The COVID-19 pandemic has affected how professional mariners need to work, and not for the safer. In response, Emerald Marine Products created the ALERT Portable, DIY MOB Alarm System as a packaged product. Featuring easy do-it-yourself installation—electricians, drilling, and extensive wire runs aren’t needed—it delivers the peace-of-mind that if an employee does fall overboard, the wheelhouse is instantly alerted, providing crucial time to execute a rescue.
Between physical distancing, protective masks that muffle the voice, and long shifts, the potential for an overboard scenario is greater than ever. Crews are lower staffed. Coworkers aren’t within arm’s reach, they can’t hear each other and they’re fatigued from long and stressful hours. That’s why Emerald Marine Products created the ALERT Portable, DIY MOB Alarm System as the ideal solution to increase safety during COVID-19 and beyond.
Prior to COVID-19, an ALERT system would typically be installed by a boatyard or marine electrician. Now, with legitimate concern for third-parties coming on board, the new ALERT Portable, DIY MOB Alarm System is a package system that can be simply “walked-on” by the crew.
“I knew a month into COVID-19 that work conditions would change drastically,” said Robert Linder, Emerald Marine Products president. “I was already concerned about the lack of fall-overboard alarms. A reliable solution was needed that would make it incredibly fast and easy for companies to protect their employees. People are filled with uncertainty and worry; a fall overboard doesn’t have to be one of those concerns.”
Ideal for inland and coastal waters, the self-contained system capable of protecting two employees is comprised of an ALERT2 Man-Overboard Receiver and two ALERT418 compact, water-activated transmitters worn on a work vest. Additional transmitters may be added to protect more employees. If the deckhand falls into the water, it triggers the ALERT receiver, which sounds a piercing alarm. It can also be wired to stop engines, set a chartplotter waypoint and/or into a ship-wide notification system. A video of the system at work on a tugboat can be viewed at bit.ly/AlertPortable.
Unlike MOB systems that rely on satellite or Bluetooth signals, the ALERT solution is instantaneous. The extra seconds it provides can mean the difference between a successful rescue and a fatality. Steaming at 3 kts, a fall victim will be 50′ astern in 10 seconds. And it’s no different with shoreside workers where currents and wakes can easily wash the MOB under pier pilings.
Because of the design of the ALERT Portable, DIY MOB Alarm System, it can be easily moved between vessels. Unlike permanently installed solutions, this portability allows companies to provide protection where it’s needed most while saving money.
The ALERT Portable, DIY MOB Alarm System starts at $1,250 and can be configured to best suit a company’s safety requirements. Emerald Marine believes this complete man-overboard alarm solution package is so important, especially in light of COVID-19 safety regulations, that it’s currently offering a 30-day trial of system at no risk. Information is at www.emeraldmarineproducts.com/product/portable-diy-man-overboard-alarm.
For close to 25 years, the Emerald Marine Products has protected military, government and commercial mariners, and shoreside workers. Its professional-grade products are approved by the FCC and Industry Canada, and no license is required.
Contact Emerald Marine Products, 811 Alder St., Edmonds, WA 98020. 800-426-4201. info@emeraldmarineproducts.com; www.emeraldmarineproducts.com.
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