Health and Safety Feature Library

Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.

Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE (the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.

14/11/2022 Lighting for ATEX environments Illuminating hazardous and explosive environments can be quite a technical matter. Codes specify the technical solutions appropriate to the risks. By Toby Clark » Read More

19/01/2022 Understanding explosive atmospheres Many different industrial environments can contain explosive atmospheres containing gases, vapours, mists or dusts. Such environments present a very significant risk. Equipment operating in these environments must, therefore, be properly ... » Read More

18/05/2020 Electric motors shake-up A radical overhaul of the regulation governing electric motors is forecast to bring big cost savings for industry, along with a significant reduction in environmental impact » Read More

15/04/2013 Education and innovation The forthcoming Safety & Health Expo promises to deliver a broad educational content, as well as a showcase of the latest products and services. We look ahead to the event and find out what visitors can expect to see and hear. » Read More

08/06/2012 Intrinsically safe? Hazardous areas and electrical/electronic circuits have been treated with caution ever since the Senghenydd colliery disaster of 1913. Brian Tinham provides a technology update » Read More

06/10/2011 Gorgon’s Ex-lighting saves local sea turtle population Cooper Crouse-Hinds reports that it has engineered an explosion-proof fluorescent light fitting for the Chevron-operated Gorgon project, at Barrow Island, that specifically minimises disturbance of the local sea turtle population. » Read More

06/10/2011 Hazardous electrics Hazardous areas demand properly certified equipment – and that applies to maintenance kit, too. But cost and efficiency are also key. Gordon Low examines the issues » Read More

06/10/2011 Dust explosion Running motors and low voltage ac drives on plants with dusty environments has been regulated under the ATEX directives since 2006. Steve Ruddell explains the detail » Read More

06/10/2011 Plant safety at any cost? Don't get me wrong: it's hard to argue with current moves to streamline health and safety legislation, in line with Lord Young's 'Common Sense, Common Safety' report – especially given that chief among the aims is to reduce the ... » Read More

06/10/2010 The benefit of hindsight now BP's long awaited report into the causes of its oil rig explosion and the worst oil spill in US history is finally out (page 8). The Deepwater Horizon saga makes grim reading, providing, as it does, a detailed study of the sequence of ... » Read More

01/03/2008 A process of elimination Mercifully, serious incidents in the process industries are few and far between. Sadly, however, when they do happen, they're devastating. Consider Flixborough back in 1974, Piper Alpha in the North Sea in 1988 and, much more recently, ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Working order This year's Maintec exhibition seems set to do rather more than what it says on the tin - with a focus that extends from predictive maintenance to wireless systems for plant data gathering. As well as around 150 exhibitors - including ... » Read More

01/08/2007 Control freak Let's talk about drives, motors and controls - no, not just the technologies for linear or rotational motion control, important though those are, but also control engineering in, for example, transportation, the process sector and the ... » Read More

01/08/2007 Bellows baloney Contrary to popular misconception, metal bellows expansion joints are as useful as any other of the tools in the plant engineer's armoury - provided good mechanical engineering practice is followed. So says bellows manufacturer Teddington ... » Read More

01/04/2006 Planting seeds of recovery There is a part of all of us that agrees with the notion 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. But, equally, when it comes to plant maintenance and operations, the purpose of this activity is to minimise the risk to the business of expensive ... » Read More

01/02/2006 Safety and savings Compressed air continues to offer many advantages in process industry applications, especially in hazardous areas, but often continues to be used inefficiently. Help - much of it free - is readily available to help reduce energy costs and ... » Read More

01/10/2005 Don't trust to luck While the risk of a prison sentence as a result of an accident resulting from the non-observance of safety regulations remains small, it is a possibility. The legal complications and potential damage to a business as a consequence of a ... » Read More

01/03/2004 Chemicals Legislation - A regulatory route map There is an abundance of regulatory requirements for the safe use of chemicals within factories, warehouses and other facilities, most important of which are the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002. ... » Read More