Wireless Gas Detection: An Update and Two Case Studies

The wireless system proved much more robust than handheld units. With the hand-held units, workers would vacate the workspace for any alarm, and most often, the handheld units alarmed for stalled pumps. The wireless units had fewer pump alarms and the data sharing provided opportunities for group problem solving. If this site had had micro-climates in the work space, multiple monitors would have been provided for each confined space, with sampling at different heights.

With the shared data, more people were aware of the work situation and worker safety had real-time visibility to all those involved. Even the customer's executives were able to view and comment on monitoring results from a remote location. Safety personnel were more attentive and analytical in their approach to any problems by having both real-time and historical data. The combination of audible and visible alarms also was an asset.

One of the key learnings from this deployment was that there are limitations to traditional handheld (non-wireless) gas monitoring. Personal monitors do not provide constant supervision, making workers responsible for managing their own response to their work environment. The workers may know when there is an alarm but may choose not to react, or individual workers may respond to a pump alarm as opposed to a limit alarm. It also is difficult for a confined space operator to keep watch over the work environment of many workers using personal monitors.

BENEFITS TO USING WIRELESS SYSTEMS

The cost to deploy an industrial wireless gas detection system has come down to between $1,500 and $7,500 per node, depending on configuration. Today's systems are more reliable and have extended temperature operating ranges of a low of -40 F to as high as 122 F.

Modern wireless systems easily can be interfaced to the Internet for real-time alarm and data sharing. Wireless systems are available in point-to-point and mesh-radio configurations, giving users a choice that fits their application and deployment environment. The time to deploy a wireless system can be enough to justify the cost of change. Things to consider when selecting and adopting a wireless solution include the frequency and range of the date radios, potential interference with existing systems and the intrinsic safety certification of the system.

Wireless gas detection systems now are available with a broad range of power options including standard 110V, battery and solar assist. These options give safety managers a new set of tools to deploy in a wide range of safety management situations. Other applications for wireless gas detection include hazardous material response, exploration drilling, refinery turnarounds, sewage/water treatment plants, petrochemical transportation, confined space entry, leak detection, worker protection, fence line monitoring, scrubber efficiency and H2S safety & elimination.

Bobby Sheikhan is the global wireless product manager for RAE Systems, where he has been working for the past 8 years. He has held several key positions within RAE Systems including service manager, application engineer, regional sales manager and product manager. He has provided air monitoring and emergency response planning training to various companies in the petrochemical, energy, semiconductor, and biotechnology industries. Sheikhan holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from San Jose State University.

Bob Durstenfeld is the senior director of corporate marketing for RAE Systems. He has been involved in documenting gas detection solutions for RAE Systems for the last 7 years. Durstenfeld holds an MS degree in international marketing and engineering management from Santa Clara University and a BS in engineering and biology from UCLA.