The evolution of gas detectors

The evolution of gas detectors

The portable multigas detection instrument is widely relied upon throughout the world to protect its wearers from the hazards caused by various toxic and flammable gasses no matter where they are or what they are doing. For many applications the instrument configuration is most commonly flammable, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide and oxygen deficiency.

Detection of these four gases covers applications in industries such as oil and gas, chemical, utilities, steel, manufacturing and the fire service. To be an integral part of the safety process in these industries an instrument has to be compact, lightweight, tough and easy to use. Once the gas configuration has been decided upon the type of instrument used has to be considered.

In the past multigas detectors were large, heavy, cumbersome devices which had to be worn on a shoulder strap for the main reason that they were far too large to be worn on a belt. As technology progressed so did customer requirements and the main goal was to make instruments more compact. Along with the drive to shrink instruments there was a need to add more features such as datalogging, extended battery life and, more recently, a vibrating alarm to accompany the ever-brighter visual alarm and ever louder audible alarm. Sensor technology has also moved on to such an extent that sensors which were once the size of a reel of thread are now the same size as buttons, which last much longer than their bulky predecessors. Wearing a compact, lightweight instrument which clips onto your pocket or collar is a huge change from having to transport an instrument on your shoulder. In many cases the instrument was set down when work commenced and, in some cases would be metres away from the work area which is nowhere near as efficient as wearing a multigas 20-30cm from the point of inhalation.

Since instruments are now used with greater regularity they have to be able to resist the rigours of being bumped and bashed by the wearer and still be able to provide accurate information, time after time, which could lead to lives being saved. Reliability is a must and it is imperative the instrument can be relied upon to perform when required and not spend more time in the workshop than in the field. The drop test bench mark for portable instruments has increased from three feet to six feet over the years and this is an indication of just how much more is expected from instruments today.

Twenty years ago alarms were the exception rather than the norm but now the user expects visual, audible and vibrating alarms –bigger alarms in a smaller package. These alarms can also be configured to provide the wearer with a confidence signal – typically a flash of the LEDs and beep of the alarm to indicate the instrument is still functioning.

One of the main achievements by a manufacturer is to attain a high level of “wearer acceptability”, something which was difficult when the instruments were the size and weight of two bags of sugar! As the size reduced the instruments have moved from over the shoulder to on the belt and have become so compact they are now being worn on the pocket, the way single gas instruments have been worn for many years. This increases the likelihood of users wearing the instrument at all times since they are no longer likely to encumber the wearer.

Having a state-of-the-art rugged instrument which the user is more than happy to wear is one thing but if the wearer finds the instrument too complicated to operate and understand the whole process of choice is back to square one. Modern instruments need to have as few buttons as is feasible with an intuitive menu driven information system allowing users to obtain as much information as possible from as little effort as possible. The input of information, while easy to do, should be password protected to prevent any unwanted alteration of alarm settings.

The ability to link an instrument to a PC for logging data and/or changing settings and configurations is another must in the modern workplace.
While datalogging has been seen by many as an unnecessary tool it can be used like a “black box” on an aircraft where, even though data is not continuously transferred onto a PC, in the event of an incident the gas levels at this time can be monitored at a later date.

In the world of gas detection safety is paramount but the reality is price is always a consideration. The MSA SOLARIS multigas detector provides performance, reliability, toughness, ease of use and high value. The SOLARIS is one of the leaders in this next generation of multigas.

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