News

Expert Interview with David Lenden, Director of RPmatters Can you give me some background on your company and what it does?

We are a small business based in the South West of the UK (specifically Plymouth) that has been operating for over ten years. We provide general radiation protection advice and support across numerous sectors; including, but not limited to, Radon measurement. As an accredited Radiation Protection Advisor and Chartered Radiation Protection Professional I can, and do, provide advice and support to individuals, housing associations, companies and schools etc. for compliance with legislation relating to ionising radiations; this includes Radon. Although this is not unique, we do provide a service that has been identified by our clients as much more approachable, pragmatic and comprehensive than others. A company supplying detectors doesn’t usually have an RPA, the legal appointed professional, required to comply with UK occupational regulations above 300 Bq/m3.

In an increasingly interconnected world, businesses from all industries must ensure that cross-team communication is flawless. Not only is it important in order for specific job roles to function effectively, but from a safety perspective as well. From lone workers to those in an ATEX environment, having the right tools to communicate information or critical alerts is absolutely essential, and this means workers must have a dedicated, streamlined and reliable device to hand at all times.

A group of researchers at Robert Gordon University (RGU) have partnered with Sustainable Urban Energy to investigate the potential of a turbine system the size of a satellite dish and can reduce emissions – saving homeowners hundreds of pounds per year. The turbine system was designed and developed by the founder and director of Sustainable Urban Energy, Neil Coulson, who believes the product has the potential to reduce the average household’s dependency on grid supplied power by up to 1/3, reducing the demand on the National Grid and saving the consumer money, while being environmentally friendly.

When Wilson Fan Pumps and Motors Group in Mitcham, South London required a large ATEX motor for a very important client who was facing a pending emergency, it placed a call through to TEC Electric Motors in Worcestershire and found the perfect solution. Wilson Fan Pumps and Motors Group regularly works with one of the largest hospitals in London, supplying, fitting and maintaining electric equipment of all kinds. Due to the life-saving work that goes on there, Wilson’s always assigns a high importance to any contact with its engineers and estate staff and will go the extra mile when required.

ECS’ in-house fabrication department has recently completed the manufacture of 49 steel duct cradles destined for the main reactor building at a UK nuclear power plant. Each of the duct cradles required fabrication to the highest standards, with ECS engineers delivering all of the structures within six months.

Supplying steelwork to the nuclear sector is a demanding project for a fabricator. ECS is accredited to provide steelwork under BS EN 1090 for CE marking up to Execution Class 4 (EXC4). EXC4 is applicable only to facilities of the highest consequence class, such as nuclear power stations. This accreditation ensured ECS could offer the required quality of steel fabrication and welding procedures to carry out the project effectively.

SBES (the lone worker alarm company) is proud to announce the launch ofthe SBES LifeSaver SC Lone Worker Alarm System

The SBES LifeSaver SC (Structured Cabling) is the state of the art independent ‘Patch & Play’ lone worker alarm system that connects via an existing in-house structured cabling system. The Highly versatile system provides an alarm that contacts people automatically in the event of an emergency.

A new trade agreement between Duct Products, a ventilation products distributor, and Swegon, specialists in indoor climate and life safety systems, will ensure Northern Ireland has access to the most effective fire safety solutions.

The agreement comes on the back of high levels of engagement with Duct Products’ Continuing Professional Development presentations. Given the renewed focus on fire safety in recent years, there is increased interest in the HVAC sector to get to grips with the subject, highlighting the need for a diverse portfolio of fire safety products.

EPC-UK, the commercial explosives and blasting services specialist, has announced that it has begun its migration process to ISO 45001:2018.

A business already accredited with OHSAS 18001 - a British Standard for occupational health and safety systems - EPC-UK will implement the new international standard for health and safety at work by the 12th March 2021. The new standard has been developed by national and international standards committees, independent of the Government, to further ensure that companies provide safe and healthy workplaces.

With figures reported by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) confirming that more than 7,600 people die each day from work-related accidents or diseases (equating to over 2.78 million every year), it is fully recognised that the effects incidents have on employees, employers and the wider economy is significant. Associated issues can also lead to early retirements, staff absences and rising insurance premiums.

JELD-WEN has implemented AMETEK Land’s flue gas analysers and opacity and dust monitors at its door manufacturing facility in Penrith, United Kingdom, to help achieve emissions compliance.

JELD-WEN is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of windows and doors with operations in 20 countries, including five factories in the UK that manufacture timber windows and interior and exterior doors. The company is seen as a world leader in manufacturing energy efficient products and upholds high standards when it comes to sustainability.  JELD-WEN’s door manufacturing facility in Penrith produces 35,000 timber and veneered doors every week, and as a result produces a large amount of wood waste.

Hoses play an important role in hazardous area operations and owing to their direct interaction with moving liquids and powders are especially at risk of becoming electrostatically charged.
Discharges of static electricity from hoses are known to cause the ignition of combustible atmospheres during the transfer of material to or from vacuum tankers and road tankers. Here we discuss the three main reasons why electrostatic discharge from hoses occurs.