Case study: Embracing the new era of connected safety

When your business involves sending hundreds of workers out to disconnected sites where they could be exposed to dangerous gases, safety should be a top priority. But how can real-time insights and actionable data help enable you to offer your workforce enhanced protection? This was the challenge facing Cappagh Browne Utilities Limited, a company specialising in repairing and maintaining wastewater networks across the southeast of England. Learn more about their experience.

As managing director of Cappagh Browne, Jeff Birtwhistle plays a key role in helping to keep the sewers of south-east England flowing. With over 30 years’ experience in heavy civil construction, nuclear energy, and utilities, he’s always looking for innovative solutions to help the company improve the service it offers customers – and protect its workforce. So when we introduced our latest generation connected gas connector, the ALTAIR io™ 4 Connected Gas Detector, Jeff was keen for Cappagh Browne to be able to reap the benefits.

“When it comes to innovation and new technology, MSA Safety is one of our key and invaluable partners,” he says.

The gas detector that is redefining safety management

Cappagh Browne was already using a previous generation connected gas detector from MSA Safety that provided certain data for remote monitoring to help protect workers and respond to emergencies. After experiencing those benefits, he wanted to enhance them even further with real-time data. The ALTAIR io 4 Connected Gas Detector does this, helping to give Cappagh Browne the chance to leverage new MSA Safety technology, improve overall business efficiency and response times, and significantly improve safety for workers.

Offering immediate, on-site connectivity

The power of the ALTAIR io 4 Connected Gas Detector lies in its combination of built-in cutting-edge, CAT-M LTE cellular connectivity and integration with the MSA Grid. Part of MSA Safety’s Connected Work Platform, the ALTAIR io4 Connected Gas Detector can be deployed in seconds, right out of the box. What’s more, no IT is required for updates because they are delivered securely from our cloud to your fleet. When the device is in its dock, it knows when it needs a bump test or calibration to be compliant and immediately starts to run the relevant test.

And with industry-leading XCELL® sensors it can stand up to tough use in challenging conditions, resistance to extreme temperatures, the ability to withstand a 25-foot drop and a dust and waterproof IP68 rating.

Real-time insights

Matt Reid, Head of Fleet for Cappagh Browne, says they are already experiencing the benefits of upgrading to the ALTAIR io 4 Connected Gas Detector. “We have over 350 employees working across various remote sites in potentially hazardous environments. So real-time safety monitoring is important,” he explains. “Now, with the ALTAIR io 4, we’re able to use real-time data to establish who to use on a particular job because we can see what exposure they’ve had over the last week.”

“We can send one person out to a job and then, if they need help, we can send another person out with an ID tag to ‘fob on’ to the same device. We can then track both people safely within the seven-day period to make sure they don’t exceed their exposure limit.”

Keeping workers safe throughout the day

Managing Director Jeff Birtwhistle adds that it’s the ability to get immediate feedback when a worker’s exposure limit to dangerous gases has been reached that is taking the company’s safety management to new levels. “Being able to intervene on a worker’s behalf and pull them out of a job to protect them is fantastic. It means we can keep our most valuable asset –our people – safe,” he says.

Improving compliance

The real-time data and actionable insights offered by the ALTAIR io 4 Connected Gas Detector are also helping to simplify regulatory compliance for Cappagh Browne and enabling supervisors to identify behaviors that don’t meet safety standards, which can help make workers more accountable.

Since introducing the solution, the company has experienced zero safety alarms. However, as Matt Reid explains, a worker was able to use the inbuilt alarm to call for help in an unusual situation.

“We had an instance where a guy became physically locked out of his vehicle and didn’t have his phone on him. He pushed the alarm button to call for help and we were able to get a second set of keys over to him to unlock the vehicle and get him on the road again.”

The partnership with MSA Safety continues

Both Jeff and Matt know that at some point in the future they will inevitably be looking for new safety enhancements that they cannot envisage right now. But they are confident that when that time comes, MSA Safety will be there, just as it has been for real-time gas detection monitoring. For now, they are enjoying the enhanced safety that the ALTAIR io 4 Connected Gas Detector offers their workforce.

Fleet manager Matt Reid sums up the benefits. “Using ALTAIR io 4 means we can send our employees home safely to their families every night and that Cappagh Browne can see them again every morning when they turn up for another day’s work.”

Keen to see what this technology can do for safety management at your business too? Watch our case study video and find out more about how the ALTAIR io 4 Connected Gas Detector is redefining safety.

Watch the video to find out more about Cappa Browne’s experience using MSA Safety’s ALTAIR io 4 Connected Gas Detector.