ATLANTA - Frost & Sullivan presented International Safety Instruments (ISI) with the 2005 Global Excellence in Technology Innovation Award at their 2005 Best Practices Awards Banquet. The award is in recognition of ISI’s consistency in introducing cutting-edge designs and technologies within the personal protective equipment (PPE) segment of the environmental health and safety (EH&S) industry
Every year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated technological superiority within its industry. It acknowledges the ability of the company to successfully develop and introduce new technology, formulate a well-designed product family, and make significant product performance contributions to the industry.
“Since its introduction of ELSA, the first National Institute For Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved, refillable escape unit in 1980, ISI has gone forward to distinguish itself with the inception, development, and launch of a variety of technological innovations within the respiratory protection product field,” say Frost & Sullivan Research Analysts Tom Wood, Jr. and Pavithra Atul Sarma.
For instance, the Ranger Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), introduced in 1982, was the first National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)-approved SCBA with a compliant, one-stage regulator consisting of only five parts. Competitors’ products typically consisted of two or three stage regulators with upwards of 75 parts. Then came the Magnum SCBA (1989) – the first NFPA approved SCBA with a compliant, two-stage regulator.
ISI’s VISION line of thermal imaging cameras, introduced in 1997, was the first to utilize the Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) thermal sensor, now used extensively by the fire services market. In 1995, ISI introduced the HDV Offshore Express, the first rescue unit for offshore rigs that contains a hood with a protection factor similar to that of an SCBA.
The VIKING SCBA, introduced in 1999, was the first NFPA approved SCBA to incorporate a heads-up display (HUD), digital console, and voice activation system (VAS) into a single electronic system utilizing a sole battery pack for all components.
However, it is ISI’s current technological innovation, the Telemetry Electronic Air Management (TEAM) system, which is exciting the market. When available by the end of this year, this personal alert safety system (PASS) device will provide enhanced tracking, identification, and monitoring of firefighters’ exposure levels and physical status during the course of their firefighting activities.
“Being a small company has enabled ISI to respond to the needs of various industries faster than many of its larger competitors,” note Wood and Sarma. “Prototypes are often available within a matter of days rather than months or years, and as a result, many new products are continually looming on the horizon.”
ISI is continually attuned to the needs of its customers by means of a Distributor Advisory Council (DAC) that meets once a year. In addition, the company has just initiated an End-User Advisory Council (EUAC), 20 percent of whose members are non-users of ISI’s products. The latter group sign confidentiality agreements to not disclose information they learn concerning new ISI products, while providing candid and invaluable feedback in the process. Identifying specific differences in firefighter and industry needs from one section of the country to another is but one positive outcome from these councils.