Are App-Based Alarms Reliable for Man-Overboard Rescue?

Fall overboard (FOB) occurrences are much more common than we would like to believe. A simple trip on the deck or dock, excessive speed, or even a storm can cause people to fall off the boat. The problem is that within seconds, the fall overboard victim can drift at least 100 feet from the boat, making it difficult to find the person who fell overboard. It is critical to wear a PFD, but just as important is to invest in an alarm to notify the boat and crew of the man-overboard for immediate rescue. This testimonial highlights how fast a fall overboard can happen.

As the reliance on our smartphones continues to increase, so does the usage of apps as utilities and even man-overboard alarms. Over the last 3 years, several apps have been created to serve as man-overboard alarms. These apps rely on Bluetooth technology to notify the app of a loss signal i.e. man-overboard and trigger an alarm on the phone. I decided to do a little research to better understand the reliability of these apps as a man-overboard alarm. I summarized my learnings below. Although an app can appear cheap and easy to use, there are a lot of variables to manage – fully charged phone battery, open application, phone/tablet readily available, reliable Bluetooth connection, and more. In conclusion, when it comes to boat safety and preventing needless man-overboard injuries and fatalities, it is worth it to invest in an alarm system that you can set and forget.

Connection Reliability and False Alarms

These app-based systems trigger an alarm when the beacons or devices worn by the person lose connection with the phone app. This connection is relying on Bluetooth. Unfortunately, Bluetooth on a good day has a range of about 150 feet and can be much less on a phone. This reliability on Bluetooth on a boat has resulted in triggering many false alarms. The person wearing the beacon may just be going down to the galley of the boat, lose Bluetooth connection, and then the app triggers the man-overboard alarm. These false alarm triggers can become exhausting to manage and even result in losing trust in the application, never knowing if the alarm is indicating a real man-overboard situation or just another false alarm. When it comes to investing in a man-overboard alarm, it is critical to have a system in place that you can trust the connection, signal, and viability of the alert to be able to respond immediately.

Charged Phone or Tablet Battery and Battery Consumption

Reliance on an app also means that you are reliant on your phone or tablet. Unfortunately, this means that your phone needs to be fully charged, readily available, and most likely connected to power as the Bluetooth will quickly drain battery life on the device. The reality is that most people don’t have a fully charged device on hand. If the device is charged, it will not stay charged for long, in which case it needs to be connected to a power source and therefore not as readily available in case of a fall overboard emergency.

Software and Hardware Compatibility

Most of these app-based systems require your smartphone or tablet to have Bluetooth 4.0 or higher. They also have hardware requirements i.e. iPhone/iPad 5 or later. Hardware and software systems are constantly evolving, which may require investments in hardware and software on a more regular basis to ensure that the app can be used.

Phone or Tablet Location and Availability

The reliance on the app’s device may require a dedicated tablet or phone just for this app-based man-overboard alarm system. We are used to living with our phones tethered to our bodies – in our pockets, hands, and sometimes we even forget where we leave them. This app will not be effective if it is in the man overboard’s pocket or somewhere else on the boat that is not easily accessible.

Alarm System Setup and Pairing Devices to the App

As easy as it can be to download an app to a tablet or smartphone, it can still be challenging to pair the man-overboard beacons to the app. Some of the forums that I came across indicated that it was sometimes very challenging to pair the beacons to the app.

When it comes to man-overboard safety, it is critical to know that the connection between the transmitter or beacon and the receiver or app is reliable and constant. When it comes to setting up any system, ease-of-setup is essential and the ALERT Transmitter and Receiver are created to automatically connect and maintain that connection at all times.

Fall-Overboard Rescue

When it comes to an actual fall overboard situation, it is critical that the alarm immediately alerts the crew and that there is a way to locate the man-overboard person. Some of these apps can take 5-10 seconds to sound the alarm after losing connection. In a man-overboard situation, every second counts. By 10 seconds a person may already have drifted 100 yards. Click here for an article about the activity of a fall overboard situation within the first minute.

There is a high likelihood that someone could fall overboard when it is dark or there is low lighting. Ideally, there is lighting on the man-overboard device to help find the person who fell overboard. It is best to have a device that has a strong light on it to help identify the person in the water. Some app-based systems don’t have LED lights on the units attached to the person involuntarily in the water. This could mean the difference between life and death.

There is a lot of confusion in the marketplace for effective fall overboard alerting. Emerald Marine Products has compiled both a presentation and an article to hopefully clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the products and technology acting as fall overboard alarms. Emerald Marine Products specializes in products specific to fall overboard situations. Alerting, training, retrieval, and recovery – the complete package to put you and your crew at ease when concerned about someone involuntarily entering the water.

Learn more about Emerald Marine Products’ set it and forget it man-overboard alarm system. For additional information about preventing fall overboard occurrences, check out Key Learnings from the American Waterways Operator’s committee panel discussion.

MOB Rescue with OSCAR - Water Rescue Training Dummy and C-Hero Lift.

Partnership That Saves Lives

Shane Smith, Founder of C-Hero, a manufacturer of life saving products contacted Emerald Marine Products in 2016 with one goal, increase the chances of saving a life of a tug boat crew member. In 2016, Captain Smith was developing a product that within three years would become a certified type-approval. Specific to International Maritime Organization A520(13) operational readiness requirements for vessels with lower freeboards.

Emerald Marine Products worked closely with C-Hero in the development of their C-Hero Lifting Davit and C-Hero VR-12 Reach poll because our products were so closely aligned and Captain Smith’s knowledge and passion for safety. As Captain Smith expressed when he first contacted Emerald Marine Products, “My product gets a person out of the water, quickly and safely. Your product lets the boat know you have someone in the water in the first place. Before you have a rescue you need to have an alert of a man-overboard.” Captain Smith really understood the impact of a total solution to someone falling in the water. First comes the alert, then the training of a crew so they can spring to a rescue effortlessly and quickly. Finally, the retrieval of the person quickly and safely. “Due to the height and reach of a tugboat, rescue products on the market were not adequate for tugboats”, Captain Smith iterated. Though designed for the tugboats, the C-Hero Lifting Davit works with all other types of vessels such as ferries, push boats and ocean supply vessels (OSV), hence the recently certified type-approval to meet SubchapterM requirements. The USCG (SubM) option boats are required to perform a Man –Overboard (MOB) drill for the USCG at the time of Certificate of Inspection (COI). In 137.215 (4) a surveyor has to examine systems in support of drills and training to ensure that it operates as intended.

Emerald Marine Products is proud to be an adjunct to the SubchapterM requirements and a partner with C-Hero. Together, we provide a total Man-Overboard Alert and Rescue solution with our ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System, OSCAR – Water Rescue Training Dummy and C-Hero’s Lift Davit and VR-12 Reach Pole. For more information about these products contact Emerald Marine Products via this contact link or call, 800-426-4201.

Fall Overboard Tragedy Can be Prevented

ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System protects all people on or near water.

As a manufacturer of products specific to fall overboard alerting and retrieval, we monitor the news for fall overboard incidents. Just today we read about two fatalities that occurred, each when a worker fell into the water and no one was aware of the issue until it became tragic. The Maritime Executive Online reported, “In the early hours of Saturday morning, a deckhand disappeared from a moored towboat on the Mississippi River at St. Joseph, Louisiana. The Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and the local sheriff’s department conducted a search of the river all day Saturday – including dragging the river and scanning with sonar – but without success. The search resumed Sunday morning.” In the same online issue of The Maritime Executive Online reported , “At about 1700 hours Sunday, Sector Honolulu received a distress call from the master of the fishing vessel Kawaiola, who reported that one of their crewmembers had gone overboard. The missing fisherman was last seen on the deck of the vessel at 1430 hours, and the crew did not realize that he was no longer aboard until several hours had passed.”

Two different locations, two different industries, two different work environments but both ended in the same outcome – a person fell into the water and no one was aware of this fall-overboard until minutes, even hours passed before this person was missed. We don’t know the details of these tragedies but we do know the use of an ALERT Man-Overboard transmitter on that worker could have averted the tragedy by altering the crew and vessel of a man-overboard (MOB).

Even if the person is wearing a personal flotation device (PFD), which definitely can give the person a greater opportunity for survival, there is still a need to alert the vessel that the person fell from, as this is the greatest chance of survival. The ALERT Transmitter immediately notifies the boat that a MOB has occurred, quickly calling into action all eyes and able bodies to rescue the man-overboard in minutes.

Emerald Marine Products is moved by these tragedies to reach out to the fishing community and to other small business that rely on the health and safety of their workers to continue to prosper in a very competitive and physically challenging work environment. We ask these enterprises to seriously consider investing in wearing and using PFD’s. We promise to do all we can to make our ALERT product available to you at a discount so finances are not the issue in preventing fishermen or small businesses from using a fall overboard alarm system. Because our ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System is automatic and water activated, when the person falls overboard, conscious or not, PFD wearer or not, the device when it gets wet will begin to transmit to the ALERT Receiver and within seconds the alarm is alerting all those in the area of a fall overboard situation.

We encourage solo fishermen, small fishing companies, non-profits catering to the commercial fishing industry, and other small businesses with employees working on or near water to contact us and see if we can help protect their fleets, We’d love to see these all too familiar headline’s about “Disappearing Deckhand” and “Search for Missing Fisherman” to have a better end to the story. A headline that reads, “Fisherman Falls Overboard and is Rescued by Crew”. Life saved, a story with a much better ending than the one’s we read all too often.

Emerald Marine Products included in the Marine News 100 Recognition

Marine News Issue of the MN100

Emerald Marine Products is pleased to announce that we were selected to be part of the 2018 Marine News MN100. MN100 is Marine News magazine (www.marinelink.com) yearly review of the best companies serving the workboat, brown water, inland and coastal markets. Emerald Marine Products was awarded inclusion in the Equipment/OEM Division for our ALERT418 Man-Overboard Alarm System product. Also cited in the article is our support of safety for the maritime industry for over twenty years with our other products, the ALERT2 Man-Overboad Alarm System and our OSCAR – Water Rescue Training Dummy. We appreciate the recognition and honor of providing safety products to the maritime and other industries working on or near water. For an image of the article, click here.

All Too Common Headline

Blessing of the Fleet at Fishermen’s Terminal

Once again the headline reads, “Man Vanishes from Fishing Boat.” Unfortunately, this story repeats throughout the year. Either a lone fisherman or someone working their watch falls overboard and no one is aware of the situation until far too late.

Recently a 55-year old fisherman from New Bedford, Massachusetts became the latest fisherman fatality due to a fall overboard. This fisherman left behind a wife and daughter. Coming from a family of fishermen, he knew of the dangers of the industry, having both of his grandfather’s lost at sea. What makes this story all too familiar and tragic is this fisherman’s life may have been spared if he simply wore a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). Taking it a step farther, the small investment in a fall overboard alarm system could have alerted the crew of a fall overboard situation or have killed the engine of the boat for the opportunity to get back onboard.

The staff at Emerald Marine Products always feel a personal loss when a death occurs from a fall overboard. Our products are built to protect mariners and their families. We are driven every day by the motivation that our products can help to save lives, companies, and a source of income for those dependent on them.

Emerald Marine Products is moved by this tragedy to reach out to the fishing community, especially to those solo fishermen or small family-owned fishing fleets to seriously consider investing in wearing and using PFD’s. We promise to do all we can to make our ALERT product available to you at a discount so finances are not the issue in preventing fishermen from using a fall overboard alarm system.

We encourage solo fishermen, small fishing companies, non-profits catering to the commercial fishing industry, such as Fishermen’s Wives Groups, to contact us and see if we can help protect their fleets, We’d love to see the all too familiar headline have a better end to the story. A headline that reads, “Fisherman Falls Overboard and is Rescued by Crew.” The crew was alerted in time to find the fisherman who was afloat thanks to his PFD. Life saved, a story with a much better ending then the one’s we read all too often.