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THE IH BLOG

Tim Quinn, Industries & Environment, Sr. Product Manager – Cloud Monitoring

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) clearly states that not only emergency personnel fighting wildfires have potential of hazardous exposure to smoke and its pollutants. “Other groups who continue to do their usual non-fire-related outdoor job… may be exposed to smoke from a wildland fire in their work area.” (https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/firefighting/wffsmoke.html)

But what about those who mostly work indoors, in warehouses, for example, and are often exposed to outdoor air during a workday? SGS Galson was asked to determine if a client’s warehouse employees were being affected in the following case study.

Situation:

Workers for a U.S. warehouse group were exposed to outdoor conditions in warehouses with constant in/out traffic. The company wanted to ensure CAL/OSHA wildfire regulation compliance with AQI for PM2.5 of less than 150, to protect workers, while also preventing loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour in business interruption.

 

Solution:

SGS Galson installed more than 500 SmartSense units with particle measurement sensors across over 250 facilities (indoor & outdoor), to ensure employees were working under healthy conditions. A color-coordinated warning system plus text/email alerts were used to notify of changing conditions.

 

Results:

In this case, using SmartSense monitoring, it was determined that the working conditions at these facilities were safe. This resulted in minimizing employee concerns and maximizing logistical operations without disruption. SmartSense is still monitoring these warehouses and the project scope has expanded significantly to other countries the company operates experiencing wildfires. At another one of their warehouses, SmartSense detected PM2.5 levels of 51 ug/m3 and the company was instructed to provide PPE to their workers.

 

Conclusion:

SmartSense is providing invaluable data for continuous monitoring from anywhere in the world in the aftermath of wildfires, as well as other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, temperature, pressure, humidity and other contaminants.

 

Contact me with your SmartSense questions and for a demonstration; or contact our award-winning Client Services Representatives anytime at:

 

Tim Quinn
Industries & Environment
Sr. Product Manager – Cloud Monitoring
 
SGS Galson
Mobile: +1 619 368 1533
Follow me: LinkedIn
 

 



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