Smart Safety Digital Measurement - Smart Safety Digital Measurement — Smart Safety Digital Measurement
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Smart Safety – digital clearance measurement

Clearance measurement of confined spaces has always been a highly responsible task. On-site workers have to be protected from the threat of an explosion, toxic hazards and lack of oxygen. Classic, manual clearance measurement presents a bottleneck for business and entails risks. Smart Safety solutions for maintenance tasks, including digital clearance measurement, help minimise downtime and errors. Information exchange and data transfer in real time over a cloud connection helps promote safety and cost-effective, efficient permit-to-work processes.

Scenario 1: Shutdown management

Facilities requiring maintenance, testing or repair must be shut down for these purposes. Gas detection must be carried out prior to these tasks without complication or human error. Delays present a high cost, but worker safety is top priority.

Scenario 2: Daily measurements

For minor maintenance works status checks must be frequently performed to ensure a work atmosphere remains under value thresholds for hazardous substances. They monitor performance and indicate potential hazardous gas leaks. Data acquisition and transfer must therefore be reliable, fast and efficient.

Clearance measurement of hazardous workplaces – a job for experts

Prior to entry into potentially hazardous work environments standard safety precautions like clearance measurements must be followed. The atmosphere must be measured and monitored for hazardous substances with a dedicated gas detector. Comprehensive knowledge and practical skills are necessary to ensure safety for workers – therefore some important questions should be answered.

When exactly should clearance measurement take place?

Shortly before operation – immediately before operation starts, with no pause in-between. Environmental factors, such as temperature and ventilation, can change the atmosphere very suddenly. If works could potentially be interrupted or delayed after clearance measurement, position a mobile area monitor such as the Dräger X-zone 5500 in a suitable location in the container. Moreover consider the working time planned. A Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) refers to a total exposure time of 8 hours per day. In case of longer working times, especially during shutdowns, reduction factors have to be considered.

How often must function tests be performed?

Most manufacturers recommend checking the battery life, alarm function and display of their instruments before every use. In practice, international regulations apply, as well as regulations that may vary from company to company. In Germany, for example, common practice is to test all available instruments prior to every shift then store them in a box which is accessible to every colleague. An instrument may be switched off and then on again later after a bump test, for example, if long distances have to be travelled to the worksite.

What should be documented in the clearance measurement protocol

The protocol must state in which space or container and at which time clearance measurement was performed – and under which conditions. Thus, the following information is essential:

Date and time and/or time period
Container number and measuring point at the container, if there is more than one measuring point
Measured hazardous substances
Responsibilities (name of the person performing the measurement, supervisor)
The instruments used for the clearance measurement, so they are clearly traceable later on

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Get answers on most frequent questions.

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CSE Permit-to-work form

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Cloud services for easier permit-to-work processes

Clearance measurement is a laborious and time-intensive process. Digitalisation and cloud-connected services can speed up and streamline the permit-to-work process. This is a welcome milestone for gas analysts, safety managers and shift supervisors alike. Smart Safety solutions provide real-time data and communication for efficient decision-making, so contractors can proceed with their work without delay. Thanks to digital data transfer, the clearance measurement process is improving for all involved in working in confined spaces.

Preparation

After a measurement order was instructed in an ePTW (electronic permit-to-work) system the safety engineer automatically creates the measurement order in the web application and sends it via Cloud to the gas analyst.

Clearance Measurement

The gas analyst measures the gas concentrations with a gas detection device and sends the values via smartphone to the web application. Workers are ready to start.

Confined Space Entry

After a successful clearance and granting of the permit-to-work, again via the web application, work in the confined space can start immediately.

Enhance your permit-to-work systems with Smart Safety solutions

Our Smart Safety solution, CSE Connect, helps you improve frontline operational safety and efficiency. We operate with user-friendly interfaces (API) for compatibility between your own or partner solutions and existing infrastructures, such as electronic permit-to-work systems (EPTW) for data transmission and processing.

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Dräger CSE Connect - digitises the exchange of information during clearance measurement procedures

Connected safety solutions with Dräger CSE Connect

digitises the exchange of information during clearance measurement procedures
the Dräger X-am® 8000 portable gas detection device communicates directly with the smartphone app, helping manage measurement orders more efficiently and cost-effectively

Minimise errors and downtime costs

Digital clearance measurement

Complex manual documentation and long walk times can be a thing of the past – digital communication helps reduce errors and accelerate processes, thus minimising risks.

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Optimise your processes

Our Smart Safety solution for digital clearance measurements supports your industry processes, including shutdown management, daily measurement and plant optimisation.

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Smart Safety products and solutions

With innovative safety solutions like CSE Connect, Dräger helps you to bring clearance measurement to the next level of digital safety and efficiency. Our Smart Safety solutions for digital clearance measurement work seamlessly together to offer clear benefits for your business.