Unveiling the invisible
Air quality is a significant concern on construction and mine sites – where workers are exposed to harmful respirable particles like crystalline silica – making continuous monitoring critical for ensuring health and safety.
Silica dust, generated during activities using materials like concrete and stone, presents a serious health risk to those working in industries such as construction and mining. An estimated 230 people develop lung cancer each year due to past exposure to silica dust at work.1
Moreover, construction sites can also harbour other hazardous particulate matter. Knowing when silica and other contaminants exceed permissible limits can help protect workers from these hazards and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
A clear view
As leading experts in remote monitoring IoT solutions, Kallipr helps businesses to collect and store critical data in a centralised platform.
When integrated with air quality monitors supplied by Active Environmental Solutions (AES), Kallipr’s Captis data loggers can automatically capture air quality data at continuous intervals, sending that information back to a central hub, ensuring ongoing monitoring of hazard levels without the need for manual sampling.
Kallipr Technical Solutions Specialist, Armaghan Cheema, said, “When it comes to industries like construction, where dust levels can fluctuate rapidly, it’s really important to continuously monitor air quality in real time.
“Having all the data around relevant air quality parameters can assist in making informed decisions. Users will know whether air quality levels are above or below what’s acceptable.”
Kallipr works closely with AES, a provider of air quality monitoring solutions that can measure dust and silica levels even in the harshest environments.
A spokesperson for AES said, “By continuously measuring pollutants such as dust and silica, these monitors enable site managers to swiftly identify and mitigate hazardous conditions, ensuring a safer working environment.
“This proactive approach reduces the risk of workers developing respiratory illnesses and long-term health issues caused by exposure to harmful levels of airborne contaminants.”
Empowering quick decisions
Through email and SMS alerts, Captis users can be notified when air quality levels exceed set thresholds, allowing them to take prompt action to protect themselves and other workers on site. Site managers can also assess whether ventilation systems, dust suppression techniques and other control measures are functioning as intended.
Additionally, by feeding air quality data into Kallipr’s cloud-based platform, Captis users have a clear view of air quality levels over time.
“If you’re monitoring multiple sites, you can put that information together and see if there’s any patterns or trends,” Mr Cheema said.
This also has benefits for compliance. Australia has strict regulations regarding permissible exposure limits for silica and dust. The workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is 0.05 mg/m3 averaged over an eight-hour period.
Through real-time monitoring and periodic regulatory air sampling, businesses have the relevant data to make sure that they’re complying with those regulations to ensure worker safety.
Monitoring air quality through manual sampling alone, where someone is sent to the site, can be costly and inefficient. Especially for sites that are geographically dispersed and potentially even difficult to access.
“Having a comprehensive record of different conditions at multiple sites enhances safety programs, avoids the risk of human error and eliminates the cost and time spent travelling to the site.”
To learn more about air quality monitoring visit our dedicated page here
This article originally appeared in Infrastructure Magazine
1https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/workplace-cancer/silica-dust
