil & gas company operates multiple production and drilling rigs across the Gulf. Managing large-scale operations with heavy machinery, lifting equipment, and diverse contractor teams onboard daily, the company prioritizes innovation, safety, and efficiency, adopting advanced digital technologies to ensure resilient offshore production and full compliance with regional energy standards.
Story Snapshot
Recurring near-misses from unauthorized entries into red zones during lifting and drilling activities led the company to deploy viAct AI-powered Red Zone Management. By enabling continuous monitoring, instant alerts, and automated warnings, the system reduced violations by more than 80% while saving over 1,500 operational hours annually, reinforcing safety culture and uninterrupted offshore operations.
Industry:
Oil & Gas
Location:
Abu Dhabi
Use Case:
Red Zone AI
The Challenge
Managing Red Zone Safety on Offshore Rigs during Peak Drilling Operations
On Abu Dhabi’s offshore drilling rigs, simultaneous operations on crane decks and drill floors created persistent safety risks. Contractors frequently cut across restricted crane zones to shorten routes, while crowded drill floor activity made it difficult to control overlaps between teams. These red zone breaches not only increased struck-by risks but also forced unplanned stoppages, delaying critical drilling schedules.
HSE supervisors struggled to coordinate hundreds of workers in confined rig spaces where visibility was limited and conditions rapidly changed. Manual spotters often missed violations, especially during night shifts or peak drilling operations. Interventions typically occurred after workers had already entered hazardous zones, leading to incident investigations and costly downtime. To break this cycle, the company looked to a digital solution that could provide continuous, real-time monitoring of red zones across its offshore rigs.
“Last year, a red zone entry on the drill floor forced us to halt drilling. Spotters admitted blind spots were unavoidable. After that, we turned to viAct and their red zone management AI now catches unsafe entries instantly.”
HSE Superintendent
Offshore Drilling Rig, Abu Dhabi
The Solution
Fast Tracking Safety in Offshore Drilling with Instant AI Alerts
When a major red zone breach forced drilling work to halt, the offshore operator urgently turned to viAct. Within 7 days, the existing rig cameras were trained with viAct AI Red Zone Management module, deploying real-time monitoring without additional hardware.
The AI instantly identified unsafe entries on drill floors and crane decks, alerting supervisors before accidents could occur. What once relied on human spotters, who often struggled with blind spots and fatigue, was now continuously tracked across all angles even during complex simultaneous operations. Unsafe entries that once went unnoticed were now flagged instantly, preventing accidents and eliminating costly stoppages.
“By implementing viAct Red Zone Management, we finally closed the blind spots. It has become a game-changer for crew safety and operational continuity,” said the Offshore Rig HSE Superintendent.
“With instant alerts and real-time dashboards, crew members reported improved awareness, while managers saw smoother schedules and safer operations. We now spend less time managing stoppages and more time drilling safely,” added the Drilling Operations Supervisor.
Work Area Heat Maps for Predictive Drill Floor Management
Following repeated red zone breaches on the drill floor, viAct AI-powered red zone management heat maps transformed oversight from reactive to predictive. Existing cameras were trained within a week, creating real-time visual maps of workforce density and risk intensity. Supervisors could instantly see where activity was approaching unsafe thresholds, long before a stoppage became necessary.
This visibility reduced operational delays and optimized crew deployment, balancing productivity with protection. The rig achieved predictive safety, continuous uptime, and smarter decision-making by linking red zone management with workforce mapping, ensuring drilling progress without compromised compliance.
Real-Time Red Zone Intrusion Alerts for Safer Drill Floors
While heat maps showed worker density on the drill floor, they couldn’t prevent actual breaches into hazardous zones. Supervisors still faced blind spots when movements crossed into restricted areas without notice. By deploying viAct Red Zone Intrusion Alerts, the rig gained proactive safeguards—triggering instant alarms the moment unsafe entry occurred and automatically logging each event.
This real-time intervention ensured high-risk work could continue without unplanned halts. “Heat maps gave us patterns, but alerts gave us protection,” explained the Rig Safety Superintendent.
The Impact
Redefining Operational Confidence in Offshore Drilling Dynamics with viAct
Beyond safety gains, the deployment created a new layer of operational confidence across offshore drilling activities. The system’s intelligence not only safeguarded drill floor operations but also supplied leadership with credible data that strengthened decision-making and stakeholder assurance.
In regulatory inspections and joint-venture discussions, the company could now demonstrate transparent, tech-driven governance; reshaping its reputation as a forward-leaning operator. This digital maturity reframed safety from a compliance cost into a strategic asset directly influencing competitiveness and long-term resilience.
“Our crews feel safer knowing viAct AI will alert before incidents occur, thus saving us from delays and unnecessary shutdowns.”
HSE Superintendent
Offshore Drilling Rig, Abu Dhabi