SAFETY
users to demonstrate compliance.
“All consumables for GasHawk are passed on
to our customers at cost price – which means on
average you pay a massive 80% less than from
our competitors. All replacement cells are
included in the price of ownership by over 50%. A
wide range of toxic and flammable gases can be
monitored simultaneously, and selected gases
have STEL and TWA alerts. Any exceeded gas set
point triggers an audible warning, multi-colour
LED visual and vibrating alerts to the user. Alarm
set point levels can be configured to suit local
working conditions.”
Honeywell recently announced the MicroRAE
gas monitor, which is says is the industry’s first
wireless four-gas monitor that operates with all
major wireless communications protocols —
including Bluetooth™, Mesh, GPS, and Wi-Fi. The
MicroRAE also can be paired with an intrinsically
safe smart phone (available from Honeywell) to
transmit gas readings over a cellular network.
“Extending wireless gas monitoring
capabilities to include the broadest range of
communications platforms in a single device will
enable companies with wireless and non-wireless
infrastructures to reap the benefits of real-time
monitoring and remote safety management,”
said Thomas Negre, Global Marketing Director,
Honeywell Analytics.
For those that already have a Wi-Fi or mesh
network, MicroRAE will extend their capabilities
by ensuring continuous wireless coverage; for
example, when a worker goes beyond the
network range or otherwise can’t connect to the
network, the worker’s smart phone will
continue sending gas monitoring data, location
and Man Down status to the real-time
monitoring software. And for customers that
don’t have a wireless network, MicroRAE gives
them a way to start experiencing the benefits of
real-time, wireless gas monitoring without the
cost and perceived complexity of setting up a
network.
Real-time, wireless gas monitoring allows
remote stakeholders to view critical information
within seconds, from anywhere, so they can
respond quickly and assuredly to mitigate or
prevent safety incidents and process malfunctions.
“Practical applications extend to carrying out a
man-down rescue or plant egress with greater
confidence and better outcome or identifying an
equipment malfunction in its early stages so
costly downtime can potentially be averted. Both
the wireless and non-wireless versions of the
detector are the first of many Honeywell
Analytics products to feature Bluetooth™ Low
Energy (BLE). BLE capabilities are enabled by
apps on the intrinsically safe smartphone, the
first of which is Honeywell’s Safety
Communicator™, which pushes gas readings,
location and other data from the detector to
International Mining | OCTOBER 2016
Honeywell has
announced the
MicroRAE gas
monitor, the
industry’s first
wireless four-gas
monitor that
operates with all
major wireless
communications
protocols
Honeywell’s ProRAE Guardian™ software. Through
ProRAE Guardian, remotely located safety managers
can view information from plant locations in realtime and respond proactively to safety incidents in
their earliest stages of development.”
The MicroRAE monitors H2S, CO, O2 and
combustible gases (LEL) in its standard four-gas
configuration. There is also a sensor
configuration of LEL, O2, CO and HCN available,
making the unit suitable for a wide range of
applications including waste water treatment,
manufacturing, utilities and telecommunications,
firefighting, construction, petrochemical/
chemical, confined spaces and various industries
with toxic and flammable gas hazards.
The unit includes other features of note,
including asset and location tracking via an
integrated GPS capability which ensures that
companies can determine the precise location of
the worker carrying the detector. It also has an
agnostic communications platform – the unit can
switch back and forth from Bluetooth to WiFi or
mesh wireless communications as needed, and is
compatible with Honeywell’s ConneXt Plus, Pro or
Loneworker systems.
Over-the-air software upgrades are possible,
with data or software update packages for
firmware managed quickly and easily through
wireless transmission.
Finally, the unit is as lightweight and as small
as previous non-wireless, Honeywell four-gas
portable detectors.
Harnesses and fall protection
Falls are still a cause of death in mining,
especially during mine infrastructure and
building construction, and yet compliance with
current safety standards is still an issue. One
reason workers don’t utilise proper fall protection
equipment is comfort. The 3M Personal Safety
Division and 3M’s Fall Protection Business
(former Capital Safety) are two leaders in
personal protective equipment and fall protection
products – and have introduced a solution for
this problem, the DBI-SALA ExoFit STRATA
harness. It is the first full-body safety harness
designed and tested with data-driven, third-party
research, resulting in a harness that is more
comfortable,