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International
Safety Instruments Receives Global Excellence in Technology
Innovation Award for Respiratory Protection Products
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.
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