Success Story Onward Energy

See how Onward Energy is automating compliance management, generating savings, and supporting a culture of safety with the Grid Services.

About Onward Energy

Onward Energy is an independent power generator that owns and operates a portfolio of solar, wind, and gas generation projects in the U.S, including the Mankato Energy Center (MEC). At the MEC the main goal is to produce reliable electricity, safely and economically.

About Jason Michel

Jason works at the MEC for 15 years and now is the Operations & Maintenance Technician for the centre. He is responsible for keeping the fleet of equipment, including portable gas detectors, compliant and ready for the job, so their colleagues are safe.

The Situation

Onward Energy has been relying on MSA gas detectors for many years to protect their team from gas exposures. While they appreciate the durability and ease of use of its ALTAIR® brand, the company’s paper-based controls and reporting made gas detector maintenance and compliance challenging and time-consuming.

The Opportunity

Onward Energy needed a solution to:

  • Automate record-keeping and reporting, eliminating pen and paper processes.
  • Monitor and ensure compliance across the fleet of portables
  • Create a culture of safety among the team

The Solution

  • They set up the MSA GALAXY® GX2 automated test stations at the plant so that team members could easily bump or calibrate their detectors and quickly transfer the detectors readings to the cloud, automating record-keeping.
  • They adopted the Grid Fleet Manager so they could:
    • Have visibility and monitor every aspect of their detection program, including detector use, alerts, and compliance
    • Be proactive towards maintenance concerns, including sensor life warnings and calibration gas availability.
    • Automate compliance management

The Results

With a detection program supported by reliable ALTAIR detectors, GALAXY GX2 test banks and Grid services they:

  • Increased safety awareness and accountability at the plant, supporting a culture of safety.
  • Streamlined gas detector management, delivering:
    • 75%-time savings on compliance management, record-keeping, and reporting.
    • Cost-savings while being proactive towards maintenance concerns and ensuring fleet uptime and availability.

“Connectivity with the Grid is reliable and provides you with the visibility you need to be in control of and streamline your gas detection program. It helps you save time, money and lives.”

Jason Michel- Operations & Maintenance Technician at Onward Energy

This story is not unique.

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