Gas Sensing Solutions doubles production facilities for mid-IR LED-based CO2 sensors
To meet growing demand for its products, Gas Sensing Solutions (GSS; Cumbernauld, Scotland) has doubled the size of its production facilities and office space and is also certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard for the manufacturing of its solid-state carbon-dioxide (CO2) sensors.
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“Quality in product and manufacturing has always been paramount at GSS,” said Graeme Addison, production and quality manager at GSS. “Upgrading from ISO 9001:2008 ensures that we’re meeting the latest standards for quality management. As we manufacture the sensors in-house, we ensure quality at every step. Our CO2 sensors are used in a wide variety of applications. Key amongst them are healthcare, and monitoring CO2 levels to meet Health and Safety requirements. Therefore, we’re committed to quality in every single sensor we make. This is reflected in the major difference in the new standard that focusses on the reduction of risk.”
The company was founded on the concept of using mid-infrared LEDs at the heart of its CO2 sensors. This is different to the source of infrared typically used, which derives from a heated source that needs a mains power supply to deliver the current required. By making its own mid-infrared LEDs, the company has been able to create next-generation CO2 sensors that are very high speed, robust, and with such low power requirements that they can be battery powered. In addition, they can be made to measure both low and high CO2 concentration levels, right up to 100%.
As part of the upgrade to the new quality standard, and to meet increased global sales, GSS has more than doubled the size of its production area. In addition, office space has doubled to accommodate the additional staff. "We were very fortunate that we were able to acquire the business unit next door so that we did not have to relocate," explained Graeme Addison. "This has now been fully integrated into our modern manufacturing facility, which enables us to make and test our sensors to the exacting high-quality standards, with the capacity to grow as we further develop our international markets. At the same time, we extended our manufacturing quality system to meet ATEX requirements for some of our special custom sensor projects.”
GSS has three distinct families of CO2 sensors that each focus on a particular strength of its technology, so that designers can select the best sensor according to the application needs. The CozIR family has particularly low power consumption and is very long lasting, so it’s ideal for battery and IoT applications. The SprintIR has a high-speed range with very fast response times for when fast measurements are needed. And the ExplorIR is a robust and versatile sensor range for applications that might be subjected to harsh environments, such as vibrations, shocks and pressure changes. Within each family, there are further sub-brands to suit special requirements, such as form factor, output, and temperature/RH integration.
SOURCE: Gas Sensing Solutions; https://www.gassensing.co.uk/2018/07/10/co2-sensor-manufacturer-now-certified-to-iso-90012015/
Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)
Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.