Blackline Safety Corp. - Experts & Thought Leaders

Blackline Safety Corp., a global pioneer in connected safety technology, announced it has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025. The annual Fast Company ranking recognises companies making meaningful strides across industries through bold thinking and impactful innovation.  Smarter solutions for safety Blackline earned its place on the list for transforming the way organisations protect their peopleThis year’s honourees include Waymo, Nvidia, and Kraft Heinz. Blackline earned its place on the list for transforming the way organisations protect their people—helping teams respond faster, prevent incidents, and make informed decisions through real-time safety data. “We’re proud to be recognised by Fast Company for leading the transformation of workplace safety, helping organisations protect their people with smarter, more reliable solutions,” said Blackline Safety CEO and Chair, Cody Slater.  “Every day, there are over 160,000 families around the world whose family member goes to work in a hazardous environment and comes home safe at the end of the day – thanks to their employer choosing Blackline.” Safety redefined Blackline’s portfolio includes connected wearable devices, portable area monitors, and cloud-based software that work together to enable live monitoring, automatic incident alerts, and location-based insights.  In 2024, the company expanded its offering with the launch of the EXO 8 area monitor, designed to provide rapid deployment and advanced gas and gamma detection in industrial and emergency response settings. Innovation trailblazers Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies list highlights organisations that are shaping the future of business through creativity, technology, and impact. The 2025 honourees include trailblazers redefining industries and setting new standards for progress and performance.

Durham, UK-based Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) has announced that it has selected global connected safety technology pioneer Blackline Safety Corp. to help uncover safety hazards and protect lone workers at two of its water treatment sites. The water company – which provides clean water and wastewater treatment services to nearly five million people across northeast and southeast England – is the eighth of the UK’s 12 water companies to choose Blackline’s safety devices. G7c personal gas monitor Blackline’s pioneering cloud-connected G7c personal gas wearable and EXO area monitor The technology includes Blackline’s pioneering cloud-connected G7c personal gas wearable and EXO area monitor, enabling NWG to consolidate gas detection, communication, and lone worker connectivity into a single device. NWG’s decision to turn to Blackline was spurred by the risks inherent in its operations, including exposure to gases, hazardous or contaminated water, explosions from hot work or combustible gas, confined space entry and lone work. Robust and versatile safety solution An explosion at a different company’s treatment plant within the wider water industry, where four workers died, also prompted the company to invest in a robust and versatile safety solution.   “Feedback we were getting from the team on-site was that they just want to do their jobs but had too many devices, apps and things to think about, and anything we could do to simplify the process would be beneficial for everyone,” said Dan Woodward, Process Safety Business Partner at NWG. Mobile phones to maintain communication Workers had walkie-talkies, adding both complexity and cost with an additional device to manage Woodward added: “We were looking for a solution that addressed the need for gas detection and lone working features within one device and could significantly improve our safety and operational efficiency.” While NWG had in the past used portable gas monitors to detect hazardous gases, and mobile phones to maintain communication with workers, these devices had limitations – from cross-sensitivity issues that led to missed or faulty detection, operational downtime due to needing to send the devices off-site for calibrations, and mobile phones posing an ignition hazard in biogas-rich environments. Workers also had walkie-talkies, adding both complexity and cost with an additional device to manage. Remotely monitor gas levels Blackline’s all-in-one solution has significantly simplified the process for the water company. The EXO monitors, for example, remotely monitor gas levels in known high-risk areas. The G7 wearables enable multi-gas detection and reduce downtime as they can be calibrated on site.  The personal devices’ integrated capabilities – such as remote monitoring and instant worker location identification – significantly boost lone worker safety, and push-to-talk capabilities (using the device like a walkie-talkie) means workers now have reliable communication while only needing to carry one device. Benefits of Blackline’s solution NWG was able to respond immediately by issuing a ‘stop work’ order, notifying workers NWG is already seeing the benefits of Blackline’s solution. With the help of EXO, they discovered a previously unidentified hazardous area on-site, reaching 75% of the explosive limit during operations. Upon receiving a high gas alert from EXO, NWG was able to respond immediately by issuing a ‘stop work’ order, notifying workers and safely evacuating the area. Preventative measures were then able to be implemented. Integrated into daily operations NWG also noted that the Blackline devices have seamlessly integrated into their daily operations, staying connected even in underground environments where cellular signal strength can be problematic. Analytics reports from collected device data highlight areas of concern, such as previously unknown high-gas exposure zones. Northumbrian Water will join Blackline Safety at the Health & Safety Event in Birmingham, UK, on April 9, 2025, to share insights on their decision to enhance worker safety through connected technology.

Blackline Safety Corp., a global pioneer in connected safety technology, together with Total Safety, a pioneering global provider of integrated industrial safety solutions, announced a new $1.6 million deal that sees Total Safety purchasing more than 100 of Blackline’s next-generation EXO 8 portable area monitors. The EXO 8s will become part of Total Safety’s rental fleet, contracted by some of the world’s largest energy companies for critical monitoring and maintenance activities, including turnarounds. A turnaround is a scheduled event where an entire part of an industrial plant is shut down to perform inspections, maintenance and upgrades. Advanced cloud connectivity "At Total Safety, our mission is to ensure the safe Wellbeing of Workers Worldwide (W3) and provide customers with the most effective solutions for safeguarding their teams during high-stakes operations like refinery and petrochemical turnarounds," said Robbie Payne, Senior Vice President of Operations at Houston, TX-based Total Safety. "We chose Blackline’s new EXO 8 connected area monitor because of its advanced cloud connectivity, easy setup, long battery life and ability to monitor up to eight gases in real-time.” Total Safety’s recent purchase EXO 8 has already secured major orders, including Total Safety’s recent purchase for its rental fleet Portable area monitors continuously check the air around them to detect dangerous gases or radiation that humans can't see or smell on their own. EXO 8 — unveiled in September 2024 at the National Safety Council (NSC) Safety Congress & Expo in Orlando, Florida — is the only direct-to-cloud area monitor capable of detecting up to eight gases and gamma radiation. Now in volume production and shipping globally, EXO 8 has already secured major orders, including Total Safety’s recent purchase for its rental fleet. Ideally suited to large industrial organisations in the oil and gas, petrochemical, mining, water and wastewater sectors — alongside fire-hazmat and homeland security associations — EXO 8 helps teams rapidly respond to incidents involving hazardous substances and ensure the safety of workers, first responders, the public and the environment during these events. New EXO 8 area monitors “EXO 8 represents a significant leap forward in safety technology," said Cody Slater, CEO and Chair of Blackline Safety. "Worker safety is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re thrilled to see an industry pioneer like Total Safety adopt our new EXO 8 area monitors to protect workers during such critical operations." "It’s partnerships like this that enable us to put our cutting-edge solutions into the hands of those who need them most, ensuring safer workplaces around the globe."