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Gas detection is a critical component of industrial plant worker safety and regulatory compliance, but the time, effort and cost of managing, maintaining and repairing a fleet of gas detectors in-house is a burden most plants managers don’t want to bear.
While the concept of outsourced gas detection services appears to be a viable solution, plant safety and operations managers can’t trust this essential responsibility to just anyone. Today’s industrial plants need an experienced and trusted partner with superior detectors and sensors, advanced monitoring technology, affordable program pricing, and an exceptional customer service team available 24/7/365 with no delays or hassles.
How to select a smart gas detection and monitoring solution for plant safety and compliance
There are definitely challenges with today’s industrial plant gas detection but there are also advanced digital technology solutions available to overcome them.
Plant safety and compliance today
Despite economic uncertainty, skyrocketing costs, geopolitical tensions, continued supply chain disruptions, and changing demand patterns, refineries, chemical plants, and manufacturing plants must keep their workers safe from dangers inherent to their environments. The ability to detect the presence of flammable and toxic gases and vapors rapidly and accurately is critical to preventing harm and maintaining compliance.
Given the many challenges facing industrial plants today, including pressures to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively, safety and operations managers bear a significant burden when it comes to keeping their staff members safe. Equipping plant workers with gas detectors, managing and maintaining these assets, and ensuring compliant use practices (e.g., calibration, bump tests) is complex and resource intensive. On the other hand, failure to perform these tasks puts human lives in danger and companies at risk for legal and regulatory actions.
While some offerings appear effective, don’t overlook critical factors including solution provider reputation and track record, detector and sensor durability, level of customer service beyond the sale, and long-term affordability.
The industrial plant digital evolution
Driven by the need for actionable insights to inform operational and financial improvements, U.S. industrial plants and refineries have been increasingly adopting digital technologies throughout their enterprises for process optimization, data capture and advanced analytics.
“The chemical industry has been digitalizing its operations for decades, but it is only recently that digitalization has accelerated to a point where companies should be digital to help retain a competitive advantage,” stated Deloitte analysts in its 2024 “Chemical Industry Outlook” report. “With digital integration, companies are benefitting from increased productivity, accelerated innovation, improved decision-making, and stronger customer relations.”
How to select a smart gas detection and monitoring solution for plant safety and compliance
Commenting on the oil and gas sector, L.E.K. Consulting advisors wrote in an article called “6 Trends To Watch in the Oil and Gas Industry in 2023” how emerging technologies (e.g., IoT, AI, blockchain) are coming at a time when “the industry is facing challenges in the form of a critical skills shortage and tight labor supply, aging infrastructure that is increasingly vulnerable to forced outages, and heightened pressure from investors and regulators to prioritize sustainability.”
Smart solutions for gas detection
For more than 130 years, Dräger’s German-engineered medical and industrial safety equipment has supported and saved lives. Today, the company offers some of the most technologically advanced plant safety solutions in the world, designed and manufactured for seamless, end-to-end integration.
Dräger’s portfolio includes cloud-based, digital solutions designed to optimize plant safety and compliance, streamline safety asset management and maintenance processes, increase worker productivity, and minimize downtime.
Dräger gas detectors and sensors are the gold standard in industrial plant safety, with proven reliability, accuracy, and durability in harsh environments. To increase accessibility to the data generated from these devices and make it easier for plants to manage their gas detector fleet, Dräger has developed advanced technologies for digital data capture in the cloud.
When the company’s portable gas detectors are placed in the Dräger X-dock® station for bump test and calibration, the station captures and transmits data on device status (e.g., certificates, gas measurements, test results, alarms) to a Microsoft® Azure Cloud backend. Through the integrated Dräger Gas Detection Connect web application or smartphone app, plant safety and operations managers can easily and quickly view and retrieve device information stored in the cloud anywhere at any time.
The next level of digital innovation for plant safety
How to select a smart gas detection and monitoring solution for plant safety and compliance
Recognizing the value digital technologies bring to industrial plant safety and compliance and the demand for solutions that alleviate companies of the complexities and costs of managing and maintaining their own fleet of gas detectors, Dräger has developed its latest smart safety solution for gas detection – Dräger Rental Advanced.
Available nationwide, Rental Advanced allows industrial plants to continuously equip their workers with the latest in Dräger portable gas detection technology, with no capital expense and with Dräger assuming responsibility for bump test monitoring, maintenance, and repairs.
Aligning with the oil and gas and chemical industries’ growing need for digital process optimization and automation, Dräger’s rental specialist team consults with customers to configure equipment to your operation’s specific requirements. This includes configuring the X-dock® stations to perform bump tests daily and calibration at pre-set intervals as well as selecting appropriate sensor configurations and alarm settings.
If a detector is not functioning properly, Dräger immediately ships a ready to deploy replacement device directly to the plant and the plant simply sends back the detector being replaced. While most handheld devices can be maintained with preset configurations in the X-dock station, any device that requires additional maintenance is also managed through an exchange program.
Delivering on industrial plant managers’ demand for immediate access to actionable insights, gas detector data captured in the cloud is accessible via the solution’s web portal or smartphone app. With a real-time view into device status and customized reports on both past and current events, including tests performed (or missed), managers can make informed decisions to keep their workers safe and their plants compliant.
Key elements of the Rental Advanced Program
- Affordable access to industry-leading technology: Dräger’s German-engineered gas detection equipment is available through a cost-effective and flexible long-term rental program – a plant can scale its gas detector fleet up or down to meet changing needs.
- Eliminate unexpected expenses and scheduling responsibility: With a fixed monthly expense, budgeted consumables and pre-scheduled service, you can deploy value resources to focus on other parts of your business.
- Backed by exceptional customer service and support: Dräger has earned the reputation of being as a trusted, knowledgeable, and dependable partner responsive to customer needs. With a dedicated team of experts available 24/7/365, managers and staff know exactly who to contact with questions/for assistance.
- Seamless integration: Build on native technology, Dräger’s gas detection equipment integrates seamlessly with the company’s connect cloud services. This minimizes the risk for communication failures and solution downtime.
- Data-driven improvements: With immediate access to comprehensive insights on gas detection practices, managers can drive meaningful and impactful improvements in plant safety and compliance. They can also generate reports to support compliance standing with regulators and other governing bodies.
- High security standards: Cybersecurity plays an essential role for Dräger at every stage of the development cycle. Plant managers can feel confident that their safety equipment and digital solutions meet data security standards.
Onsite services for plants in Texas and Louisiana
While the Dräger Rental Advanced Program is available nationwide, some plant managers prefer on-site service and support of their gas detection equipment.
Industrial plants in Texas and on the Louisiana Gulf Coast can turn to Dräger’s Rental Professional Program for complete, on-site support of long-term safety equipment rentals. Offering the same preconfigured equipment and preset calibrations, customers may prefer the additional benefit of having highly skilled Dräger technicians regularly scheduled onsite to for additional support.
The Dräger Rental Robot, a smart solution that operates as an automated issuing machine for worker safety equipment and materials management, is currently available to plants in this geographic region. In addition to the valuable reporting and track and trace features of this asset management technology, the latest generation Rental Robot’s software features cloud integration with the Dräger X-dock® test station and Gas Detection Connect platform for automated gas detector bump test and calibration and data capture and reporting. Test results from the X-dock® are synchronized in real time with the Rental Robot - preventing the issuance of non-compliant devices and monitoring worker behavior in compliance with bump test requirements.
Here are the top five questions to ask a gas detection service provider to determine if they can meet your needs.
Top 5 questions for your gas detection program provider
With gas detection a critical component of industrial plant worker safety and regulatory compliance, plant safety and operations managers can’t trust this essential responsibility to just anyone. Before you sign an agreement with a gas detection service provider, ask them these five questions to determine if they can meet your needs.
1. How long have you provided gas detection to industrial safety plants?
Plant safety and operations managers can’t afford risks, production disruptions or OSHA penalties. Be sure your chosen provider has a long-standing, reputable and proven track record of supporting safety and compliance for plants in your industry. They should have expertise in industry regulations and guidance and keep up to date on changes that could impact your plant.
2. Do you develop and manufacturer your own gas detectors, associated equipment and network technology?
A gas detection service provider should stand behind all components of its program, understand in detail how they were developed, how they work, and how the work together. One that developed and manufactured its end-to-end solution in-house with its own team of experts will be much better equipped to support it and faster to understand and address issues. Native components are also typically easier to integrate versus a piecemeal solution with components from different suppliers.
3. What are the scope and capabilities of your service and support network?
Particularly when a plant is relying on a remote gas detection service provider, they need to know what level of support that company can provide and when and where it is available. Ideally the provider should have a global support network that includes a dedicated team of experts here in the U.S. for domestic plants. Industrial plants must maintain safety and compliance 24/7/365; therefore, your service provider should be available whenever you need them.
4. Who do I contact if I have a question or need assistance with an issue?
While this question might seem repetitive to the prior one, knowing exactly who to contact and how to reach them is quite different from knowing support generally exists. A manager struggling with malfunctioning gas detectors or the inability to access the data they need because the service provider’s network is down doesn’t want to find themselves being bounced around customer service personnel struggling to get answers. A reputable and reliable gas detection service provider makes it easy and efficient for its customers to secure support with defined, dedicated, and dependable specialists.
How to select a smart gas detection and monitoring solution for plant safety and compliance
5. What is the process/cost if I need to scale my gas detection equipment up or down?
Plant gas detection needs can shift with day-to-day operations and can change considerably when there is a plant maintenance turnaround, shut down or other planned or unplanned disruption. A reputable and dependable gas detection service provider should rapidly respond to changing needs, adjusting equipment fleet to match demand, without penalizing the customer. Also understand the company’s billing practices for device sensors. Sensors shipped on demand when deemed necessary by the service provider without taking into consideration device usage trends could result in significant, unexpected charges on top of general service fees.
Choosing the right provider
Among the various challenges facing industrial plant managers today, ensuring worker safety remains a foremost priority. Neglecting to protect employees from the dangers of flammable and toxic gases and vapors not only jeopardizes lives but also places companies at risk of potential legal and regulatory repercussions.
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, selecting the right gas detection program provider is a strategic decision that can have a far-reaching impact on plant safety, compliance, operational efficiency, and costs.
By asking the right questions, decision makers can make an informed choice that aligns with their plant’s operational and financial needs and provides peace of mind in an environment where safety and compliance are non-negotiable.
For more information, visit Long Term Safety Equipment Rental (draeger.com).
