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Operating in an environment where workers are spread across vast space, multiple sites, and surrounded by structures and machinery that create high noise levels, makes the task of getting important updates out to people at once a real challenge. 

And given the nature of work being carried out within ATEX designated zones, it can’t be left to chance when it comes to knowing all staff are up-to-speed with goings on. 

As part of our ATEX pain points series, we’re going to explain how businesses can make sure everyone stays informed when it comes to site updates and notifications. 

Raising the alarm

We’ll get straight to it. The best way for a business to get site alarms/notifications out to workers is via a solution called Extended Alarm Management – which is designed to send alerts out to any device when it is connected to a Distributed Control System (DCS). 

Once the Extended Alarm Management Module is connected, important alerts and updates can be sent to the intrinsically safe radio user and they can be reminder about daily tasks, site updates, emergency situations or the status of critical machinery.   

Reacting at speed

Let’s focus on the latter of the above scenarios for a second. Emergency situations can happen on a regular basis in an environment where explosions, fires and other hazardous incidents can take place. 

Add in the fact that in 2019/2020, 693,000 people sustained a non-fatal injury at work, 168,000 of these injuries led to absence for seven days or more, and 111 workers sadly suffered fatal injuries - trivial scenarios become hard, cold facts. 

To help prevent injuries in the workplace, it’s important that, as a business, you can react quickly before a situation develops into something you can’t control.

This is where Extended Alarm Management comes into play. Offering real-time updates to the right people at the right time, it gives workers the chance to react to situations around them before it’s too late. 

The cost of machine downtime

In the chemical and petrochemical sector, the need for machinery and systems that aid the site’s production is key. But with reliance comes the requirement for reliability. 

If a machine has a fault or a system is failing, production can come to a halt and productivity can suffer. It’s estimated that machine downtime costs UK manufacturers £18 billion a year – a staggering amount for something where more can be done to prevent it happening.  

It’s also problematic from a health and safety point of view, with 14 fatalities from the statistics above caused by contact with machinery. 

For chemical processing plants, there’s a critical need for heavy machinery and systems that allow for the site’s production. If key systems or machinery fail, then the problems that can be severe and, in some cases, unresolvable. 

To tackle the situation head on, Extended Alarm Management can be used to trigger alerts to end users when a fault is detected with critical machinery or systems. Having the advantage of real-time updates means workers can investigate an issue before it becomes too late. 

Handy infographic

To highlight the importance of site alarms and notifications on-site, we've put together this handy infographic to showcase some interesting facts and figures that can be influenced by getting the right messages out to the right people at the right time. 

Create a new legacy

You can spend years perfecting processes for work tasks and monitoring critical machinery - that have the safety, productivity, and efficiency of your workforce in mind – and you arrive at a happy place with the system in place. 

But as time goes by, your manual solutions are overshadowed by technological advancements, and you suddenly need to have a re-think. Using Extended Alarm Management is the perfect way to digitise your operation – and adopt Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) strategies in the process. Automating daily tasks and connecting critical machinery and systems can revolutionise the way in which you operate. 

The automation of daily tasks for workers spread across vast space isn’t an easy thing to get right, especially when you factor in noisy environments, and the time-consuming nature of contacting people one-by-one of their daily schedules. 

With Extended Alarm Management, you can automate daily tasks, so multiple workers can be notified at once by text or email that a task is due to be started or completed. 

Messages can be sent directly to a worker’s intrinsically safe two-way radio, giving your business the opportunity to increase productivity and ensure important tasks are visible without delay. 

Book a FREE Demonstration

If you would like to hear more about how we implement the right coverage solution for individual business needs, then book a FREE demonstration of our ultra-smart TRBOCALL system today.