Real-Time Visibility Minimizes Exposure for Bioresource Operation

Wessex Water needed a way to combine gas detection, lone worker protection and connectivity in one device without requiring employees to carry multiple devices. Across the organization’s bioresources operations, teams perform everything from routine compliance checks and sampling to maintenance and emergency repairs. Much of that work takes them into gas hazard zones and confined spaces where they may encounter hydrogen sulfide (H2S), biomethane, and oxygen depletion.

While risk assessments, isolation procedures and other controls help maintain safety in the water and wastewater industry, gas hazards can be unpredictable. A release in one part of a site can potentially affect workers elsewhere, making early warning essential.

Lone work adds another challenge. In hazardous areas, standard mobile phones and some standalone lone worker devices aren’t permitted because equipment must be intrinsically safe. Wessex Water needed a single device that addressed their complex needs without weighing workers down.

Wessex Water relies on Blackline Safety’s connected wearable devices to provide portable gas detection and lone worker protection. The organization uses over 170 intrinsically safe devices in all their hazardous areas, safely monitored by teams with full visibility into their location and safety status.

Connected lone worker features like fall detection also help identify when someone is unresponsive, especially as Wessex’s lone workers may work at height. The devices are backed by Blackline’s 24/7 professional live monitoring service, adding another layer of support if a worker needs help with alerts received on average within 2 seconds and response times of under a minute.

EXO 8 portable area monitors are also placed in locations where H2S or biomethane may be present and during specific confined space work for both pre-entry checks and continuous monitoring. If atmospheric conditions change during these entries, EXO provides early warning for people working nearby.

With connected gas detection and lone worker protection, Wessex Water has greater visibility into both its workers and the hazards around them, which makes the workday safer and smoother for everyone.

Other benefits have included:

• Data uncovers unexpected exposures, allowing the team to investigate before an incident occurs.
• Adoption is high as devices are easy to use.
• Weekly reports and bi-weekly reviews help manage compliance, underscoring which devices are up to date on bump tests and calibrations, which aren’t, and who is using non-compliant devices.

Teams can quickly take action if a device isn’t operational, while professional monitoring provides added reassurance that they’re connected to immediate help if needed.