"You can't see the dust, but it works"
- Petra Hainer, occupational safety specialist at PPG
Petra Hainer is a health and safety officer at PPG. Her mission is not only to protect her colleagues but also to raise awareness. Thanks to Dustlight, both her daily work and her team’s mindset have shifted. Just as Dustlight measures continuously, awareness of fine dust exposure continues to grow.
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A wake-up moment
"That presentation was the trigger point when I thought: I need this device."
Petra had already seen Dustlight before. She first noticed the measuring device at the A+A trade fair. However, it was this ASECOS presentation and the Dustlight webinar with Donato Muro (LINK TO WEBINAR PAGE) that sealed the deal. The practical examples made her realize just how much dust exposure often goes unnoticed in everyday work. What followed was not a lengthy approval process. Instead, she decided: "I’ll buy the device myself." She didn’t want to wait for someone else to deal with the paperwork. This was about her health and the health of her coworkers.
This willingness to take action and not wait and see is also the focus of our upcoming free webinar "How can modern particulate matter measurement simplify your occupational safety?" In it, we will show how modern particulate matter measurement can make your daily work as an occupational safety specialist noticeably easier and at the same time ensure the best possible protection for your employees.
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Dustlight turns red and Petra turns around
Petra recalls an incident that made the impact of Dustlight especially tangible. In her production area, something smelled burnt. Even on the way to the affected area, Dustlight went into alarm mode.
"I wasn’t even in the hazard zone yet, and my device turned red. I said: Nope, I’m not going any further."
She did exactly what you would hope for in occupational safety. She turned back, immediately informed the production manager, and demanded serious protective measures. A reaction like that was only possible thanks to the device’s real-time readings.
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Curiosity sparks awareness: a personal PPE moment
Petra doesn’t just use Dustlight for monitoring, but also as a conversation starter on the topic of dust exposure. She wears the device openly on her work clothing:
"I clip it to my chest pocket, it blinks—and the first question I get is: What’s that?"
That curiosity opens the door. It gets people talking—without the need to start with rules or restrictions.
One time, as she walked past a mixing station, Dustlight changed from green to yellow, while the employee was no longer wearing a mask. She recalls:
"My device turned yellow, I went over and asked. The colleague was surprised, thinking he had already finished the cleaning. But there was definitely still dust in the air. That was an aha moment—for him and for me."
Situations like this show that even seemingly completed cleaning processes don’t necessarily mean a safe environment. Fine dust particles are so small and light that they get stirred up during cleaning and can stay airborne for hours before settling again.
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Praise instead of pressure: how Dustlight is shifting culture
Petra doesn’t see herself as the “safety glasses police.” Her goal is to create a work environment where people take responsibility themselves. That includes recognizing when someone does something right:
"I praised a temporary worker because he worked so cleanly that he didn’t really need a mask."
She noticed this when she glanced at her Dustlight while walking past. In a world where people are often criticized for mistakes but rarely praised for good work, moments like this are worth their weight in gold. Petra uses Dustlight to make those moments visible and creates a feedback culture where safety is not about enforcement but shared responsibility.
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Schrödinger's dust
Dust is invisible and often odorless, so decisions about exposure are frequently based on gut feeling. As a result, objective data is often missing. Petra puts it simply:
"As long as I don’t have a measured value, I can tell myself everything’s fine. With Dustlight, I turn the subjective into something objective."
That sentence nails it. Dustlight not only provides warnings but also tangible, documented data. The vague feeling of “It’s dusty” becomes a specific insight: “At point X, the exposure was critical.” That’s the kind of foundation you need to justify actions, convince management, and ultimately make decisions that protect lives.
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A tool that builds trust
For Petra, trust from her colleagues is essential. In her view, you can’t implement effective safety measures without being willing to engage with the people you're trying to protect. That’s why she also maintains open communication with her supervisors:
"I told my boss: You can log into my device anytime—not to monitor me, but so you can see we’re doing fine."
Dustlight becomes a bridge between shop floor and management. A tool that provides protection, sparks conversation, makes processes visible and quietly helps improve critical KPIs like absenteeism or sick days.
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Visibility that makes an impact
Petra speaks plainly. Honesty and transparency are her top priorities:
"Dust is like Schrödinger’s cat. If I don’t measure it, it’s not there. Only the measurement reveals the truth."
With authenticity and courage, Petra stands by her words and believes it’s this attitude that brings real change.
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Conclusion: Safety is not a state, it’s a mindset
Petra Hainer shows how you can achieve great impact with mindset, humor, and a small measuring device. For her, Dustlight is not just a product—it’s a tool to raise awareness, improve processes, and build a culture where health isn’t an afterthought, but actively lived. She inspires not only with her knowledge, but also with her courage to speak up and take action. And she proves day after day:
"Only if I burn myself can I ignite a fire in others."
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Quotes
- “Only if I’m passionate myself can I ignite that fire in others.”
- "This device isn’t cheap – it’s affordable. Price-performance is excellent."
- "Safety starts with me."
- "I don't want to be the "Schutzbrillenpolizei" - I want them to understand why it matters."
- "Dust is like Schrödinger's cat: as long as I don't measure it, I don't know whether I'm at risk."
- “I don’t want my people reaching retirement hunched over because they inhaled too much dust back in the day.”
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Don't miss the upcoming event!
Join us for our upcoming webinar "How can modern particulate matter measurement simplify your occupational safety?" and learn how you can immediately detect dust pollution, automatically document measurement data and create reports in seconds. This way, you spend less time on paperwork and create more safety for your employees.