News

Industrial equipment, services and inspection news and information for manufacturing, process, facilities and related fields.

27/01/2014 Revolutionary excavation grabs first Merseyside Innovation Award Osiris Subsurface Detection Systems has been named January's winner of the 2014 Merseyside Innovation Awards for its revolutionary new vehicle, which slashes the cost of digging up roads to repair cables and pipework. » Read More

27/01/2014 Cheshire cheese firm fined after worker falls from forklift A Cheshire cheese manufacturer was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £709.15 in prosecution costs for safety failings after a worker injured his leg and ankle when he fell from the forks of a forklift truck during an unsafe loading operation. » Read More

27/01/2014 Leeds firm in court after trainee’s electric shock A Leeds firm has been fined £6,500, with £647 in costs for safety failings after a trainee technician needed skin grafts after receiving an electric shock while using unsafe testing equipment. » Read More

24/01/2014 Vadxx Energy turns to Rockwell for process control A commercial-scale, plastic waste-to-synthetic crude energy plant, in Akron, Ohio, that will convert recyclable and non-recyclable plastic into higher-value energy products, is to get process controls from Rockwell Automation. » Read More

24/01/2014 Apprentice reveals health and safety skills The British Safety Council has released a short film featuring a construction apprentice talking about the importance of formal health and safety training. » Read More

23/01/2014 ABB launches technical network for drives and motors ABB has amalgamated its UK variable speed drives (VSD) and electric motors channel partner groups into a single network, creating what it describes as a new benchmark for technical advice, delivery, life cycle services and overall customer ... » Read More

23/01/2014 First two achieve ISO 55001 asset management certification Babcock and Scottish Water are the first two companies to be independently certified by BSI to the new asset management systems standard ISO 55001. » Read More

23/01/2014 Morganite Electrical Carbon fined for driver death Morganite Electrical Carbon has been fined £120,000 plus £16,021 costs, after a truck driver was crushed and killed at its site when unloading heavy graphite parts in a dangerous manner. » Read More

22/01/2014 Plaxica selects Siemens PCS 7 for biopolymer pilot plant Process engineering specialist Plaxica, which designs production systems for the stereocomplex PLA (polylactic acid) biopolymer, has built a scalable pilot plant to showcase its Optipure technology. » Read More

22/01/2014 Devon recycling firm fined following telehandler injury Leases Limited has been fined £33,000 plus £13,389 costs after a man was seriously injured by a reversing vehicle at its recycling centre in Exeter. » Read More

21/01/2014 Manufacturers’ pay decline slows The rate of decline in annual real take home pay in the manufacturing sector slowed to -1.1% in the three months to December 2013, according to VocaLink, which designs, builds and operates payment systems and ATM switching platforms. » Read More

21/01/2014 Middle East instrument shelter uses passive cooling One of the largest passively-cooled instrumentation shelters ever built is being supplied by Intertec to house control and instrumentation equipment for a new natural gas collection project in the Middle East. » Read More

21/01/2014 Rochdale workers exposed to asbestos fibres for five years Mansfield Soft Furnishings and director David Mansfield have been fined £30,000 and £10,000 respectively, plus costs of £20,000, for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act and flouting a prohibition notice – leading to workers being ... » Read More

20/01/2014 Weed screens improve Lincolnshire pumping station efficiency Dirtness pumping station, which controls water levels as part of the Lincolnshire land drainage scheme, is reporting reduced maintenance, and improved efficiency and operator safety, since installing automated weed screens. » Read More

20/01/2014 Shell floating LNG facility selects Alcad UPS technology Ultra-low maintenance nickel battery systems are to provide standby power for Shell's Prelude, the world's first FLNG (floating liquefied natural gas) facility, currently under construction in Australia's Browse Basin. » Read More

20/01/2014 Broadband voted top engineering innovation of the Noughties Broadband has topped the list (53%) of the greatest engineering innovations of the last decade in a poll by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). » Read More

17/01/2014 Tata Steel VSDs save £500,000 on fume extraction Tata Steel's Aldwarke melting shop, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is saving £570,000 a year on energy costs, thanks to variable speed drives and high efficiency motors installed on a fume extraction system. » Read More

16/01/2014 Apprentices let down by poor careers advice Apprentices have been being let down by the careers advice they receive at school and college, a report from the Industry Apprentice Council (IAC) has revealed. » Read More

15/01/2014 Piramal ramps production health with Spirax Sarco Better condensate removal has reduced tablet drying times on steam-heated ovens at Piramal Healthcare's pharmaceutical production site in Morpeth, Northumberland. » Read More

15/01/2014 Polish up your CI act with a tour of the award-winning Autoglym factory Don't miss the exclusive opportunity to tour the Autoglym plant, Highly Commended: Judges' Special Award winners at the Best Factory Awards (BFAs), on 23 January 2014. » Read More

15/01/2014 Engineer earnings ‘keeping pace with other professions’ Chartered engineers earn an average of £63,000 a year, according to the latest survey from the Engineering Council. » Read More

15/01/2014 United Utilities Oldham waste water plant turns to Revolvo SRB bearings United Utilities is reporting that split roller bearings are now providing heavy-duty support for the crankshaft of a large sludge pump at its Oldham waste water treatment plant, following operational problems that resulted in damage to ... » Read More

14/01/2014 Manufacturing conference aims to re-energise British exports and reshore ... How can Britain double its exports by 2020 and bring manufacturing home? EEF, the manufacturer's organisation, will seek answers at its third National Manufacturing Conference – 'Make it Britain' – on Tuesday 4 March, 2014 at the QE2 ... » Read More

14/01/2014 Evidential skills for engineering expert witnesses course 'Evidential Skills for Engineering Expert Witnesses' is the title of a new training course being offered by the membership body INITA (Independent National Inspection & Testing Association), which includes an FFI Workshop on HSE interview ... » Read More

14/01/2014 Modern engineering marvels fight for ‘immortality’ Five contemporary engineering achievers are vying to take their place in history alongside, among others, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, George Stephenson and Barnes Wallace in Semta's Engineering Hall of Fame. » Read More