Communications Case Study
Refinery saves $1.8 million during turnarounds with two-way radio rentals
Industrial two-way radios from United Rentals deliver major cost savings while improving communication and safety
Summary
When a top U.S. petroleum refinery needed 500 additional two-way radios for a critical turnaround, purchasing new equipment meant a $2 million capital expense. United Rentals delivered a custom-engineered communications solution that integrated seamlessly with the plant's existing radio system, cutting costs by 90% while keeping all personnel safely connected across 3,000 acres.
Challenge
An industrial refinery needed 500 additional two-way radios for seven trades during a planned turnaround and wasn’t able to rent the same model they owned. Purchasing new radios would have represented a cost-prohibitive capital expense.
Successful refinery turnarounds require a secure, reliable communications system to keep onsite personnel, including subcontractors, connected while completing critical maintenance work. Industrial two-way radios provide instant voice communication within and across teams. They also enable emergency communications.
Many refineries own their radio fleets, but few have enough units to equip all subcontractors during a turnaround peak. One of the top petroleum refineries in the U.S. faced this challenge.
The plant needed 500 additional radios for seven trades to complete a planned turnaround. Renting the same brand of radio they owned wasn’t possible, and purchasing more of them would have represented a cost-prohibitive capital expense. Buying new radios would also have meant absorbing the cost of staging, tracking, servicing and warehousing the equipment.
Identifying compatible rental radios
For help, the refinery turned to United Rentals, which was already supporting the plant’s turnarounds with an onsite heavy equipment yard. As the largest radio rental provider in North America, with a fleet of 30 million radios, United Rentals was uniquely positioned to deliver an effective solution.
After reviewing the refinery’s owned radio fleet, Jim Kasarda, project logistics manager for United Rentals, found a compatible model from another manufacturer that offered higher audio quality at a fraction of the cost. The units were interoperable with the plant’s P25 radios.
Connecting the rental radios to the existing radio system meant the refinery didn’t have to worry about coverage, interference or dead spots across the 3,000-acre plant. It also meant subcontractors wouldn’t have to carry two radios, which would have doubled the cost.
Configuring radios for seamless communication
Once the radios were chosen, United Rentals matched the programming to that of the owned radios as closely as possible, with some improvements. “We spent many hours back and forth creating the programming and making it seamless,” said Kasarda.
The channel order was optimized, and subcontractor-only channels were added, which reduced chatter on the plant’s priority channels. Improvements were also made to how emergency calls were routed. Thanks to the rental radios’ interoperability with the owned radios, all radio users could hear emergency alerts and press the orange emergency button for help.
Careful planning delivers clear communication and major savings
The refinery deployed the rental radios during two turnarounds in one year. The equipment performed flawlessly, helping the plant complete all maintenance tasks on schedule while supporting worker safety.
The cost savings were dramatic. Instead of paying $2 million to expand its owned radio fleet by 500 units, the refinery spent $200,000 on rental radios, a savings of 90% in procurement costs alone. By renting instead of purchasing, the customer also shifted a potential capital expense to an operating expense, which yielded same-year tax benefits and freed up capital for future maintenance needs.
Through meticulous planning, the right rental radio solution, and exceptional service, United Rentals helped the refinery control costs, keep onsite personnel in constant communication, maintain optimal worker productivity and safety and complete the turnaround on schedule.