Gas Detection

We are now going to consider a whole range of gas detectors. There are many manufacturers out there of gas detectors. You need to ensure that the one that you pick and choose, you get the proper training on. But generally, they all do the same thing. Normally a four tester. Let us run through what we should be doing. First of all, turn it on in fresh air. As it starts to cycle through, it is going to check that the sensors are all working. If one of those sensors fails, it will go straight into alarm. It is going to check that the sensor for toxic gases is working on checking vapours as well as the oxygen levels.

Once that is complete, we then got the opportunity to scroll through and check some of the other settings. You will come across one that says peak readings. Normally it is a picture of a mountain range. That will ensure that the highest concentration level when it goes off is maintained, as well as your average readings. Some detectors even have a motion detector where you can enable it and it works like a personal alarm. If a person was to fall over and go unconscious, it would go into alarm and then warn people. Many have LED lights, that flash, usually green denote it is working fine and will flash periodically. If it starts to flash red as well as an alarm going off, pretty obvious. We are in an emergency situation. But we need to ensure that we are competent and know how to use that piece of equipment. It has to be calibrated at regular intervals and a test certificate produced. But because the battery life is so good for these gas monitors, you soon find that it is easier to leave it on throughout the duration of the job that you intend to do.

So let us run through now, when do we gas monitor? First of all, prior to entry. Any crack, any opening, make sure it is safe, then open up the space. If I have done any ventilation, we have to wait at least 10 minutes for the air to settle down before we gas monitor. Some permits require that you do a reading every hour on the hour. Let us now consider lowering that gas monitor in. Put on a line. And as we lower it down we will always test the top, the middle and the bottom. That is because gases are of different weights. Give it a few seconds to ensure that particular area is clear. And what is normally known as good practice is, tie it off, leave it in-situ. Let each person have their personal alarm as well. If it goes off, we should all shout, "Gas! Gas! Gas!" The reason we do this, not just to warn people that there is a problem but there is a medical reason behind it as well. As we all shout the word, "Gas! Gas! Gas!" you are exhaling any potential fumes you may have just breathed in. So it is important to remember to do, "Gas! Gas! Gas!"