How National Gas improved the safety of natural gas workers

National Gas, previously known as National Grid and TRANSCO, is comprised of three businesses - National Gas Transmission, National Gas Metering and National Gas Services.

Who Are National Gas

National Gas Transmission oversees the infrastructure for transporting natural gas throughout Britain. National Gas Metering manages approximately 6.8 million gas assets in the UK, catering to domestic, industrial and commercial needs.

This natiowide gas utilities provider is responsible for pipeline repair, maintenance and intervention, offering emergency and planned solutions as well as a range of inspection and repair services across the country. These three segments collectively contribute to the company's comprehensive role in the management and distribution of natural gas in the UK.

The Story of The Votstick LV50

In 1998, a gas utility worker from TRANSCO attended a residential property in response to a reported gas emergency. While attempting to gain access to a gas meter which was installed underneath the metal kitchen sink of the property, the engineer placed his hand on the sink and the emergency control valve and, tragically, received a fatal electric shock due to a fault in the property’s electrical installation.

This incident led Transco to work with Volt Stick to develop a safety tool for gas engineers to check for stray voltages, meeting the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requirements for detecting voltages of 50 Volts or more on metallic surfaces and pipes, and also being intrinsically safe for use in areas where Gas could be present.

Around 25 years ago, the industry standard, ATEX / IECEx certified Volt Stick LV50 was developed, and it is still used by every National Gas Engineer to ensure work environment safety.

The Volt Stick LV50 has also been in use by National Grid in the US for over 10 years, showing its reliability and effectiveness in preventing electric shock incidents. The development and widespread use of the Volt Stick LV50 has significantly improved safety measures for gas utility workers around the world, ensuring the prevention of tragic accidents like the one in 1998.

The Volt Stick LV12 is a high sensitivity, intrinsically-safe version of our market-leading Volt Stick
non-contact voltage checker. Used in a wide variety of hazardous and potentially explosive atmospheres - such as gas andpetrochemical applications - the LV12 is both ATEX and IECEx approved to be intrinsically-
safe.

Check out these other US Gas Company projects:
Volt Stick LV50 voltage detector developed for National Grid US

Contact the team for more information on Volt Stick

Volt Stick has the widest range and of non-contact voltage testers in the world due to specialist products we have developed for specific markets over the years. If you have any special requirements for Non-Contact Voltage Detection then we’d love to discuss your project.

For more information email us now at info@voltstick.com or call us on: US: +1 315 314 3112 UK: 0115 9770075.