The world is becoming more interconnected, and companies must follow suit. That was the message offered by Honeywell’s Lisa Davis during a Feb. 24 webinar about the benefits of enterprise-wide wireless gas detection systems sponsored by RAE Systems by Honeywell.

During the webinar, Davis, wireless and enhanced safety solutions leader for the Americas, told listeners that according to Gartner Inc., by 2020 there will be 26 billion devices connected to networks. This “Internet of Things” has commercial and industrial applications that can give companies greater value from collected data and real-time readings that help management make faster, more informed decisions.

One common challenge organizations face in relation to wireless gas detection, and one major benefit of interconnectedness, is the priority that can be placed on employee safety through early warnings of system failures and real-time environment monitoring. Davis said that companies fit into one of four basic categories of connectedness when it comes to safety procedures:

  • Reactive companies typically meet basic safety requirements, employ processes that are not integrated into a larger system and have manual operations;
  • Preventative companies typically have slightly elevated safety requirements, use basic connectivity and have more streamlined systems than reactive companies;
  • Proactive companies have enhanced safety procedures in place that are well-integrated into the company’s other procedures and are mainly automated; and
  • Advanced companies use highly advanced safety procedures and systems that can predict potential threats to safety before they occur, so that failures or injuries can be prevented.

When it comes to safety, protecting workers is of the utmost importance. It’s important for management to understand the current state of its company’s safety systems to determine what level they want to reach, Davis said. During an event that could compromise employee safety, several questions are raised: Who has been exposed? What is their health status? Where are they located? Many reporting systems rely on employees documenting all pertinent information at the end of a shift, but interconnected systems gathering data in real time allow supervisors to know the answer to all of those questions while the event is ongoing, allowing for more accurate data collection as well as safer operations.

The other major challenges faced by organizations in this area are overall productivity and compliance. Wireless systems enhance productivity because they save labor by taking care of data collection processes through a variety of monitors connected to the system and software designed to properly process and record the data. Compliance can also be ensured by wireless systems. While trying to manually track compliance issues may allow for unfulfilled requirements and uncertainty, allowing a system to track those issues instead makes requirements easy to track so that nothing falls by the wayside.

Core Components

Davis listed the major components of a wireless gas detection system. They are:

  • Real-time software that displays and archives safety data, including gas concentrations and device location information. Software also allows for remote alarm notifications when incidents occur, as well as data sharing with third-party systems and connection to a supervisory control and data acquisition system;
  • Wireless infrastructure with fixed access points allowing for communication of detector data to the monitoring software. The infrastructure is a self-forming network that automatically determines the best path for data transmission and provides location information for detectors; and
  • Gas monitors and docks, featuring a range of sensor types that allow users to automate daily maintenance of their instrument fleets.

Comprehensive gas detection provided by a wireless system has a wide range of applications including leak detection, emergency response, asset management, increased productivity and worker health. The benefits offered by these systems are manifold and can benefit stakeholders across the upstream, midstream and downstream, Davis said. Digitally connected oilfields allow for productivity management through a connection of assets and data that is essential to bring to the energy industry as the rest of the world also becomes more connected.

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