Five Reasons to Rent Gas Detection Equipment

By: Jason Wright, Contributor

Whether your team has an upcoming turnaround, outage or shutdown, or whether it’s unexpected, evaluating your gas detector fleet and making sure that you have all the equipment you need for the project is essential. (photo courtesy Adobe Stock Images)

As the year kicks into high gear, your facility might have to perform a shutdown or turnaround. It can be extra challenging to maintain safety standards during shutdowns due to disruptions to standard routines, extra workers on site and atmospheric hazards that you might not normally encounter—including oxygen deficiency and combustible or toxic gases.

Whether your team has planned for an upcoming turnaround, outage or shutdown, or whether it’s unexpected, evaluating your gas detector fleet and making sure that you have all the equipment you need for the project—from beginning to end—is essential. However, most companies don’t keep enough gas detectors on-hand for the influx of workers.

Renting gas detection equipment is the most efficient way to quickly obtain the safety equipment you need to ensure team safety, hazard visibility and more.

Here are five reasons you should consider renting gas detectors this year:

1. Save Money

Get the equipment you need at a fraction of the price. With rental gas detectors, you can protect your team without committing to the long-term expenses or responsibilities associated with purchasing.

Alternatives to renting, like expanding your fleet with new devices or purchasing disposable gas monitors, have hidden expenses that cost you more in the long run. If you only plan to use the spare gas monitors for special projects, it doesn’t make sense to budget for the large capital expense of purchasing or maintenance costs throughout the year.

2. Quick Delivery

Get back up and running more quickly during unexpected events. In most cases, the gas detectors you need can be readied and delivered the very next day. This is ideal for shutdowns that may arise immediately. You don’t need to delay the job or sacrifice worker safety, if rentals arrive at your facility as soon as you need them.

3. Flexible Rental Terms

You can’t always predict how long you’ll need spare equipment. Shutdowns and turnarounds can last anywhere from a few days to months, and your plans might change as the project progresses. For that, you need a flexible timeline to ensure workers are always protected.

4. Variety to Fit Your Unique Application

Suppliers can carry all the equipment you need for your turnaround or unique application—from personal monitors to an area monitoring system with peer-to-peer wireless communication and live monitoring software. Some companies even offer full accessory lines that include probes, spare battery packs, docking stations and other parts, so you have the right equipment for any application—rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all solution.

5. Ready-to-Use Monitors

When your team is jumping into a special project, especially an unexpected one, their time is valuable. Rental gas monitors arrive pre-calibrated and come with calibration certificates, so you can count on their accuracy without adding another task to anyone’s to-do list. Some personal and area monitors can easily connect to one another for peer-to-peer alarm sharing and live data-monitoring —without IT set-up—so workers can clock in knowing their gas detectors are ready to go.

What to Ask Before You Rent

Many companies don’t keep enough gas detectors on-hand for the influx of workers. Renting gas detection equipment is the most efficient way to quickly obtain the safety equipment you need to ensure team safety, hazard visibility and more. (photo courtesy ISC)

Now that you’ve explored the five reasons why you should consider renting gas detection equipment, it’s important to understand that not all gas detector rental programs offer the same benefits. If you do plan on renting, be sure to scope out the project and ask the right questions, including:

• When does the rental period start, and when does it end?
  Some rental companies start the clock the day the equipment leaves their facility; others start it the day it is received. The length of the rental depends on the company you rent from; however, some companies are also flexible about extending rentals, which means you don’t need to rush projects to fit your rental period.

• What is included with the gas detectors?
  For example, if you’re getting a monitor with a rechargeable battery, ask if the charger will be included.

• What gas detector accessories would be ideal for a given application?
  Ask the rental company about accessories that might make the job easier and safer. For example, in confined spaces, specific tubing and probes are required compared to other gas detection applications.

• Do I need to pay for sensors that fail while in use?
  Some rental companies make up the internal expenses of maintaining their rental fleet by charging customers for sensors that fail while in use, even if the sensors fail due to normal use.

• Are the monitors pre-calibrated?
  Ask to have calibration certificates provided with each rental unit.

Whether you’re preparing for your upcoming turnarounds and shutdowns, or face an unplanned emergency, make sure you have the equipment you need to protect every worker on-site without worrying about maintenance or committing to a purchase. Renting your gas detection equipment is the most efficient way to quickly obtain the safety equipment you need to ensure team safety, hazard visibility and more.