An Innovative Multi-Parameter Environmental Sensor System for Real-Time Indoor Air Quality Monitoring in Industrial Facilities

Ensuring adequate indoor air quality (IAQ) in industrial environments is essential for protecting worker health, particularly in facilities characterized by chemical emissions and complex layouts, such as automotive painting lines. This study presents the implementation and field evaluation of a low-cost multisensory electronic system prototype designed for continuous, long-term monitoring of six key environmental parameters: temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂ eq), total volatile organic compounds (VOC), and an overall Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) index. The system consists of autonomous sensing stations with integrated multi-parameter MEMS sensors and a centralized data aggregation hub. The system was engineered to ensure metrological stability across power cycles, adaptive energy management, and robust long-range wireless communication, thereby addressing common limitations of conventional industrial monitoring solutions. The prototype was deployed in an operational automotive manufacturing plant, where seven sensing stations were installed along the painting line for a two-week continuous monitoring campaign, identifying process-dependent peaks in CO₂ and VOC concentrations and corresponding reductions in IAQ values. The system was able to identify CO₂ peaks as high as 2997.7 ppm (Sensor 3) in localized industrial zones, significantly exceeding standard indoor thresholds. At the same time the system demonstrated the ability to detect VOC fluctuations with a resolution capable of capturing peaks up to 144.1 ppb (Sensor 3) during high-activity shifts. All sensors provided continuous and reliable data over an extended monitoring period. The measured trends and value ranges were consistent with expected industrial conditions, indicating satisfactory system performance under real operating conditions. Overall, the results demonstrate that the developed multisensory prototype is a promising, portable, and economically sustainable solution for distributed continuous IAQ assessment in complex industrial environments, with strong potential for scalable large-scale implementation in occupational health protection and environmental sustainability frameworks.