Northern Ireland Water Invests In Power Of Connected Safety Across Operations

Water authority upgrades conventional gas detector fleet to Blackline Safety G7 to protect and communicate with at-risk workers

Blackline Safety Corp., a global leader in connected safety technology with a hardware-enabled software-as-a-service (HeSaaS) business model, today announced further details on its partnership with Northern Ireland Water for connected personal gas detection devices and monitoring to support their workers.

The contract, awarded through Blackline Safety Europe’s distribution partner in Ireland OBW Technologies, will see the water authority replace their current gas detection units with upwards of 500 Blackline Safety G7c devices.

“OBW have recently been successful in winning the contract to supply Blackline Safety G7c portable gas detection monitor with Northern Ireland Water. NIW are looking forward to working closely with OBW Technologies and Blackline Safety Europe in rolling out their exciting product over the next few months” said Kieran Herrity, Mechanical & Electrical Manager, Northern Ireland Water.

Northern Ireland Water is a Government Owned Company (GOCO), established in April 2007 to provide the water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland. Almost 1.8 million people across the country count on Northern Ireland Water to supply 560 million litres of clean water and treat 320 million litres of wastewater daily.

In the past four years, five of the 12 UK water authorities have partnered with Blackline Safety
“Workers in the water/wastewater industry are at risk of exposure to toxic and flammable gases so having a reliable, easy-to-use device ensures user acceptability when working in hazardous environments. The value of real-time cloud-connected data, paired with scalable technology that adapts to changing work environments means we continue to see strong adoption of our connected safety solutions in the industry.” said Simon Rich, Zone Manager - UK, Ireland, Scandinavia & Eastern Europe, Blackline Safety Europe.

A scalable solution for a progressive workplace
G7c is uniquely positioned to address Northern Ireland Water’s needs for gas detection, data and connectivity. From custom-made panels for their docking stations to layering maps of their facilities into the Blackline Live portal for enhanced location tracking OBW worked hard to understand Northern Ireland Water’s needs and find the right fit.

JJ O’Brien, Director, OBW Technologies said “We look forward to building our relationship with NI Water, a progressive organisation who share our values in caring for the health and wellbeing of their people and customers. This tender is a significant win for our business in the area of life safety, as more and more organisations realise the importance of ensuring their peoples’ safety in the workplace.”

The rapidly growing Limerick, IE-based business headed up by JJ and Sharon O'Brien has thrived in recent years. OBW has increased its’ staff by over 70% since partnering with Blackline Safety Europe.