Blackline Safety is a technology leader driving innovation in the industrial workforce through IoT (Internet of Things). With connected safety devices and predictive analytics, Blackline enables companies to drive towards zero safety incidents and improved operational performance. Blackline provides wearable devices, personal and area gas monitoring, cloud-connected software and data analytics to meet demanding safety challenges and enhance overall productivity for organizations with coverage in more than 100 countries. Armed with cellular and satellite connectivity, Blackline provides a lifeline to tens of thousands of people, having reported over 200 billion data-points and initiated over seven million emergency alerts. For more information, visit BlacklineSafety.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
After months of anticipation, Blackline GPS has released the newest groundbreaking device in the Loner worker safety monitoring product line: Loner IS. Class I, Div. 1 intrinsically safe and built with the same cutting edge technology used in the popular Loner SMD device launched earlier this year, Loner IS if the first device of its kind ready for deployment across the globe.
While functionally identical to Loner SMD, Loner IS provides a solution for environments in which Loner SMD devices could never enter. Locations in which the environment creates a risk of explosion such as in a refinery, compressed gas plant or a grain elevator all require instrumentation that has been rigorously tested and certified to ensure that the electronics used will not set of an explosion or instability.
Before Loner IS
Prior to Loner IS, management of facilities in which IS was necessary were limited to only partial monitoring solutions. Panic buttons without tracking capabilities, GPS trackers without instant wireless emergency alerting and hand-held radio transmitters and receivers were the only options available to safety conscious employers. Unfortunately, these solutions continue to lack value for business owners, management, and employees due to their limited ability to provide prompt emergency response when an event occurs. In addition, many intrinsically safe solutions still lack the automation and ease-of use that is integrated within all loner safety monitoring products.
Loner IS Instant Alerts
Thanks to Blackline there is now a real option that can truly meet the monitoring needs of both management AND staff. With Loner IS, instant alerting is offered both automatically and manually though five unique alert modes:
True Fall Detection™ technology provides unprecedented recognition of a fall by Loner devices, triggering an automatic remote alert following a brief false-alarm grace period. During the grace period, an "Alert Pending" notification is sent to monitoring personnel, allowing them to follow up if deemed necessary. Should the device not be silenced within the grace period, the full emergency status is pushed forward and escalated automatically by Blackline's communications infrastructure.
Man Down Alerting uses the same technology as True Fall Detection but applies it in a new way. When the device detects that its wearer has not moved for a set period of time (such as after falling unconscious), the device triggers an alert following the usual grace period. As with falls, Loner devices push pending alerts to monitoring personnel and escalate the alarm automatically if the device is not silenced by the wearer.
The Emergency Latch allows employees to signal alerts immediately without needing to press-and-hold a button for three seconds. Additionally, using a latch, false alarms can be minimized. An alert triggered in this way has no grace period and is escalated to a full-alarm automatically.
A Silent Alert allows employees to trigger a remote alert without activating the emergency lights and sound beacon. This form of alerting is useful when the wearer of the device does not wish to give off his or her position by signalling an alert.
Automated Check-ins allow the Loner device to buzz briefly at set intervals, indicating that an employee must check-in. Rather than stop and make a call, Lone users can simply press their Silent Alert button during a check-in window in order to complete the automated check-in. Should the check-in be missed altogether, an alert pending is pushed to monitoring staff.
Loner IS in the Loner Ecosystem
Loner IS integrates perfectly with all existing Loner Portal accounts. Like previously Loner solutions, the IS can remain on an account with any other second-generation Loner device including Loner SMD and Loner Mobile/FDU. Because the device functions exactly like Loner SMD, there is no additional learning necessary for device implementation, nor is there any need to distinguish the device from others for any reason other than to ensure that the device is deployed in areas requiring intrinsic safety.
Connect With Loner IS
With the introduction of Loner IS, Blackline GPS has created two new Twitter hash-tags. Join the discussion on Twitter at #safetymonitoring and #intrinsicallysafe.