News

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

23/12/2013 New standard for unfired fusion welded pressure vessels PD 5500:2012 – the latest specification for unfired fusion welded pressure vessels, covering vessels manufactured from carbon, ferritic alloy and austenitic steels, aluminium, copper and nickel – is now available from BSI Standards. » Read More

20/12/2013 Cold bonding cuts through-wall corrosion for Wessex Water Wessex Water is reporting that a GFS (glass fused to steel) sludge buffer tank at one of its sewage treatment sites has been swiftly and easily repaired using Belzona polymeric repair composites and cold bonding techniques. » Read More

20/12/2013 Emerson acquires APM Automation Solutions for solid improvement Emerson has acquired solids volume and level measurement instrumentation developer APM Automation Solutions for an undisclosed sum – expanding its portfolio into solids-based process and inventory control. » Read More

19/12/2013 World-class centre for renewable energy manufacturing to go ahead The £450m Able Marine Energy Park, in North Lincolnshire – the largest offshore wind energy manufacturing facility in Europe, expected to create around 4,000 jobs – has been given the go-ahead. » Read More

19/12/2013 McQuay launches “world’s most advanced chiller” McQuay UK launched what it describes as the world's most advanced air-cooled chiller, at the London Transport Museum, yesterday (18 November 2013). » Read More

19/12/2013 Drake Extrusion improves efficiency with Babcock Wanson process heating Polypropylene fibres and yarns manufacturer Drake Extrusion has upgraded process heating at its Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, plant, with two new Babcock Wanson thermal fluid heaters. » Read More

18/12/2013 European consortium to take on fugitive methane emissions Cuadrilla Resources, Veolia Environnement and National Grid are to work with a European consortium, led by the Centre for Carbon Measurement at NPL (the National Physical Laboratory), to develop and test methane instruments for monitoring ... » Read More

18/12/2013 Firm fined after teenager’s arm crushed in unguarded machinery Glass recycling firm Reuse Collections, of South Kirkby, Pontefract, has been fined £5,000 with £3,638 costs after Sheffield teenager had his arm crushed when it was drawn into the unguarded danger zone of a machine. » Read More

17/12/2013 Engineering is back in class for 14 - 19 year olds Two new GCSE-level vocational engineering qualifications will be available to schools in the UK from September 2014. » Read More

17/12/2013 Massive Gazprom gas line stays snug with Pentair heat trace system Thermal protection for nine compressor stations along a gas transmission line from the huge Bovanenkovo natural gas field, in the far north of Siberia, has been successfully installed by Pentair Thermal Management. » Read More

17/12/2013 Bread factory fined for dough cutting machine injury Pontypridd bread manufacturer Easibake Foods has been fined £14,000 plus £9,931 costs after an employee's hand was trapped by moving blades on an unguarded dough-cutting machine. » Read More

16/12/2013 Pharmaceuticals firms fined for chemical incidents at Welsh plant Flintshire pharmaceutical firms Archimica Chemicals and its trading partner Euticals have been fined £80,000 and £20,000 respectively for safety breaches and a further £20,000 for environmental failures that caused major health problems ... » Read More

16/12/2013 Smart valve control sweetens fruit syrup production French fruit syrup manufacturer Teisseire, which recently saw a major investment in process equipment at its Crolles plant, is reporting improved performance, thanks to smart control technology. » Read More

13/12/2013 Drives cut £10,000 pump repairs for Alkane Energy Independent gas-to-power generator Alkane Energy – which runs 81MW of installed generating capacity – is reporting reduced pumping costs and maintenance, as well as improved equipment reliability and longevity, since installing ABB ... » Read More

13/12/2013 Honeywell separates fact from fiction for facilities managers Facilities managers and consultants should find it easier to select the best building management system for their needs, following publication of a white paper by Honeywell. » Read More

13/12/2013 Staffordshire firm in court after worker shatters arm in dangerous machinery A Leek company that weaves and dyes webbing for seatbelts and harnesses has been fined £35,000 and ordered to pay a further £5,257 in costs after an employee seriously injured his arm in an unguarded machine. » Read More

12/12/2013 Total Petrochemicals UK polystyrene manufacturing site comes down Total Petrochemicals UK is using specialist decommissioning, and demolition consultancy RVA Group to oversee and co-ordinate the dismantling of its polystyrene manufacturing site close to the centre of Stalybridge, near Manchester. » Read More

12/12/2013 Biogas production safety turns on oxygen analyzer A unnamed Scandinavian biogas producer has selected Michell Instruments' analysers to monitor oxygen levels for safety and quality at two sites. » Read More

12/12/2013 Unguarded machinery causes worker’s head injury Envases (UK), which manufacturers aluminium containers, was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,590 in court yesterday (11 December 2013) for safety failings after an employee suffered serious injuries when her head became trapped ... » Read More

11/12/2013 Risk-based engineering design would cut work-related deaths Steps to promote good engineering design specifically aimed at cutting death, injury and disease in Britain's workplaces, are outlined in a policy paper published yesterday (10 December 2013) by the Inter-Institutional Group on Health and ... » Read More

11/12/2013 Schaeffler takes Best Company award 2013 for apprentice training Schaeffler (UK) has won Best Company' in the Pathway to Apprenticeship (PtA) Awards 2013, organised by the Welsh Government, SEMTA and further education colleges. » Read More

11/12/2013 Blackburn skip firm sentenced over worker’s death Blackburn Skip Hire and its owner Zarif Mohammed have been ordered to pay £80,000 in fines and costs after a 21-year-old worker was crushed to death. » Read More

10/12/2013 Firm sentenced after worker loses leg in fish tank fall A Manchester firm has been ordered to pay nearly £90,000 in fines and costs after an employee was crushed by a giant fish tank that toppled off a forklift truck. » Read More

10/12/2013 Safety and reliability standards jeopardised by skills shortage Safety and reliability standards across manufacturing industry could be compromised, if the number of engineers specialising in NDT (non-destructive testing) and condition monitoring techniques continues to decline. » Read More

10/12/2013 Updated guidance on dangerous substances in the workplace Five pieces of health and safety guidance have been combined to help employers more quickly and easily understand how to protect their workers from dangerous substances and explosive atmospheres. » Read More