Latest News

UK leading the fight against Legionella Bacteria

Mark Donoghue, Products and Services Director, DHD Cooling

It is now more common to read about cases of Legionnaires’ Disease in the media than ever before, with outbreaks regularly being reported in cities around the world all the time. Many of these cases are attributed to contamination of domestic systems, showers and spas, but some are the result of operating cooling towers. 

Whilst this problem is not new, with the first reported case in Philadelphia in 1976, the UK has been at the forefront in leading the battle with Legionnaires’ Disease, which has a mortality rate of approximately 10%.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) worked with manufacturers and industry experts to issue the Approved Code of Practice L8 in 1991 which advised manufacturers, owners, operators and service providers on the use of cooling systems (and domestic water systems) and their safe operation with regards to legionella bacteria.

ICS Cool Energy Keeps Leading UK Brewery Operations Cool

With a customized long-term hire, ICS Cool Energy equipped a leading multinational brewery in Burton-on-Trent with portable Cold Store solutions and replaced ammonia-based refrigeration system with high efficiency, low GWP chillers.

ICS Cool Energy, an international market leader specializing in complete temperature control solutions for manufacturing process and facilities applications, announced today it has helped a leading multinational brewery in Burton-on-Trent to fulfil their cold storage and process cooling needs. 

The brewery was looking for a partner that could answer their unique needs for cold storage within their Burton-on-Trent plant and replace the aging, ammonia-based process cooling system. ICS Cool Energy team was able to deliver a bespoke, long-term hire solution that met all their requirements. 

Four excuses not to take your enclosure cooling maintenance seriously.

There is an adage that time is money, this is particularly true when it comes to production downtime.  Hold ups in production could result in lost money- a lot of lost money! 

Losses of upto £480,000 have been suggested that one of the UK’s largest automotive manufacturers could lose EACH HOUR; when they experience downtime on their paint plant.  Your overheads may not be as substantial as the above example, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the old adage you hear in every corner of business and production is true: 

Regardless of your industry and the product you manufacture, production downtime is a crucial performance indicator to monitor because of the direct impact it can have on your bottom line. More downtime equals increased spares/maintenance costs, taken directly from your profit. This could have been invested to meet more pertinent business objectives, purchasing new machinery etc.. 

New medical guidelines added to water jetting code  

Far-reaching new medical guidelines for managing injuries are among the important additions to a revised Code of Practice published by the Water Jetting Association (WJA).

The member organisation for the UK water jetting industry has revised its Blue Code of Practice for the Use of High Pressure and Ultra High Pressure Water Jetting for the first time since 2015.

It is the nineth time the Blue Code, as the document is called, has been revised or significantly amended and then republished since it was first created in 1982.

The WJA also has a ‘Red Code’ for the Safe Working and Use of Water Jetting in Drains and Sewers. It urges members and commissioning  clients to consult the codes of practice every time they need to confirm best practice in water jetting. 

High-performance seals for butterfly valves

In order to ensure that process plants meet hygiene requirements, industry-specific approvals and resistance to CIP/SIP media, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has developed a new series of high-performance seals for butterfly valves. The seals have been developed in conjunction with French customer Definox, one of the leading manufacturers of first class process valves and stainless steel equipment for high-end applications in sectors such as food, beverage, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and animal feed.

Following rigorous tests, 70 EPDM 291 O-rings have already been delivered to Definox, where they have been successfully deployed and demonstrated. Based on this first success, both companies decided to launch a project for the development of new butterfly seals.

Wolf Safety’s bespoke lighting solutions add value and cut costs  

As world leaders in manufacturing hazardous area portable and temporary lighting, Wolf Safety know that many customers require a bespoke solution which addresses safety, technical and logistical issues raised by a specific project.

So when the Wolf team was asked to propose a lighting solution for the inspection and maintenance of a condensate LNG tank in Norway it was an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the company’s technical expertise and bespoke service. 

This enhanced capability proved a key factor in Wolf Safety being awarded the contract, following a highly competitive international procurement process.

Pyroban’s ATEX forklift conversions get both UKCA and CE mark

In March 2021, safety company Pyroban applied its first UKCA mark to an explosion proof forklift, alongside the CE mark. 

Following BREXIT, Pyroban, based in West Sussex, England, is now applying the UKCA mark to all shipments destined for Zone 2 or 22 hazardous area operation, confirming it has met the required standards. 

Neil Elliot, Compliance and Certification Engineer for Pyroban explains: “The dual marking demonstrates that our ATEX 3G and 3D conversions have full approval for use in the UK and Europe in accordance with the ATEX 2014/34/EU Directive, Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2016 and EN1755:2015 standard.”

Taurob and Equinor to introduce autonomous robots on Norway’s offshore platforms

Equinor is introducing autonomous ATEX-certified robots on their oil and gas installations. Partner in the project is inspection robotics specialist Taurob of Austria. Its robot will be used to conduct routine inspection and maintenance tasks on offshore installations.

Thorough certification

Taurob started developing robotics applied for human safety, particularly in emergency response situations, 11 years ago. Safety is also the main driver for the energy domain to step into robotics. The state-of-the-art ‘Taurob Inspector’ is the result of an intensive 2-year collaboration between Taurob, French energy giant Total and UK’s OGTC. Total was the first energy major to implement robotic inspection on their plant in the North Sea’s Shetland Islands. Matthias Biegl, Managing Director and co-founder of Taurob, emphasizes his company’s focus on safety: “Our goal is to build trust with operators and raise acceptance on site. Going through thorough certification procedures with the customers and their HSEQ and Electrical departments is as important as the development process itself.”

Environmental Hazard Monitoring Expert Casella Announces 2021 Webinar Series for Dust, Noise, Vibration and Asbestos Monitoring

Global occupational health and workplace hazard monitoring expert Casella has announced its schedule of industry leading webinars for 2021. The schedule of free to attend, virtually accessible webinars covers Casella’s areas of core competency, including workplace monitoring for dust, gas and vapour hazards, as well as instrumentation usage and best practice.

The sessions will also cover monitoring for Hand Arm Vibration (HAV) and sampling for asbestos. In order to reach worldwide attendees, two sessions will be run on each date, with one taking place at 10am and a later session at 3pm to ensure learners across multiple time zones can benefit. Each webinar will conclude with a Q&A session to recap. 

AMP16 Control Intelligent Peristaltic Metering Pump

North Ridge pumps are proud to announce the release of the AMP16 Control - an Intelligently controlled Peristaltic Metering pump with built in variable frequency drive (vfd).

Its unique design enables the precise metering of gaseous, viscous, and shear-sensitive media, containing particles with ease without the use of valves, or seals prone to blockage and wear. 

Its simple design - containing a single hose and two rollers spaced at 180° intervals minimises the amount of spares required on stock, as well as the time required for maintenance which can be performed by a single operator. As the pump head rotates, the rollers compress the hose moving fluid from the inlet towards the outlet. Such design ensures full containment of the process fluid, as well as being reversible incase fluid recovery is required. 

Urgent Calls For Changes In How We Define Fresh Air

As the UK emerges from lockdown, a leading ventilation specialist is accelerating calls for a clearer definition of ‘fresh air’, in order to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in our public buildings.

With the closing down of many public spaces as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, focus on the air we breathe and the need to improve it has increased. As many ventilation strategies are built around the delivery of ‘fresh air’ into a building, Elta Group is highlighting the lack of clarity surrounding its definition. 

David Millward, Group Product Manager at Elta Group, comments: “Simply defining ‘fresh air’ as allowing outside air to circulate inside does not go far enough, as the quality is not always sufficient, nor is it immediately controllable. This can be particularly problematic in urban areas, where high levels of pollution mean that natural ventilation, such as opening a window, can bring harmful pollutants into the building.”

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