A major pharmaceutical company in Puerto Rico was faced with the life-safety requirement to monitor seventeen chemical rooms for oxygen deficiency. Should problems occur with the equipment or processes in these rooms, oxygen deficiency could lead to multiple casualties. The company needed a reliable monitoring system that would meet their requirements and their life safety concerns.

P.A.S. Technologies, the Sierra Monitor Corporation (SMC) channel partner in Puerto Rico, was called upon to recommend a solution. P.A.S. Technologies has a great deal of experience in the Puerto Rican pharmaceutical industry and is thoroughly familiar the capabilities of the Sierra Monitor gas detection products.

After a complete analysis of the requirements and consultations with the client's engineering and maintenance departments, P.A.S. Technologies recommended the installation of the Sierra Monitor Model 4107-03 Smart Sensor/Transmitter Oxygen (0-25%) module. The Model 4107-03 readily satisfied the client's technical requirements and budget constraints. The maintenance department personnel were particularly pleased with the non-intrusive menu-driven calibration feature of the Model 4107-03, along with its comprehensive display and alarm capabilities.

Alfredo Agelviz, President of P.A.S. Technologies, says, "The installation of the seventeen Sierra Monitor oxygen sensor/transmitters was simple and they have performed flawlessly requiring only regular calibration services."

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Paper, grease, and sparks – a combination that can lead to a costly disaster in a paper manufacturing plant.

At Pabco Paper plant in Vernon, California they manufacture specialty surfacing papers used for gypsum wallboard products, bakery boxes and other paper types. In their process, steam-heated drums used to treat speciality paper are turned by very large gears that are greased by hand. Periodically these gears will create a spark and ignite the grease which in turn ignites the paper being treated and potentially creating major damage to the facility. The paper treating process is automated and is not always carefully monitored, thus serious damage can be incurred before a fire is detected.

Pabco wanted to be able to quickly and automatically detect the presence of any fire in the process areas so that personnel could be alerted to extinguish the fire and minimize the damage. Sierra Monitor suggested that flame detectors be installed in various stages of the process to detect any flame that may develop in the areas of concern. The Sierra Monitor 3100 flame detectors were installed throughout the process areas and connected to a control center which would shut down any jeopardized process and alarm personnel should a fire occur.

Paul Jordon, Plant Manager of Pabco Paper states, "The first fire after the SMC Flame Detectors were installed was quickly detected saving us several hundred thousand dollars in building damage, lost product and down time that we experienced before installing the flame detectors."

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In many applications, the user needs a display of the gas concentration in the field, or an alarm relay contact located remotely from the central controller. Unfortunately, if the user decides on a "smart" gas sensor with the display integral to the sensor, a compromise must be made whether to mount the sensor where it is easiest to see the display or where it most accurately monitors for the hazardous gas.

No one should have to compromise on safety. The Sentry Addressable Output Module (AOM) provides the digital display and alarm relay contacts desired and can be mounted anywhere necessary, remote from the sensor, wherever necessary.

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Sentry is the most comprehensive gas detection system available and provides the user with a wide range of capabilities and features. With each issue of the SMC Newsletter we continue to provide tips on the use of many of these features. This issue covers a Front Panel idea on using gas tags and module tags, an Interconnect idea on using spare channels for troubleshooting, an Integration idea on use of the FieldServer, and an Expansion idea on using existing wire in a plant by multiplexing.

The Model 4400 In-Stream Hydrogen Sulfide Analyzer is used to continuously verify the H2S content of a natural gas sample for the presence of 0-100 ppm levels of Hydrogen Sulfide. This system is used to insure that H2S levels in natural gas collection lines remains at acceptable levels to help guard against the corrosive effects of H2S on compressors, pipelines and process equipment. It is intended for continuous monitoring prior to the addition of odorants to the gas.

This low-cost, easy-to-use solution to effectively monitor natural gas streams can accurately measure H2S concentration in the 0-100 ppm range. There is minimal maintenance with the Model 4400. It has no tapes to replace, no conditioning solutions and no mechanical stream blenders to calibrate.

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Sierra Monitor has signed on Safety Instruments in Hawthorne, New York to provide maintenance, repair and calibration service to our customers in Northeastern U.S. The services provided will include certified calibrations, board level repair, fixed system installation, start-up, maintenance contracts, instrument rental, replacement gases and accessories, on the full broad range of Sierra Monitor gas detection equipment.

In-house and on-site services are provided depending on customer needs.
They offer, in stock/for immediate delivery, replacement parts, accessories and calibration gases for our gas detection products.

Safety Instruments has over 20 years of experience and take pride in their work and strive to maintain the highest quality standards possible.

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