NEW GLOBAL STANDARD FOR PUBLIC POOL DROWNING DETECTION SYSTEMS

Feb 22, 2018 | Media

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva, has published a Standard for technology used in public pools to detect drownings.

Maytronics Australia, makers of the Poseidon Drowning Detection System, has welcomed the release of the new global standard.

“The importance of this technology cannot be understated,” said Managing Director Dan Kwaczynski.

“Considering what this technology is required to do – which is detect a drowning person within seconds – it is imperative that the technology available to the global market actually does the job.

“Maytronics has invested $30 million and 20 years of research and development in this type of technology and in our Poseidon system, which is installed in over 250 public pools worldwide and has saved more than 30 lives already.

“I’m happy to say that Poseidon well and truly meets the global standard,” said Mr Kwaczynski.

“Unfortunately, we have seen other products used overseas which have not performed, with government authorities having to replace the entire system at considerable expense.

“There are thousands and thousands of lines of intricate computer coding and algorithms behind the Poseidon system which enables it to detect someone drowning and activate the alarm in time for a lifeguard to make the rescue.

“It is crucial that lifeguards at public pools can rely on the accuracy of the system they are using. What you don’t want are frequent false alarms, which often lead to lifeguards disabling the system out of frustration.”

The new ISO Standard is a useful tool for government or commercial businesses involved in a drowning detection system project and can be used as a reference for any new tender specifications.

ISO 20380:2017 describes the minimum operational, performance and safety requirements and test methods for computer vision systems used to detect drowning accidents in public and commercial pools.

The Standard does not apply to the systems used in domestic swimming pools and pool basins with a surface area of less than 150 m2.

The ISO 20380 defines performance commitment (performance of detection) and a formal test procedure.
ISO 20380:2017 Public swimming pools – Computer vision systems for the detection of drowning accidents in swimming pools – Safety requirements and test methods can be found at www.iso.org

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