When you install a gas detection system, you can continuously monitor the dangers in your environment. This becomes vital in the right commercial or industrial setting, where you have the potential for hazards everywhere. In addition to purchasing a gas detection system, a risk assessment will normally be required to uncover the threats in both the unmanned and manned areas.
The Types of Gas Hazards
You will find gas hazards in three different forms: toxicity, oxygen depletion and explosive gases. If you have oxygen depletion, it will occur in high gas concentrations, and it will be found in areas other than ambient air. While you may only have non-explosive or non-toxic gas, it can still displace the ambient air and reduce the oxygen levels. This can still make it unsafe for your operator to enter the area. One common area for this includes gas storage tanks housed within a confined space, for example, the boiler room.
Continuous Monitoring
The benefit of a gas detection system is that it will provide you with 24/7 monitoring, and you can watch all areas. Even if you have a section left unmanned the majority of the time, you still need to monitor it to warn your personnel of a hazardous environment before entering. When you can detect hazardous gases in advance, you will reduce the safety risks on the job, and many times, you will satisfy the criteria on your insurance policy.
Watch the Expenses
With a gas detection system, you can reduce the amount of time it takes for an assessment because you do not have to manually monitor the potential for explosion in the area. This will cut down on the number of hours spent over labor, and ultimately, that means saving money on the expenses.
Strong Shield
When you have a gas detection system, you can monitor the amount of gases in your environment. Because of this, you can tell when there is a higher chance of poisoning, explosion, fire or asphyxiation. Giving your personnel a safe environment to work in will mean that more work gets done, and you will have to spend less time worrying about things going wrong.
A Common Misunderstanding
You have some people who believe that they can use an oxygen sensor to monitor the toxic gases. They believe that when the oxygen gets displaced, they will have a warning. However, the typical oxygen sensor only gives you a resolution of 0.1 percent volume. If you have a concentration of 0.1 percent volume or 1,000ppm, that will not detect many of the toxic gases that are in concentration below 1,000ppm.
You can monitor an explosive gas using either a catalytic sensor or an infrared sensor. Your average gas will be more explosive when it reaches the higher levels, so you will want technology that detects a variety of explosive gases. With a risk assessment, you will identify the dangers for your specific area and use a gas detection system to keep the dangers in check.