Page 26 - OHS, March 2020

GAS DETECTION
Why Our Need for Connectivity Should Include Gas Detection
Let’s face it: we are obsessed with our smart phones. We need to be connected. But why don’t we feel this same need to be connected with safety equipment that can save our lives at work?
BY DAVE WAGNER
Let’s face it: we are obsessed with our smart phones. We can’t live without them. We can’t leave home—or even the room—without them. When we misplace our phones, an ut-
ter panic sets in that’s only relieved when that little battery-powered, touchscreen-enabled thumb exer- ciser is back in our hands. Why? Because we have the overwhelming urge to be connected.
That’s right. We need to be connected. We need to scan our favorite social media outlets regularly. We need to search the web for information whenever the desire strikes. We need access to apps that help us do everything from play fantasy football to find our way home. We need immediate access to our friends and family via voice or text, and sometimes we even need to pinpoint their location. (Full disclosure: the author is guilty as charged.)
With such a strong desire to be connected, why don’t we feel this same need to be connected with safety equipment that can save our lives at work?
Even though we have embarked on the era of wire- less gas detection and connected safety, people have been slow to adopt connectivity in a safety context. This is surprising given how easy it is to argue the ben- efits of being connected through a gas detector.
Benefit One: Connection to Other People
Let’s start with the most obvious. Our cell phones let us connect with friends and family. It’s helpful to text our friends to meet up or dial home from the car to let the family know that we’re on our way. But these con- veniences don’t make a critical difference in our lives.
On the other hand, connectivity to other people on the job does make a critical difference. Peer-to- peer wireless networks in our gas detectors allow us to connect with anyone nearby. Just by pushing a button, we can alert everyone around us that we’re in trouble and need help. If an accident or a medical condition leaves us incapacitated, everyone connected to the network receives a message that alerts them to the emergency and summons them to help. When seconds matter, this connectivity could surely be the difference between life and death. Sure, we could use a cell phone to call for help, but if a job requires us to carry a gas detector, it probably doesn’t allow us to carry a cell phone.
Benefit Two: Connection to Our Environment
Despite being able to tell us more than we need to know about what’s happening around us, our phones can’t detect gas. If a gas detector senses something dangerous in the environment and alerts us to that hazard, then it has done its job and may have saved our lives. If a gas detector connects us to the work- ers around us, and they are alerted to the condition that our gas detector senses, we have potentially saved their lives as well.
Benefit Three: Connection to Our Location
There are many smart phone apps that allow us to track the location of our family members. We do this with our kids a lot—not because we want to invade their privacy, but because we are concerned for their safety. We can use this same connectivity with work- ers through gas detectors or other connected devices.
20 Occupational Health & Safety | MARCH 2020
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