FORT ST. JOHN, BC, Jan. 21, 2019 /CNW/ - Rob
Nikoleychuk, working with Nalco Champion, was driving from
Lower Burnt River to Hasler in blizzard conditions with
-10oC weather while performing work for an energy
producer when suddenly the fuses in his truck blew. Nalco Champion
is a division of ECOLAB, the global leader in water, hygiene and
energy technologies and services.
Out of cellular range and alone on a mountainous back road in
plummeting temperatures, Nikoleychuk reached for his self-powered
Blackline Safety (TSXV: BLN) G7x wearable device. As a
comprehensive lone worker safety monitoring system, G7x has an
Iridium satellite uplink to Blackline's 24/7 live monitoring team.
At 13:12 MST, Nikoleychuk used his
G7x two-way messaging to send an alert to Blackline, requesting
assistance.
Blackline's Safety Operations team received Nikoleychuk's alert
message. Within five minutes Nikoleychuk's supervisor, Ben Hopkins, messaged Nikoleychuk's G7x that
help was on the way and dispatched a team of two employees to begin
the long drive into the field. Fifty minutes later, Nikoleychuk was
safely picked up by a co-worker, bringing him and his vehicle to
safety in Chetwynd, a town located
between Fort St. John and
Prince George in northern B.C.
"I'm a true believer in Blackline Safety," says Nikoleychuk,
District Representative for Nalco Champion in British Columbia, "I don't know if I would
have made it…the Blackline G7x was a life-saver for me knowing that
someone was coming, so I didn't have to trudge 10 km in a
blizzard."
Ben Hopkins, Nalco Champion Area
Manager in Ft. St. John, B.C.,
says, "I went online and could see where Rob Nikoleychuk was on the Blackline Safety
portal…he was working in an area with no two-way radio coverage or
cell service, and I knew it would be dark soon in the heavy
snowfall."
Nalco Champion originally chose Blackline Safety to improve the
safety of employees who are working alone in Canada. This involves many employees in B.C.,
Alberta and Saskatchewan. Previous use of SPOT devices or
cell phones were limited in their reporting ability and the dangers
with using cell phones in vehicles while driving made the
investment in safety an easy choice. Today all remote Nalco
Champion employees have G7x units in their trucks.
"Automation is a key reason we use the product and the added
ability to detect a problem if an employee is incapacitated
improves our ability to help our people who need to work alone,"
says Hopkins. "We found the Blackline Safety bridge invaluable… if
Rob didn't have help coming, it might have been 3 hours before a
crew would be sent out — I knew my employee was safe and he knew he
had help coming — that was a big relief and our leaders in the
safety department, they see this incident as kudos to Blackline
Safety."
About Nalco Champion: We are an Ecolab company. We
overcome energy challenges, enabling and enhancing your
productivity, while reducing operating costs, in every part of the
upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas value chain. With
unparalleled global reach, we provide leading technology, essential
expertise and an uncompromising commitment to health, safety and
the environment in everything we do, everywhere you need us.
https://en-ca.ecolab.com/nalco-champion/
About Blackline Safety: Blackline Safety is a global
connected safety technology leader. Providing comprehensive
live-monitoring and wireless gas detection, we help teams working
in hazardous environments respond to emergencies in real-time and
manage efficient evacuations, accounting for everyone's safety
along the way. With millions invested in technology research and
development, Blackline Safety is recognized for quality and
innovation. Our talented team of designers and engineers create and
manufacture in-house — from wearable technology and personal gas
detectors to cloud-hosted infrastructure and web-based interfaces
for global industry. We deliver the world's first turn-key,
work-anywhere, connected safety monitoring solution with gas
detection, 3G wireless, satellite communications, two-way
speakerphone, push-to-talk, employee messaging and live monitoring
to meet the demanding safety challenges and increase productivity
of organizations in over 100 countries. For more information,
visit www.BlacklineSafety.com.
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SOURCE Blackline Safety Corp.