By: Suresh Tanwar, Senior Head – Audit and Consultancy, British Safety Council, India
India’s industrialization has brought in some gargantuan issues with the safety of workers, particularly with flammable and poisonous gases. As per the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), nearly 80% of chemical disasters in India occur due to leaks of dangerous gases. Chemical plants, Oil and Gas refineries, and municipal water treatment plants are high-risk work environments where safety is an imperative.
Challenges in gas safety systems
The often-inadequate fundamental safety procedures across industries compound India’s problem of gas-related hazards. Most industries continue to rely on manual monitoring detection systems or basic gas detectors that operate independently. This makes the system prone to errors, such as inconsistent monitoring, delayed response to alarms, and reliance on human judgment, which can lead to risks including fires, explosions, toxic exposure, and physical injuries. Moreover, even with regulatory codes published by agencies such as the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) and the guidance required under The Factories Act, compliance is generally inconsistent across companies.
Gas monitoring and detection have always been a key facet of workplace safety. In the past, fixed and portable detectors have been assisting the workforce in India for generations, thanks to the instant alarms they raise when gas concentrations exceed the safe limits. These individual detectors have their limitations, however. In high-risk workplaces with loud environments, alarms are sometimes ignored. In some cases, the silo-based approach of storing precious data in individual machines leads to delays in coordination during a potential emergency.
How smart connected systems are changing the future of gas safety
Technology is redefining the future of gas safety in India. The emergence of smart, connected systems is changing the way organizations can keep their workers safe. Technology helps connect both area and portable systems to a single platform, making end-to-end real-time visibility possible. For managers responsible for India’s large industrial campuses, this means they can see the safety status in real-time, from on-site or remotely, and be able to respond to incidents in seconds.
In practical terms, consider a sewage treatment plant in Maharashtra where workers are exposed to gas concentrations during their work. A connected safety network combines personal gas detectors and area monitors. This enables gas alarms or potential air quality issues in any part of the site to be identified and acted upon as they arise. If an alarm is triggered, the supervisor and emergency response team are notified. In an emergency, the first responders have accurate exposure information, ensuring that medical care is timely and effective.
Connected systems are also becoming critical for solo workers, such as those working in isolated oil rigs, underground mines, or isolated factory spaces without onsite supervisors. A self-generated alert provided by the worker’s detector will alert the manager or co-workers in an emergency, enabling timely countermeasures. The system records the event, which helps with compliance reporting, auditing, and intelligent decisions to mitigate future risks.
The ability to collect and analyze data from these systems represents a significant advancement. With these capabilities, businesses can quickly identify trends, reveal areas of potentially high risk, and proactively enhance safety measures rather than reactively. Intelligent platforms also streamline calibration, monitoring equipment health, and compliance across the entire fleet of devices. Such flexibility also helps keep up with regulatory changes.
Digitally enabled gas safety systems will pave the way ahead
Modern smart connected gas safety systems, while beneficial, are not commonplace yet. This is because they are seen as an expensive investment. There are also concerns regarding data privacy risks and cybersecurity, which are commonly associated with networked systems. However, modern systems use secure, cloud-based platforms with encryption, access controls, and anonymization functions that are built to protect worker privacy.
The future of workplace safety in India would depend on how well the industry marries technology with awareness and accountability. AI and networked gas safety systems are now a case not of whether an industry could, but a case of whether it would. Technology must be tied to frequent safety audits, safety training for workers, and cultural change towards greater progressive attitudes over reactiveness.
As India positions itself as the global leader in manufacturing, smart safety gas systems are not just a matter of compliance, but a matter of saving lives, improving productivity, and ensuring growth does not come at the cost of workers’ safety.