Gas Detection Maintenance and Management for Large Industrial Sites

Gas detection maintenance and management is an important factor when using and maintaining your gas detection equipment, especially for large industrial sites. When not utilized properly, companies struggle to obtain useful data that helps the consistent need to improve operations, site and worker safety, and more. Large industrial job sites have many hazards needing to be monitored and maintained. Making sure gas detectors work with routine maintenance tasks like bump tests and calibrations allows managers and workers to trust that their detectors will alert to invisible hazards.

To ensure your gas detector can accurately detect gas levels, you must first calibrate it by exposing it to a known concentration of calibration gas or test gas for a specific amount of time. This is the gas detector’s reference point for future readings, and repeating the process each month ensures the most accurate readings. Calibrating regularly prevents sensors from drifting over time, as well as poisons and inhibitors affecting gas readings. Gas detectors can be calibrated manually with calibration gas and some tubing or you can use a docking station to automatically calibrate your monitor on a set schedule. Calibrating your gas detector with a docking station also allows you to access past calibration records and easily generate calibration certificates for compliance and safety purposes. 

Using incorrect or expired calibration gas can lead to an improper calibration, which leads to displaying inaccurate readings. This simple mistake can have lethal consequences, so it’s important to always check the contents and expiration date of your calibration gas bottles. Once a bottle is expired, you should not use it since chemical reactions can take place inside the container and alter the contents.

Bump tests protect workers on the job by checking that their gas monitor will alert them to harmful levels of gas. When bump testing, the sensors in the gas detector are briefly exposed to a concentration of gas that is higher than the alarm set points. Testing verifies that the gas detector sensors will respond and an alarm will go off as expected. Bump testing, however, does not check the accuracy of the gas reading as it checks whether the sensors and alarms are working. The only way to know that your gas detector works is by bump testing it before each shift. Docking stations can automatically bump test your gas detector on a set schedule before each shift., but the gas detectors manual should explain how to manually bump test the instrument with calibration gas. 

Performing routine maintenance on a gas detector as part of your management process ensures that the device is ready to use. If you don’t maintain your gas detector, the risk of exposure to dangerous gas hazards could lead to significant injuries or fatalities. 

Safety is our top priority, which is why Otis Instruments offer a variety of Wired and WireFree easy-to-use, robust and configurable gas detectors. Made in the USA, our high-quality products are capable of detecting both toxic and non-toxic gases for diverse applications. If you would like more information about bump testing your Otis gas detectors or would like assistance regarding gas detection for your application, contact our team today.