Mobilarm launches Crewsafe® to address man overboard safety risks

Australian marine safety specialist Mobilarm launches Crewsafe®, a unique onboard wireless network with sophisticated Man Overboard functionality at the 2008 International Workboat Show. Crewsafe is the next generation of man overboard safety technology that will assist marine employers to remove the significant identified risks of man overboard incidents.

Mobilarm Crewsafe® is a wireless safety network that provides a new level of marine employee safety and security through crew location monitoring and by automatically initiating a network-wide alert to all personnel within seconds of an incident occurring.

With additional features including duress, general and covert alarms, paging and employee location monitoring, Mobilarm Crewsafe® is more than just a man overboard alarm system – it is a comprehensive marine safety and security platform. This approach ensures that owners and operators are able to provide crew with the best protection in the event of man overboard, security breach or other emergency by ensuring that vital information for critical decision making is available immediately.

“Each employee carries a palm-sized transceiver – a Tag – whose wireless signal keeps them connected to the network via a series of wireless routers. The network immediately detects any break in the signal and will automatically raise the alarm if the connection is not re-established within a few seconds. Therefore, if a worker goes overboard, the signal is lost, the alarm is raised and GPS tracking is implemented. The Tag also features a duress button that can be manually activated if an employee is in distress but not in the water,” explains Lindsay Lyon, CEO, Mobilarm.

Crewsafe® is a highly flexible system for use in most commercial marine environments including commercial fishing, offshore energy, workboats and loading facilities. It can monitor up to 12 crew using the Crewsafe Display Console, and more using the Windows®-based Crewsafe Management System. Both devices use identical network components such as Tags for the crew, and internal and external routers for the wireless network components.

“The significant risk of a man overboard-related fatality exists every day in the commercial marine workplace” adds Lyon. “With the introduction of Mobilarm Crewsafe®, commercial marine employers are now able to uphold their duty of care by mitigating this risk and ultimately save lives. Crewsafe is truly the next generation of marine workplace safety solutions, providing as it does the best chance of safe recovery during a man overboard incident whilst at the same time providing a wealth of added value through its extra communications functionality, which has been designed to improve onboard safety and efficiency even further.”

To find out more about Crewsafe visit www.mobilarm.com.

By Professional Mariner Staff