Danny Stranks, Connected Services and Solutions Sales Manager for MSA Safety, EMEA, explains how connected solutions optimise compliance and improve safety protocols across industries globally

Can you explain what digital compliance is and why it is beneficial for enhancing worker safety?

When we look at people not familiar with digital compliance, we need to take a step back and understand how conventional compliance is managed in safety.

I’ve spoken to customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and it’s managed in various ways—it could still be Excel spreadsheets or paper filing and both are very time-consuming and can be manipulated if it wasn’t right the first time.

Digital compliance is simple.

By integrating connectivity directly into a product, you can seamlessly automate the process, providing actionable data that helps safety managers create safer and more efficient worksites and you completely take that human element out of it.

Most importantly, by automating the process, you essentially gain a digital employee.

That can save a lot of time and energy that you would be spending to manage it manually, so you can focus on other areas of safety that are important.

Compliance is important, but it can be a very time-costly exercise.

Digital compliance streamlines that process.

How do connected solutions make compliance easier?

When you look at compliance, the core remains the same: Is the equipment ready to use? Do you have a reliable audit trail before and after the equipment has been used? And that’s really important.

When we look at audit trails of equipment, how do you go backwards to check over time if it was ready?

By adopting the connected solution, regardless of the industry, you can capture and manage that data in one place to build better safety protocols and better optimise the deployment of your assets in the field.

By capturing that data, we can address training opportunities and remove complacency in usage.

How can you reassure companies intimidated by data about its benefits for safety?

We’re living in an age where data is still new to some people and how we use data can sometimes be a source of concern.

I remind people that data is unemotional.

For example, if three people see an incident and we saw it from three different angles, we’re going to write about it all differently when we put it down.

If you had a friend involved in the incident, it is possible you will write about it completely differently compared to someone else because you’re emotionally attached to that person.

Data is unemotional.

It’s only going to give us the hard facts that we can then have actionable insight into.

Data can objectively tell us what happened, at what time and what the environment around it was.

It provides actionable data to then see improvements, whether that’s in safety improvements or training opportunities.

So that’s what I mean by unemotional and that data is a really powerful tool when used right.

People shouldn’t be intimidated because it’s collating that data that we should be collating without any other bits of being involved in that environment.

How does a data-driven approach change traditional methods for addressing workplace safety?

I have two words: accountability and visibility.

By adopting a data-driven approach, data provides visibility of what is happening within your organisation at any time.

Managing various machines, especially at satellite sites, can be difficult.

Using data, we can manage fleet optimisation, compliance, service and maintenance and equipment utilisation and usage.

This is important because companies provide equipment, but we don’t know if they always use it.

With data, we can generate usage reports and utilisation, which drive data adoption across the region.

Accountability is also crucial.

When someone is accountable for equipment and data is collected, it changes work cultures as they know something is being monitored.

Visibility of data and accountability allows us to act.

How are MSA’s connected solutions adapted across industries?

When MSA develops products or technology, the customer is always our priority to ensure robust, reliable products that users can trust.

Trust is crucial for safety-critical equipment.

Our connected solutions can be leveraged in various ways across industries.

For large refineries with hundreds of workers, they can use worker location alarm notifications.

In heavy industry, workers use our Grid ID RFID tag system to ensure fleet optimisation.

When workers tag in, it checks compliance, runs compliance reports and ensures bump tests or calibrations are performed.

This is powerful.

For example, one customer saved 200 devices per year by using tag in/tag out, avoiding device wastage and reducing costs.

What role will connected safety solutions play in future compliance and safety standards?

As connectivity becomes more common, standards for its use and collection will become integral to workplace compliance.

In large parts of Europe, gas exposure must be tracked to protect workers and companies.

Connected solutions will help ensure that exposure levels are recorded accurately, which will be referenced in future claims.

This integration is already happening in Europe and parts of the US.

What is the next phase for connected safety solutions at MSA and the industry?

The next phase involves offering a complete solution and working with our customers to identify their needs.

I meet customers who may be reserved about adopting connected solutions, but they often provide great ideas for improvements.

A significant part of the next phase is responding to these customer requests as connectivity becomes more integral to compliance.

We are developing a complete portfolio of products and integrating them into unified solutions, which is essential as we move forward.

This article was originally published in the January 2025 issue of International Fire & Safety Journal – to read your FREE digital copy, click here.