by MSA – The Safety Company
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It’s only been 10 years since the first smartphone was introduced. Since then, the smartphone has become an integral part of people’s social habits and personal lives. As a knowledge-sharing device and a communication tool, the smartphone’s fundamental value is undeniable.Perhaps that’s why, in more recent years, smartphones have penetrated the workplace, including industrial environments, such as the Oil, Gas & Petroleum (OGP) and Utilities industries.
With just a smartphone, an app and a Bluetooth pairing, it’s now possible (and relatively simple) to know if a lone worker, or someone in a confined space or potentially dangerous environment, is in trouble.
Although this type of first-generation technology has been helpful in industrial environments, emerging wireless detection technologies have the potential to extend reach, ensure compliance, and amplify worker safety.
Which leads to a whole series of “what-if” questions …
• What if you could better protect the worker by bringing more people online for real-time situational awareness?
• What if you could rely on something other than traditional but limited radio communications?
• What if the level of remote access was elevated to an entirely unprecedented level?
• What if it did not require more infrastructure and expensive upgrades?
These “what-ifs” are about to be answered by MSA, The Safety Company.
“Working smarter and safer is certainly on everyone’s minds,” says MSA Global Program Manager Matt DeLorenzo. “In response to this, some gas detection competitors focus on local alarm sharing, while others rely on long-range communication, often requiring investment in additional supporting infrastructure. At MSA, we want to enable a proactive response to potentially dangerous events through a remote-monitoring system.”
In its soon-to-be-released product, MSA eliminates the need for reliance on traditional radio communication and increased infrastructure. Instead, this new product leverages widespread cellular networksnetworks not as susceptible to the challenges that typically face radio systems.
Explains DeLorenzo, “MSA’s new product will give users the ability to remotely manage an unlimited number of workers in the field for gas hazards and other challenges. With our latest technology, we’ve achieved a level of safety above and beyond local instruments and alarms to solve the problem of remote worker situational awareness.”
And the timing couldn’t be more ideal.
DeLorenzo says that the OGP and Utility industries are poised to do what the Cable and Home Security industries have been doing for nearly a decade: Manage work in real-time using smartphones (intrinsically safe ones, in this case) as the enabling technology.
“Ultimately, we want to empower our customers with real-time alarm and event information so they can make better decisions faster, especially when time is of the essence,” he says.
DeLorenzo sites multiple examples of the coming capabilities, ranging from incident awareness and reporting, to fleet and account management.
Here’s an overview of the top 6 benefits of MSA’s new web-based subscription service with cloud-hosted data storage:
1. Expands reach without expanding infrastructure
2. Reduces complexity of installation and instrumentation
3. Provides real-time situational awareness to improve response time
4. Increases device accountability while decreasing maintenance downtime
5. Enhances compliance efforts and achieves exposure history
6. Lowers total cost of ownership for gas detection programs
“It’s just a smarter way to a implement and manage a gas detection program,” DeLorenzo says. “Our free ALTAIR Connect Android app is a great first step, thanks to its real-time texting capabilities. But for those who want a higher-level, more holistic view of worker safety where gas hazards are present, this new product will truly create a connected portable gas detection ecosystem.”
MSA is the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality, life-saving products designed to protect even in the most hazardous of conditions. To learn more about this emerging new technology, please visit MSA’s Portable Gas Detection page, or call 877-672-2222.
