Crowcon News - a Halma PR news blog

ESS Safeforce, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of hire safety equipment, has recently added over 250 Crowcon gas detectors to its existing hire fleet.  The purchase included 60 Detective Plus transportable gas monitors, bringing the total Detective Plus hire fleet to over 200 units. In addition, the company added a further 150 Triple Plus Plus and 50 Tetra 3 portable multi-gas detectors to the same fleet.  In all, ESS Safeforce now has almost 1,000 Crowcon detectors.

“The decision to expand our gas detector fleet was taken as part of the ongoing development of our ‘Shutdown Services’ operation, which provides safety equipment such as gas detection, breathing air trailers and safety lighting to large industrial sites when they are shut down for maintenance,” explained ESS Safeforce’s sales director Peter Jones. “We were extremely pleased with the performance of our existing Crowcon detectors, so when the time came to expand our fleet, Crowcon was the obvious choice.”

The Detective Plus is a free-standing, transportable gas detector which provides reliable protection wherever there are short-term gas hazards, including annual plant shutdowns. It can be used individually or in groups to monitor up to four gases at once. It is ideal for wide-area coverage, where several units can be linked together to create a perimeter protection system. If a dangerous gas level is detected, the device warns with a wailing 104 dBA siren and flashing, high intensity LED beacons visible from all angles.

The Triple Plus Plus and the Tetra 3 are two of Crowcon’s most popular portable multi-gas detectors. Designed for the most demanding conditions, including confined space work, they can monitor up to four gases at once, including oxygen, flammable gas and a full range of toxic gases. Each unit has easy to use operating buttons that can control all functions – even with a gloved hand – and bright displays give simultaneous viewing of all gas readings, alarm conditions and battery life.

To complement the Crowcon detectors, ESS Safeforce has also purchased a number of new breathing air trailers and compressors. In addition to this the company recently acquired NSS Northern Site Supplies (a specialist in petrochemical and offshore equipment hire) making a total investment of almost £2 million.

Fixed and portable gas detectors protect personnel
After a recent CO leak at an Erlanger, Ky. office complex, building management did not have to look far to find a gas detection solution, turning to one of the building’s tenants, gas detection specialist Crowcon.  To provide early warning of any future leaks, Eikon portable personal detectors and fixed gas detectors in Crowcon’s Xgard detector line were purchased for the building.

A faulty boiler was identified as the culprit for the CO leak that prompted an early morning evacuation of the complex, a combination office, service and manufacturing space that houses five companies of the UK-based Halma global protection and detection technology group.  When the fire department arrived, CO readings were estimated in the 200-300 ppm range.  After clearing the building with fans and repairing the boiler, building management purchased several Crowcon products in order to provide earlier warning of any future gas dangers.

“We do mostly administrative and service work here,” explains Crowcon Sales Office Manager Lisa French.  “Typically you associate specific environments, like warehouses with a lot of exhaust or heavy duty manufacturing operations with having a high potential for gas to cause a health hazard.  This incident was a wake-up call that just like in private homes, there are gas dangers inherent in our everyday living systems, and we need to protect ourselves accordingly.”

The building management chose a two pronged approach to protect building employees from future leaks, Eikon portable detectors, and fixed point Xgard gas detectors with Gasmaster control panel.

The Eikon portable detectors provide maintenance-free continuous monitoring in each of the building’s five offices.  When CO is detected, audible and visual alarms give effective warning of hazardous conditions.  The units have a two year service life and can be tested and calibrated, a feature not available on consumer CO products.  The Eikon is also available in hydrogen sulphide, chlorine, ammonia or oxygen deficiency monitoring versions.

In the building’s boiler room, two Xgard detector heads were installed–one for CO detection and one for natural gas detection.  A Gasmaster control panel mounted in the building’s front lobby, combined with audible and visual alarms at the buildings front and rear entrances, will alert to dangerous conditions both inside the building and as people approach from the outside. 

Xgard detectors are available in a variety of options to suit specific application needs.  They are designed for either wall or ceiling mounting without the need for additional brackets, with accessories for duct mounting and special models available for high-temperature settings.  The Gasmaster control panel’s large LCD display provides simultaneous display of all channels and alarm/fault messages.  Simple push button operation performs all operation, calibration and test functions from the panel key pad.