Blackline Safety Corp has expanded its services to protect a new class of workers – canines.
The company has announced the first deployment of its GPS-enabled gas monitoring devices to Calgary-based K9 Leak Hunters, whose specially trained canine unit delivers precise and environmentally safe pipeline leak detection for rural oil and gas utilities.
Bob Wicker, Blackline Safety’s Director of Global Rentals explained: “With the global canine security services market experiencing rapid growth, the need for technological integration to boost safety and efficiency is greater than ever.”
He pointed to studies that forecast the market to increase from USD 3.4 billion in 2025 to USD 5.6 billion by 2032, with some industry sectors projected to see compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in the range of 14%.
Wicker continued: “Dogs are increasingly becoming a critical component of modern safety teams in complex environments – from industrial and critical infrastructure risks to public events – and connected safety technologies are a cost-effective and reliable complement to traditional methods.”
To ease accessibility for canine security organizations, many of which are small businesses, Blackline Safety offers rentals of its connected safety devices as well as real-time monitoring support.
K9 Leak Hunters, for example, rents Blackline Safety’s G6 single gas detector for German Shepherd Nala to wear while she’s out in the field sniffing for pipeline leaks, while handler and company CEO Jay Stephens accompanies her wearing a Blackline Safety G7c Multi-Gas detector.
Nala’s lightweight wearable gas detector – attached to her harness – provides data to validate her discoveries.
This allows Stephens to back up Nala’s nose with an accurate, quantifiable report of GPS-tagged gas readings that enables his clients to meet regulatory compliance requirements and make data-driven decisions.
Stephen, who follows Nala wearing his cloud-connected multi-gas device, commented: “The technology is phenomenal and the dog is another layer.
“Dogs smell in parts per billion – which beats most traditional sensors – and then we confirm the findings with Blackline’s gas readings to decrease the likelihood of false indications.”
Connected to the Blackline Live cloud-based 24-7 monitoring platform, the devices, complete with lone worker protection features such as emergency SOS alerts, fall detection, location monitoring and other communication functions, also give Stephens and his family peace of mind when he’s working with Nala alone in the wild.
Blackline’s device rentals are available on demand at daily, weekly or monthly intervals, with users paying only for the time and number of devices they need.
Stephen concluded: “The rental experience has been phenomenal.
“You get a piece of ridiculously amazing technology for a fraction of the cost of other gas detectors that have fewer capabilities.
“I feel like I have a million-dollar team backing me and that’s a huge win for a small business.”
