VulcanGuard is currently in its testing phase following its foundation. I am talking to prospective customers and continue to build the company without external capital. I built HJÄRTA myself in the attic of my home and wrote the software myself. The next steps concern supply chains and assembly. In brief, what is needed most now is time. Admittedly, I would rather build something than wait. But a good product needs a certain level of maturity.
To bridge this period and remain financially independent, I followed a childhood dream and began driving trucks. More precisely, I work in ADR transport. For anyone unfamiliar with the term: it means transporting dangerous goods.
Most people know these vehicles from the motorway. They are often large tankers displaying symbols such as dead fish, skulls, flames and other signs that can look a little like stickers for a death metal band. In reality, they warn of very real hazards. And those hazards are not trivial.
Not every danger leads to a Hollywood-style explosion, but that does not make the threat to people and the environment any less serious. On the contrary, most people have little idea what is travelling along the roads despite being clearly marked. Substances such as phenol, for example, can be life-threatening even in relatively small quantities. How do I know that many people are unaware of this? I see it on the motorways. If more road users understood what they were overtaking with only centimetres to spare, or in front of which vehicles they were cutting in too closely, they would probably leave more distance. But this article is not another tale about the poor truck driver and everyone else being at fault. It is about preventing danger.
Drivers are trained for these hazards. I received intensive instruction, carried protective equipment and learned the regulations, substance classes and required procedures. Looking back, I followed everything almost exactly as the training prescribed. Nevertheless, I ended up in intensive care. Why?
I was carrying a liquid in a tank: a 24.9 per cent ammonia solution. UN 2672, Class 8, a corrosive substance. Many people will recognise ammonia by its smell: pungent, biting and difficult to miss even in small amounts – or rather, difficult not to smell. It was not the liquid itself that put me in hospital, but its vapours. I spent several days in hospital after being exposed to ammonia gas.
What happened?
For reasons of confidentiality, I can only describe the incident in broad terms. During unloading, a defect caused gas to escape. I had no influence over it, and any other driver could have found themselves in the same situation. There was no warning. Suddenly, I could no longer breathe. It did not take long for me to put on my protective mask and activate the filter. But it still took too long.
I did not establish VulcanGuard merely to build a box. I founded VulcanGuard because, for more than 30 years, I have looked closely at professional processes and tried to understand how they work – identifying blind spots and turning them into solutions. Understand the problem at its core. Then solve it as simply as possible.
Nine days after the accident, my eyes are still burning as a result of the irritant gas exposure. I can no longer smell my morning coffee, and I cannot taste the difference between chocolate and an apple. That makes me sad.
How could this have been prevented?
Throughout my work in fire protection, I repeatedly emphasised one principle: the highest protection objective is to protect and save human life. Every technical rule must ultimately serve that objective.
That is why I am asking questions. Why are truck cabins not designed as defined protective spaces during the loading and unloading of hazardous substances? Could drivers be supplied with safe breathing air in an emergency? Why is suitable gas detection not routinely part of the protection concept whenever substances capable of releasing hazardous gases or vapours are handled?
Such solutions are technically possible. Their cost must be weighed against the harm that can occur when breathing air becomes contaminated and people are injured.
Could HJÄRTA have made a difference?
Naturally, I also ask myself whether my own products could have changed anything. The answer is yes. They could have.
HJÄRTA cannot currently detect gas. But HJÄRTA can capture states and measurements – binary values such as on or off, and metric values such as numerical readings. A suitable gas sensor could measure a concentration or provide a signal when a defined threshold is exceeded. In the simplest case, the information would be: gas detected or no gas detected. HJÄRTA can capture precisely such a state.
Of course, my product is not approved for this application. But that is not the point here. A single warning, a small red light, might have been enough. I could have put on my mask sooner and left the gas cloud earlier. And perhaps I would still be able to smell my coffee today.
HJÄRTA could help ensure that drivers like me return home on precisely such days. I can hardly place a higher demand on a system.
I am calling on truck manufacturers to rethink driver protection during the loading and unloading of hazardous substances: with defined protection concepts for the cabin, suitable gas detection and an immediate warning before the human body itself becomes the sensor.
I am also looking for industrial customers who are willing not merely to discuss such questions, but to develop solutions together. Anyone seeking to make loading areas safer, make states visible or evaluate existing sensor technology meaningfully is welcome to talk to me about the specific need, a possible solution and a realistic route to implementation.
Sometimes no great revolution is required. Sometimes it takes a suitable sensor. A signal. A warning. And perhaps a person who gets to go home that evening.