Lava Monitoring Secures First Major Contract With Belfast Harbour
Lava Monitoring, part of The Lava Group, has completed the first phase of installation of its innovative Sentry Lifebuoy monitoring system in Belfast Harbour, with 30 lifebuoys set to use the software during the next five years.
The product has been designed to combat the risk associated with vandals stealing and damaging equipment from the water’s edge. The absence of a lifebuoy jeopardises the chances of a life-saving rescue during an emergency situation.
Sentry provides real time monitoring of the presence of a lifebuoy or throw rope within its enclosure. An alarm is triggered when a lifebuoy is removed from the enclosure, and while it addresses vandalism it can also provide an immediate alert to its proper use enabling a quick response, helping to reduce the loss of life.
Gareth Morrison, CEO of The Lava Group, said:
“We look forward to working with Belfast Harbour as they demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the health and safety of employees and visitors to the Port area. We are pleased that through this contract Sentry, an innovative product which represents a major forward step in digital marine safety, will have benefits locally.
“The solution will help reduce the impact caused by missing lifebuoys while also increasing the efficiency of staff as they are able to monitor the lifebuoys remotely through the web interface on a PC or phone, allowing them to focus on other activities.”
He added:
“There has been growing interest in Sentry throughout this year in Ireland, the UK and Australia. We have appointed our first UK distributor and the momentum is certainly picking up locally and globally. We have recently returned from METSTRADE Show, the world’s biggest marine equipment show in Amsterdam where we met with other distributors to help us further increase our export potential.”
Kevin Allen, Harbour Master, Belfast Harbour said:
“The health and safety of visitors, port users and employees at Belfast Harbour is a priority for us and by investing in this equipment we are demonstrating our commitment to everyone who could find themselves in an emergency situation. Lifebuoys require regular inspections to ensure that they have not fallen foul of misuse, theft or vandalism and this innovative system allows us to do this more efficiently.”
