Factories and other facilities can sometimes be some of the most dangerous fields and workplaces if you’re not careful. The manufacture, research, and production of certain items often produce several byproducts or requires your workers to work in environments that might not be the safest for humans. That’s why we’ve invented many types of equipment to help us monitor workplace environments, set up safety regulations, and ready ourselves in case there are any emergencies or issues that arise. These can help protect workers and prevent incidents from happening.

 What safety equipment and measures come to mind when you think about workplace safety? You might think of the personal protective equipment that many researchers or medical workers don, or you might think of the alarm systems for hazards that many workplaces use. One important device that we use for workplace safety is gas detectors, which are devices that we use to help us detect the presence of gases in a particular area.

What are gas detectors and what exactly do they do?

Gas detectors are important tools for many factories and other similar facilities. Simply put, they are devices that can detect whether traces of combustible, poisonous, or other hazardous gases are at dangerous levels within a given area or vicinity. They can provide either audible or visual warnings before these traces of gases become too problematic to ignore.

What type of gases do they detect? Well, it depends. Gas detection devices are used for many commercial purposes and can vary depending on the industry or business. There are some gas detection devices that can even be used to detect a lack of presence of a certain gas such as oxygen. Many industrial facilities use or produce a range of gases while manufacturing their products or doing other related business activities, so gas detectors that can detect multiple types of gases would be a safety requirement for them.

Today, there is a diverse range of both portable and fixed gas detectors that you can choose from for your workplace.

Choosing your gas detector

Need to choose a gas detector for your facility? Fortunately, there are many that probably fit your needs, but if you want the best choice, you’re going to have to look at the specifics. Here are a few factors that determine what type of gas detector you’re best off with.

Fixed vs. Portable

There are two main types of gas detectors, fixed or portable. Here are their pros and cons.

A fixed gas detector is one that is usually installed in facilities to help detect gas leaks. They are usually highly valued because they have a range of settings that are highly customisable and can give you faster, automatic responses. Fixed gas detectors can also be hooked up to other systems so they can turn them off/on to prevent further risk.

Unfortunately, there are also some downsides to having fixed gas detectors, because they are usually more expensive than portable gas detectors and can have a limited range because it is affixed to walls and other places.

A portable gas detector, on the other hand, is a device that keeps workers themselves safe. They are usually kept close to the worker and they work at close range. This is also the reason why they’re called personal gas detectors. Due to this function, they are mostly designed to be lightweight, handheld, and or made to be worn as an accessory. You can take portable gas detectors virtually anywhere and be fully protected.

While cheaper than fixed gas detectors, though, they are also much more limited in terms of features. They don’t give automatic responses, unlike fixed detectors, and they are also pretty fussy, needing users to be trained on proper usage.

What types of features they have

With many types of multi-gas detectors, they provide a range of special features that you need to look into. For example, wireless gas detection seems especially useful when you want your gas detectors to be unobtrusive and not meddle with your work. Another example is what type of alert detectors give you upon detecting the gas. Are they more silent, or do they give audible warnings? Some also have automatic functions such as connecting to certain systems when a gas leak is detected, helping you take proper action at the right time.

There are other features you should also think about, such as data storage abilities, range in detecting gases, and more. Consider it carefully before making your decision.

Ansac Technology provides you only the best in safety equipment here in Singapore. Check out our range of fixed or portable gas detectors here on our site.