3 Elements of a Successful Gas Detection Program

Safety professionals recognise that gas detection is a critical part of their safety program. Having a solution one can trust brings peace of mind that workers and worksites are safeguarded. Importantly, creating a winning health and safety initiative requires alignment of three factors: subject matter expertise, technology that works, and a human-centered approach.

1. Subject Matter Expertise

Portable gas detectors help to protect workers and worksites from invisible dangers. In order to have a safe, trusted gas detection program, safety professionals need to ensure that workers have the tools and training they need to make safe, compliant choices aligned with corporate safety policies and government regulations.

But gas detectors require attention, administration, record keeping, and more.

Therefore, a successful gas detection solution starts with full and deep understanding of the challenges safety professionals face on a daily basis. Allowing them to simultaneously navigate these multiple factors is paramount. As such, by providing them with innovative solutions, companies can enable their safety professional to achieve their safety goals and improve safety outcomes.

MSA is a market leader in gas detection with over 100 years of technical expertise in worker and worksites safety. MSA has been providing the market with a gas detection solution that makes a significant, positive difference on safety programs. This is enabled through technology, which adds an additional layer of protection to gas detection programs.

2. Technology That Works

Having technology that works at hand brings peace of mind. A successful gas detection program fulfills safety professionals’ expectations and objectives, is easy to use and improves safety outcomes. More specifically, combining gas detection equipment and sensor technology with software technology can result in outcomes such as:

• Safety process improvements
• Informed decision making
• Drive worker compliance and accountability
• Maximise gas detector uptime
• Identify training opportunities
• Record keeping compliance
• Real-time alarm alerts
   

World-class MSA detection equipment combined with Safety io Grid services puts detection data to work for stakeholders in charge of safety. The Safety io Grid software has a user-friendly interface that helps create a comprehensive picture and streamline the gas detection program.

3. Human-Centered Approach

A human-centric approach to safety product design and development begins with understanding both worker needs and expectations, then translating those understandings into beneficial product features; features that allow the worker to focus on the task or job at hand.

A good gas detection program is devised bearing human safety in mind. However, it’s not just about safety, it’s about giving them the tools to get the job done effectively and efficiently. The right gas detection program uses data to help safety professionals make informed decisions.

MSA and Safety io teams work closely with safety professionals and their peers to help transform their gas detection program into an empowering safety platform.

The triple alignment between the three elements — subject matter expertise, technology that works, and human-centered approach — are the cornerstones of a successful gas detection program. With the MSA + Safety io solution, you have it all.

How leveraging your gas detectors data can lead to “intelligent” safety management

Up until 1930, industry professionals believed the main causes of accidents were unsafe conditions. However, improvements in work environments and regulations helped to create safer work conditions. Yet incidents still occurred, leading to significant losses. At this point, leaders began to focus on human behaviours as the root cause of industrial accidents, and to mitigate risks, organisations prioritised controlling worker behaviour and enforcing strict safety policies.

However, with accidents still happening, studies showed that organisations may need to consider a different approach. What emerged was a philosophy that focused less on individual compliance, and more on understanding the aspects of work identity, facilitation and visibility in terms of accountability. Under this approach, workers are identified, and how they perform their work is visualised and evaluated through horizontal relationships rather than in terms of hierarchical accountability to the company.

Technology and data analysis can help companies achieve higher levels of safety by providing improved accountability and adding additional protective layers to safety programs.

Safety Software and Data Analysis Adds a Protective Layer to Gas Detection Safety

Advancements in portable gas detectors and cloud-based software provides access to more data than ever before. With connectivity, leaders can better manage each variable of their gas safety program, including the following components:

1. Hardware

With full visibility of portable gas detectors accessible through cloud-based software, companies can proactively keep a healthy and functioning fleet ready for the job.

• Identify ageing sensors and specific equipment that needs maintenance
• Anticipate and visualise calibration gas ordering needs and make sure detectors are calibrated or bump tested before use

2. People

With the right information at hand, teams have the capability to interact with users.

• Manage alerts and exposures that can lead to unsafe conditions for workers
• Identify workers with potentially unsafe behaviours that may need further training

3. Work Monitoring

In today’s decentralised workforce, data can be used to help ensure the safety of teams across various job sites.

• Identify workers’ locations in case of emergency and remotely evacuate the area
• Get the relevant information about ongoing exposures to quickly take action on alarms
   

Although the information is available, knowing how and when to use it is critical. Safety software like the Safety io Grid Services collects data and delivers it to you in an easy-to-consume format. By using tools such as the Grid Fleet Manager and Grid Live Monitor to observe behaviour and systems, today’s corporations are smartly and intelligently managing their safety programs.

Gas Detection Data Can Help Influence Worker Behaviour

There’s no doubt that behaviours have a determinant impact on safety. Unfortunately, recent studies show that unsafe behaviour often continues after an accident, suggesting a considerable problem getting through to workers. However, taking a behaviour-based safety (BBS) approach combined with automated and always-connected data collection can dramatically impact safety outcomes.

By connecting your MSA ALTAIR® gas detectors to the Safety io Grid, you can quickly gather data that will help you guide your safety efforts. Instead of analysing data in massive spreadsheets and hard drive databases, safety professionals can access a dashboard offering real-time status of workers, devices, and worksites.

Moreover, safety managers can review data logs to better recognise patterns. Using gas detection data supplied by safety software helps companies embrace a BBS approach, prioritise safety actions and to develop actionable policies.

Practical connectivity also frees up the safety manager’s time to focus on building better safety programs.

Next Steps Toward Gas Safety Program Improvements

With your gas detectors supplying large amounts of data, you can develop a world-class gas detection program. Take advantage of the connectivity to centralise data collection for faster insights and data-driven decision-making. Explore how Safety io Grid services can help you reach your goals.

Image credit: MSA Australia