As the holiday season approaches and businesses close for the season, giving their employees a well-deserved respite.

It’s important to remember the risks that are associated with gases, even whilst your business is unoccupied, gas safety does not take a break and remains a concern at all times.

What is Fixed Gas Detection?

A fixed gas detection system serves as a safety device that monitors the presence of gases in the environment.

It works to detect, alert and reduce the risks involved with gas leaks or the build-up of harmful gases in the surrounding environment.

There are usually three parts to these detectors, a gas sensor head that works to detect gas in the area in which it is installed, a control panel installed outside of the area that displays the levels of gas and any caution in the target area, and an alarm that will sound when it detects the presence of gas.

What are the consequences of not having adequate gas detection?

Not protecting your business and staff with a gas detector can have disastrous consequences, there are a multitude of impacts a business may face if there is a gas leak.

The main concern you may have is a breach of health and safety, depending on the gas, it can cause respiratory issues, explosions, fires and even fatalities.

Normally if there is a gas leak, the business will need to be evacuated and even temporarily closed which can cause a loss of revenue.

Additionally, the business may need to be closed for a long period of time depending on how long it takes to remove the harmful gas. This can also cause harm to a business' reputation if news of this was to spread.

If people are harmed in the process, there may be legal problems that arise due to negligence and physical harm as we have seen reported in the news.

Whilst a business is closed over the winter period, if a gas leak was to occur, it’s likely that the concentration of gas will be high when the staff return to the business.

If an alarm isn’t sounded and the staff aren’t aware of the risks, there is high risk of a fire or explosion depending on the gas.

How do we combat this?

Combatting this is quite simple, installing a fixed gas detection system will help to raise the alarm of a gas leak and fluctuating levels of gas within an environment.

A gas detection system will constantly monitor the air for the presence of hazardous gases and sound the alarm if it detects gases higher than safe working levels by taking samples of the air through its sensor, looking out for any abnormalities.

When a gas leak has been detected, it will trigger audio and visual alarms that will raise the awareness of the heightening gas levels and get people to leave the premises.

It’s important that staff are trained to appropriately and correctly react to a gas leak to minimise casualties.

Some fixed detection systems can trigger a safety measure such as shutting down gas lines or activating a ventilation system that will begin to control the leak and remove the gas from the area.

Having these systems in place will help to reduce costs for the business in down time and prevent staff from injury or worse as the problem will be obvious and can be neutralised quickly.

Am I safe if I already have a fixed gas detection system?

Theoretically, you will be safe if you have a gas detection system already installed on your premises.

This will depend on the servicing and upkeep of your detection system; they have regular service and maintenance intervals which must be strictly abided to ensure that your system is trustworthy and can protect your staff and business.

Why should I service and maintain my system?

The sensors in your system can remain operational at a baseline certified to EU standards with regular servicing.

As time passes, sensors can deviate from their calibrated levels, which can lead to over-reading or under-reading. An over-reading might cause the system to trigger an alarm when there is no actual risk, which is commonly referred to as a "false alarm.”

When gas levels are dangerously high, but the system does not detect them, workers are exposed to amounts of gas that could be hazardous to their health and fall outside of the safe working guidelines. This is called an under-reading.

These are some of the ways you can protect your business from gas leaks and failures throughout Christmas, if you need any assistance with anything you have read, give our team a call on 01704 315 330.