Frost & Sullivan Applauds Honeywell's Life Guard Hood for Protecting Firefighters against Carcinogenic Particles with its Triple-layer Barrier
The Life Guard Hood's lighter, roomier fit ensures a greater degree of compliance, comfort, and safety
SANTA CLARA, California, April 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the firefighter personal protective equipment market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Honeywell with the 2016 North America Frost & Sullivan Award for New Product Innovation. Honeywell's particle-resistant hood, the Life Guard Hood, protects wearers against carcinogens present in high-risk, unpredictable environments. This impermeable firefighting hood specifically protects the most vulnerable areas of the body—the neck, head, and jaw. The material composite of the hood has a particulate filtration efficiency of 99%, when tested to F2299 as proposed by the National Fire Protection Act (NFPA).
"Honeywell's Life Guard Hood replaces the traditional 'sock hood' design with a superior fit, form, and function that allows for the seamless integration of the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and turnout gear with the hood. It also features a comfortable knit top without a barrier, which provides adequate ventilation without adding bulk to the gear," said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Sanjana Prabhakar. "Additionally, it is very durable, lasting more than 50 washes and enabling regular decontamination to lower the risk of absorption of carcinogens."
The Life Guard Hood leverages a seam-sealed, 4.7 ounce per square yard triple layer polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) barrier that completely blocks particulate matter. Furthermore, it has a thermal protective performance (TPP) of 24 for the barrier composite material and 28 for the knit material, and total heat loss (THL) of 360-385 for the barrier composite material and 370 for the knit material. As a testament to its product efficacy, it meets the rigorous test requirements of the International Association of Firefighting (IAFF) and the Fluorescent Aerosol Screening Test (FAST) in a simulated use environment.
Honeywell has brought together members of the garment design and engineering teams to offer the Life Guard Hood in different hood sizes and form factors. This integration was seamless, as evinced by the breakthrough improvements in the design of the product. The new Life Guard hood ensures that the interfaces between the head and neck are robust, eliminating the likelihood of contaminant seepage. Particular care has been taken to strike an optimal balance between protection and breathability.
"The hood has been engineered using a patent pending hybrid design that integrates a knit fabric with a lightweight barrier composite weighing 16 ounces per square yard of fabric and incorporates Honeywell's patented Mask Mate™ face opening," noted Sanjana Prabhakar. "These design and engineering improvements have been made possible by seeking inputs from the firefighters in the product development stage."
Overall, Honeywell's Life Guard Hood is uniquely positioned for sustained success as it addresses the core issues that customers care about – quality, functionality and reliability.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased ROI it offers customers, which in turn raises customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets that demonstrate outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
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