BOC Gases

CASE STUDY
Customer: BOC Gases
Solution: Ascom 9d23 Protector
CASE STUDY
BOC Gases
British based company BOC became part of the
Linde Group in 2006 and it's headquarters reside
in Guildford, UK.
BOC supply compressed and bulk gases, chemicals
and equipment developing safe, sustainable and
innovative solutions for customers in heavy
industry and medical environments.
BOC operate throughout six continents with over
30,000 employees world wide.
Requirements
Remote operations pose a significant staff health and safety problem for all
employers. Staff working alone, in potentially hazardous environments, at
such facilities are always at risk.
BOC wanted a solution that would provide lone workers with the ability to
automatically raise “duress” and “man-down” alarms at the remote
locations which would be transmitted to a central location. In addition, they
wanted a system whereby regular messages are sent to the lone worker
and should they not respond an alarm is automatically raised. Also required
was the ability to control the security gates remotely during any emergency
situation.
As BOC operate in gaseous environments the solution had to be Intrinsically
Safe (IS) and certified to Australian Standards.
Solutions
By Integrating Ascom’s specialised 9d23 Intrinsically Safe Protector handsets
and DURAsuite alarm management application with the existing PLC system
(Programmable Logic Controller), Ascom delivered a solution that enabled
BOC’s lone workers to be “supervised” from a central location while at remote
facilities.
The existing PLC system was configured so that when a lone worker arrived
at a remote facility the PLC would instruct the DURAsuite alarm management
system to automatically generate messages at pre-defined time intervals and
send them to the lone workers phone. If the lone worker fails to respond to a
message the DURAsuite alarm management system notifies the PLC system
of this and an alarm is instantaneously transmitted to a central monitoring
station which then initiates a process to check on the status of the lone
worker. Similarly if a “duress” or “man-down” alarm is raised from the phone
by the lone worker, the central monitoring station is informed via the PLC
system.
CASE STUDY
The Solution
In addition the lone worker can control the opening and closing of the access gates from their 9d23 Protector phone
from anywhere on the facility. As the phones are connected to the on-site telephone system (PBX), the lone workers have
full telephone communications capability while on site. The Ascom 9d23 Intrinsically Safe Protector handset is compliant
with the global IECEx standard for Intrinsic Safety (http://domino.iec.ch/IECEx), which is in turn compliant with the
Australian standards.
Customer Feedback
“Ascom Integrated Wireless (AIW) have been long-time suppliers of our man-down alarm solutions. They have continually
met business requirements and are prevalent in more than 20 BOC sites Australia-wide. Ascom’s solutions provide our
employees with the confidence to complete tasks successfully while reducing business costs."
- Don Anson, Superintendent, Cryocentre Facility.
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Ascom Integrated Wireless Pty Ltd
Ground Floor 53 Balfour St, Chippendale, NSW, 2008
T 02-9698-9000 | E [email protected]
www.ascom.com.au