May 2021 the journal for hazardous area environments hazardexonthenet.net Digital Twins Virtually there – bringing worksites to life with digital twins ‘interconnectedTheSoftwareageofthe worker’ Case digitalisationAutomationStudyandatscale SUPPLEMENTNO.12 inside Occupational Safety Power generation, Covid-19, and dropped object prevention Sensors Sensing an improvement in mining safety and productivity
JOINED FORCES FOR MAXIMUM SAFETY, EFFICIENCY & RELIABILITY IN HAZARDOUS AREAS Motors | Automation | Energy | Transmission & Distribution | Coatings The new WG20 gear units in combination with W22Xd flameproof motors and WMS (WEG Motor Scan) WG20 range comprises of helical, parallel shaft and helical bevel gear units with torques between 50 and 18,000 Nm. These two and three stage units excel with their large ratio range, as well as being exceptionally efficient. The crucial mounting dimensions of the robust housing design correspond with the specifications already established on the market which allows for direct exchange. Now available with WEG W22Xd flameproof motor options and the WEG Motor Scan for performance monitoring, the WG20 range provides highly versatile and reliable geared motors even in hazardous areas. www.weg.net Transformng energy into solutions
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A look at sensor technology and its increasingly important role in helping to make operations’ safety more sustainable. at
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In this article, Andrew Normand, UptimeAI partnership lead for Encora Energy, explains why AI can play a major role in tackling the engineering skills gap. 30
Boundary monitoring can help identify potential hazards, ensure compliance and protect workers from health risks.
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Traditional energy sources will likely still have a role to play in the energy mix-up, as suggested by the recent news of the UK Government and oil and gas industry’s deal that would allow the continuation of oil and gas exploration in the North Sea as long as oil drillers pass a “climate compatibility” test. It will certainly be interesting to see how the world’s energy landscape is shaken up as the 2050 net-zero goal gets ever closer. …Alistair Hookway, Editor, alistair.hookway@imlgroup.co.ukHazardex
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Dropped Object risks are a particular concern in any period of stop-start activity, but the spike in operations following Covid-19 will likely increase the risks further.
IML
In March, EDF said that it will be closing West Burton A – its sole remaining coal-fired power station – in 2022, two years ahead of the deadline for the closure of all UK coal generation.
Digital Twins Virtually there bringing worksites to life with digital twins worker’ Case digitalisationStudyatscale Safety Power generation, Covid-19, dropped object prevention an mining safety Hookway alistair.hookway@imlgroup.co.uk KathrynExecutiveStartin kathryn.startin@imlgroup.co.uk Reed holly.reed@imlgroup.co.uk Group RussellPublisherGoater russell.goater@imlgroup.co.uk Tel:subscriptions@imlgroup.co.uk+44(0)1732359990 Rich Design www.grahamrichdesign.co.uk Group Blair House, High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BQ, UK Tel: +44 1732 359990 events@imlgroup.co.uk 1476-7376
EDF is not alone in looking to adapt during the energy transition. On April 12, ScottishPower submitted planning application to deliver the UK’s largest electrolyser. The 20MW electrolyser will be the key component of a green hydrogen facility located close to ScottishPower’s Whitelee windfarm. Hydrogen seems to be the low carbon energy of choice for the future. On April 8, Equinor and SSE Thermal announced plans to jointly develop two first-of-a-kind, low-carbon power stations in the UK’s Humber region, comprising one of the UK’s first power stations with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, and the world’s first major 100% hydrogen-fuelled power station. The two decarbonised power stations would form a ‘clean power hub’ near Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire.
environments
There is no doubt that the energy transition is well underway across the globe. Governments and energy companies alike are looking to new technology and energy sources as global emission target dates loom. As an example, the UK has seen several announcements recently as companies look to reposition themselves favourably during the transition and beyond.
The age of the ‘interconnected worker’ Case study: automation and digitalisation at scale
EDF’s Managing Director for the Generation business, Matt Sykes, said: “With EDF’s power generation strategy firmly focused on nuclear and renewables - and in this key year for UK leadership on climate change - we now believe it is the right time to provide clarity to our employees and all those connected to the site.”
GrahamDesign
News Extra • Paint factory explosion kills one and injures eight in US, causes $1m of damage • Refinery fire injures five in Indonesia, hundreds evacuated • Record coal plant retirements offset by China coal plant boom, new report says • Equinor and SSE announce world’s first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power plant Standards: Peripheral vision How AI can manage equipment knowledge transfer and tackle the skills gap Sensing an improvement in mining safety and productivity Staying compliant with boundary monitoring Power generation, Covid-19, and dropped object prevention Datafiles in this issue 1536393043324contents May 2021
An explosion at a paint plant in Columbus, Ohio on April 8 killed one person and injured eight others, including two critically. The blast happened at a facility belonging to the Yenkin-Majestic Paint Corp., a familyowned coatings manufacturer.
The CSB said the incident resulted in substantial property damage, estimated to be more than $1 million. A building in the OPC Polymer unit collapsed as a result of the blast. Materials stored onsite include maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, xylene, and mineral spirits. The company has not yet provided the quantities of the material at the facility at the time of the Theincident.OPC Polymer unit was engaged in normal operations at the time of the incident, the CSB added, and the material being produced was manufactured in a batch process. The OPC Polymer unit operates in a 24/7 operation and the site includes an adjacent paint manufacturing unit that operates 4/10 operation. The facility is covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Process Safety Management (PSM) regulation due to the flammable liquids stored at the facility.
Inmanagement.itsfirstupdate on the incident, the CSB said it could confirm that a fire and explosion had occurred at Yenkin-Majestic.
The City of Columbus did not order an evacuation of the local area, however several residents living nearby selfevacuated as a precaution. The Columbus Division of Fire said in a statement that it was called to the scene at 12:05 local time where they were met by employees exiting the building. Five of the employees were injured and transported to hospital. Two other employees were trapped inside the building and had to be extricated. Both were taken to hospital in critical conditions. One employee remained unaccounted for as firefighters continued to battle the blaze. The employee was later found deceased at around 09:00 local time. In total, around 100 firefighters were called to the scene to assist in fighting the fire. On April 9, Columbus fire department said that the eight employees’ conditions remained unchanged but added that they were stable. The cause of the blast remains unknown, and an investigation has begun.
The company manufactures and markets industrial coatings that include acrylics, alkyds, coil and powder coatings, epoxies, primers, and urethanes. The incident occurred in the OPC Polymers unit at the facility where 21 employees were reported to have been working at the time of the explosion.
News Extra www.hazardex-event.co.uk4 Image: Columbus Division of Fire Image: Columbus Division of Fire Paint explosionfactory kills one and injures eight in US, causes $1m in damage
The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said that two of its investigators had visited the scene in Columbus and that it would be coordinating its activities with OSHA. The health and safety watchdog added that it would be moving forward with scheduling interviews with facility employees and
injures five in Indonesia, hundreds evacuated Image: Pertamina
News Extra 5 The World’s #1 Issuer of Hazardous Location Certificates Let’s work together csagroup.org/hazloc Refinery
An oil refinery fire in West Java, Indonesia on March 29 injured five people and forced the evacuation of hundreds of local people. The blaze at Indonesian state oil company Pertamina’s Balongan refinery burnt through the night and could be seen from several miles away. The fire is reported to have occurred in the facility’s storage tanks, however the cause is unknown. The blaze did not affect the plant’s processing equipment. Some media outlets report that the incident happened during bad weather and that a lightning strike may be to blame. Pertamina said in a statement that the cause remains under investigation and that it hoped to restore operations at the 125,000 barrelper-day plant within a week. In its statement, Pertamina asked local residents to remain calm, and stay away from the location of the fire. When the incident occurred, five local residents were passing by and suffered burn injuries. They were immediately transported to an intensive care unit at the Indramayu Hospital. No Pertamina employees were injured, the company said. Firefighters tackled the fire through the night after they were called to the scene at around 00:45 local time and managed to contain it to a small area of the plant by sunrise. Footage posted on social media shortly after the fire broke out shows a significant blaze burning at the Balongan refinery. Further images posted after sunrise showed a large black plume of smoke rising into the sky. On March 31, Pertamina said all fires had been extinguished but that teams would continue the process of cooling and observing until all areas were confirmed as safe. The energy company said preparations to restart refinery operations would begin once there was no risk of fire recurrence. Pertamina later announced on April 9 that refinery operations had returned to normal. fire
“In 2020, we saw country after country make announcements to cut the amount of coal power in their future energy plans,” said Christine Shearer, GEM’s Coal Program Director. “We are very likely seeing the last coal plants in planning throughout most of the world.”
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Cancelling them would put the country on track to the low-carbon development the leadership says it wants to pursue.”
Record coal plant retirements offset by China coal plant boom, new report says
In addition to GEM the report’s coauthors are the Sierra Club, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Climate Risk Horizons, GreenID, and Ekosfer.
Find out more about GEM’s report by visiting www.globalenergymonitor.org
The report, ‘Boom and Bust 2021: Tracking The Global Coal Plant Pipeline’, is the seventh annual survey of the global coal plant pipeline. A record-tying 37.8 GW of coal plants were retired in 2020, led by the US with 11.3 GW and EU27 with 10.1 GW.
Image: Shutterstock
Globally, commissioning of new plants fell to 50.3 GW in 2020, a decline of 34% from 2019, as projects in development struggled to obtain financing and many projects were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In India, coal power capacity rose by just 0.7 GW in 2020, with 2.0 GW commissioned and 1.3 GW retired. New construction starts fell 5% from 28.3 GW in 2019 to 27.0 GW in 2020. However, outside of China, new construction starts fell by 74%, from 21.1 GW in 2019 to 5.5 GW in 2020.
“Dozens of new coal power projects, equal to the total coal power capacity of Germany and Poland combined, were announced last year in China,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, CREA’s lead analyst. “These projects are a key test of the country’s pledge to peak emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality before 2060.
According to a new report led by Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a steep increase in coal plant development in China offset a retreat from coal in the rest of the world in 2020, resulting in the first increase in global coal capacity development since 2015. In total, China was home to 85% of the 87.4 gigawatts (GW) of proposed new coal plants in 2020.
President Trump’s promised coal boom was a bust as US coal plant retirements during Trump’s four-year term rose to 52.4 GW, exceeding the 48.9 GW retired during President Obama’s second term. China commissioned 38.4 GW of new coal plants in 2020, comprising 76% of the global total (50.3 GW). Outside China, 11.9 GW was commissioned and, taking into account closures, the global coal fleet outside China declined by 17.2 GW in 2020 – the third year in a row that coal power capacity outside China Outsideshrank.China, the coal plant development pipeline is collapsing in Asia, as Bangladesh, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia have announced plans to cut up to 62.0 GW of planned coal power. GEM estimates the policies will leave 25.2 GW of coal power capacity remaining in pre-construction planning in the four countries – an 80% decline from the 125.5 GW planned there just five years ago, in 2015.
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LifEx, the shift in the new lighting paradigm.
“With EDF’s power generation strategy firmly focused on nuclear and renewables - and in this key year for UK leadership on climate West Burton A power station near Retford in Nottinghamshire – Image: EDF
We have reduced the size, lowered the weight, shortened the time of installation, removed any type of risk, reduced any maintenance intervention, avoided 70% of the components and saved tons of CO2. We have also eliminated the possibility of improving it.
The Greensands project in Denmark will make a significant contribution to our understanding and growth of carbon storage technology, whilst supporting Denmark’s wider CO2 emission reduction targets for 2030 and Meanwhile,beyond.”
INEOS Energy announced two agreements in March as it looks to rebalance its oil and gas portfolio. On March 18, the company announced that it had reached an agreement with Hess to acquire its subsidiary Hess Denmark for $150 million, effective 1 January 2021.
INEOS looks to rebalance its oil and gas portfolio with acquisition and sale
The business also holds 22 offshore licenses, of which 6 are operated, and has equity in the Nyhamna Terminal (8%).
In relation to the sale, Gilvary said: “This represents another positive step in the INEOS Energy journey. The deal allows us to monetise a non-operated, predominantly gas portfolio at an attractive price compared to our hold value. This will further balance our portfolio of oil and gas and open up new opportunities to reinvest further into the energy transition. These assets are a very strong strategic fit for PGNiG and significantly extends their position in Norway.”
INEOS currently operates the Siri field area in Denmark. By becoming the Operator of Syd Arne, INEOS said it expects to unlock operational and cost synergies between the two assets. INEOS also plans to add further value through organic growth projects which will further extend the life of the asset within the context of the Danish Government’s decision to cease production on the Danish shelf by 2050.
the sale of INEOS Energy’s oil and gas business in Norway in a deal worth $615 million continues to rebalance its portfolio in terms of oil and gas and moves INEOS Energy towards a more operated position, the company announced.
INEOS E&P Norge produces around 33,000 BOE per day from the Norwegian Sea. A 93% gas ratio, from 3 non-operated fields, Ormen Lange (14%), Alve (15%) and Marulk (30%).
The sale, which was effective as of 1 January 2021, is subject to approval by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. It is expected to complete later this year.
Pawel Majewski, President of the PGNiG Management Board, said: “This is a transaction of particular importance for PGNiG.
The South Arne platform in the Danish North Sea – Image: INEOS www.hazardex-event.co.uk
All 52 employees of INEOS E&P Norge AS will transfer to PGNiG Upstream Norway AS following completion of the deal. The PGNiG Group is the largest Polish oil and gas company employing 25,000 people worldwide.
The takeover of all the assets of INEOS E&P Norge AS means a surge in production in Norway and will ensure a significant volume of gas for the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline. Therefore, it is an important contribution to the implementation of the strategic goals of the PGNiG Group. Our activities in Norway are closely related to the issue of Poland’s energy security. From 2022, gas from Norwegian fields will be transported to the country thanks to the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline. This will increase the diversification of gas import directions, which in turn is a guarantee of uninterrupted supplies of this fuel, the importance of which for the Polish economy is constantly growing. PGNiG gas portfolio diversification is greater flexibility and the ability to offer customers attractive terms of trade.”
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INEOS said this was the first deal to be announced following the formation of the new INEOS Energy business, which incorporates INEOS’ Oil and Gas business. This was followed by the March 25 announcement that INEOS Energy had also reached an agreement with PGNiG Upstream Norway to sell its oil and gas business in Norway in a deal worth $615 million. The deal includes all INEOS Oil & Gas interests in production, licenses, fields, facilities and pipelines, on the Norwegian continental shelf. As part of the deal with Hess, INEOS will acquire 61.5% of the Syd Arne oil field which complements the 36.8% share INEOS already holds in the field. INEOS will also acquire 4.8% of the Solsort field, which is already operated by TheINEOS.Hessbusiness in Denmark consists of operated assets focused on the production of oil. Approximately 60 people will transfer to INEOS on completion of the deal, which is expected in the third quarter of this year, subject to government approval.
The stronger operated position in Denmark fits well with INEOS’ leadership in the Greensands project, which plans to safely and cost effectively permanently store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per annum, in the INEOS operated Siri area, when the fields have ceased Brianproduction.Gilvary, Executive Chairman of INEOS Energy said: “This deal represents a major step in reshaping our energy business. HESS was one of the earliest pioneers in developing this basin. This deal will open up future growth prospects that can be developed in Denmark’s offshore oil and gas sector, supported by a very promising carbon storage project helping to deal with future emissions.
The HSE investigation found that the company had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment and had not prepared for this emergency situation. One of the failings was that the RPE (face masks) provided did not have the correct type of filter for protecting against hydrofluoric acid gas. Additionally, the type of RPE provided to workers relied on a good seal against the face in order to protect workers and no face fit tests had been undertaken to ensure the masks fitted the workers’ faces.
Image: HSE
Furthermore, workers were unshaven meaning their beards or stubble prevented an effective seal of the RPE to their faces.
The UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has fined the fabrication division of Nasmyth Technologies Limited after four employees were exposed to hazardous substances that caused significant ill health and time off work in 2017.
Nasmyth Technologies pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work 1974 Act and was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,551 at Poole Magistrates’ Court. The HSE investigation into the incident found that there was significant non-compliance regarding management of substances hazardous to health. Poole Magistrates’ Court heard how, on the 9 October 2017, between 150 and 200 litres of a chemical preparation, that included hydrofluoric acid, spilled across a large area of the factory floor in Wimborne, Dorset. Four workers were involved in the clean-up that took several hours. They were provided with inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and respiratory protective equipment (RPE) to undertake a clear up, for which they had no training. Some of the employees suffered ill health following the incident, including an asthma attack, a severe headache, nausea, sore eyes and throat. One of the workers, whose symptoms persisted, was referred by his doctor to a specialist for treatment.
following
News Extra 9 UK HSE
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Berenice Ray said: “This incident could have so easily been avoided had the company firstly undertaken a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and then implemented the necessary controls, including emergency arrangements for dealing with a chemical spill and the provision of instruction and supervision to ensure safe working practices are followed. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.” companyfinesafterworkersfallill exposure to chemical spill
Thedecade.Keadby 3 and Keadby Hydrogen projects are both in the development stage and the companies will continue to engage government, regulators and stakeholders. Final investment decisions will depend on the progress of policy frameworks that are commensurate with the delivery of this critical net zero enabling infrastructure, Equinor and SSE said. and SSE announce world’s first 100% hydrogen-fuelled power plant
Equinor and SSE Thermal have announced plans to jointly develop two first-of-a-kind, low-carbon power stations in the UK’s Humber region, comprising one of the UK’s first power stations with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, and the world’s first major 100% hydrogenfuelled power station.
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Equinor
Thestatement.twodecarbonised power stations, which would form a ‘clean power hub’ near Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, would be among the first in the world to use CCS and hydrogen technologies. Keadby 3 and Keadby Hydrogen would replace older, carbonintensive generation on the electricity grid. These projects would also result in the Humber making a significant contribution to the UK’s 2030 targets for CCS and hydrogen. Keadby 3 could deliver 15% of the target for 10MT of carbon captured annually by 2030, while the demand from Keadby Hydrogen could account for a third of the 5GW hydrogen production goal. Keadby 3 would be a 900MW power station fuelled by natural gas and fitted with carbon capture technology to remove the CO2 from its emissions. The captured CO2 would then be transported using shared pipelines before being securely stored under the Southern North Sea. A formal consultation for Keadby 3 concluded in early 2021 and the project is currently progressing towards the submission of a development consent application in Spring 2021. Keadby 3 would have the potential to come online by 2027. Keadby Hydrogen power station would have a peak demand of 1,800MW of hydrogen, generating around 900MW of electricity with zero emissions at the point of combustion. It would be the world’s first major 100% hydrogen-fired power station, securing atscale demand for hydrogen in the region for decades to come. With appropriate policy mechanisms in place, Keadby Hydrogen could come online before the end of the
The plans, underpinned by a new cooperation agreement between the two companies, would support the UK’s transition to net zero and accelerate the decarbonisation of the Humber, the UK’s largest and most carbonintensive industrial cluster. The projects have the potential to create thousands of skilled, green jobs and revitalise a key industrial heartland, the companies said in a joint
The Amuay refinery which suffered an explosion in November 2020, an incident which Venezuela’s President Maduro also labelled a “terrorist attack” – Image: Shutterstock Email: website:regulateurs@georgin.comhttps://www.georgin.com/contact-us
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Venezuelan officials have frequently labelled incidents as “terrorist attacks” in the past without providing evidence. Critics have said explosions and fires at the country’s oil and gas plants are most likely a result of underinvestment, mismanagement, and a lack of maintenance. In November 2020, Venezuela continued its crackdown on oil industry critics and whistleblowers in an attempt to block information leaks about PDVSA, the country’s deteriorating oil facilities, and unsafe working conditions. Eudis Girot, an oil workers’ union leader, and other officials who have been critical of the management of PDVSA, were arrested on November 19. Girot is Executive Director of the National Federation of Oil Unions (FUTPV) and has extensively tweeted about the PDVSA’s numerous failed attempts to restart production at refineries following explosions and fires.
An explosion occurred on part of a gas pipeline in eastern Venezuela on March 20, according to a report from the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The country’s Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami blamed the explosion on a “terrorist attack” but did not provide further details. The incident happened on a 36-inch pipeline at the Pigap II gas reinjection plant in the northern state of Monagas. PDVSA said it had temporarily shut the plant so that a fire could be extinguished and damage could be Oilassessed.Minister Tareck El Aissami made a statement on state television calling the explosion a “terrorist attack”. El Aissami did not offer any further details about who was responsible and did not say how much damage was done to the Pigap II plant.
Venezuela’s Oil Minister blames “terrorist attack” for pipeline explosion
Representative image: Shutterstock www.hazardex-event.co.uk
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UK Government to allow North Sea oil and gas exploration in return for carbon emission cuts
- Joint government and oil and gas sector investment of up to £16 billion by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions. This includes up to £3 billion to replace fossil fuel-based power supplies on oil and gas platforms with renewable energy, up to £3 billion on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage, and up to £10 billion for hydrogen production.
- The sector setting early targets to reduce emissions by 10% by 2025 and 25% by 2027 and has committed to cut emissions by 50% by 2030.
UK Government announced a deal with the oil and gas industry on March 24 that would allow the continuation of oil and gas exploration in the North Sea as long as oil drillers pass a “climate compatibility” test. The North Sea Transition Deal will see the government help the oil and gas industry cut its carbon emissions through a joint investment of up to £16 billion while supporting up to 40,000 jobs. As part of the announcement, the UK Government vowed that high-skilled oil and gas workers and the supply chain will not be left behind in the transition to a low carbon future. It added that the deal will support workers, businesses, and the supply chain through the transition by harnessing existing capabilities, infrastructure and private investment potential to exploit new and emerging technologies such as hydrogen production, Carbon Capture Usage and Storage, offshore wind and Thedecommissioning.dealwillseethe oil and gas industry work with government on delivering skills, innovation and new infrastructure required to decarbonise North Sea production. According to the government, the deal is expected to cut pollution by up to 60 million tonnes by 2030 including 15 million tonnes from oil and gas production on the UK Continental Shelf – the equivalent of annual emissions from 90% of the UK’s homes –while supporting up to 40,000 jobs across the supply chain. Key commitments in the North Sea Transition Deal include:
- The appointment of an Industry Supply Chain Champion who will support the coordination of local growth and job opportunities with other sectors, such as Carbon Capture Usage and Storage and offshore wind. Before each future oil and gas licensing round, the government will introduce a new Climate Compatibility Checkpoint to ensure licences awarded are aligned with wider climate objectives, including net-zero emissions by 2050, and the UK’s diverse energy supply. This Checkpoint will use the latest evidence, looking at domestic demand for oil and gas, the sector’s projected production levels, the increasing prevalence of clean technologies such as offshore wind and carbon capture, and the sector’s continued progress against its ambitious emissions reduction targets. The government said it believes it is vital that any future licenses are granted to industry only on the basis that they are compatible with the UK’s climate change objectives. A dynamic checkpoint enables the assessment of ongoing domestic need for oil and gas, while expecting concrete action from the sector on decarbonisation. If the evidence suggests that a future licensing round would undermine the UK’s climate goals or delivery of Net Zero, it will not go ahead. The UK government will design and implement the checkpoint by the end of 2021 through extensive engagement with a wide range of Businessstakeholders.and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “Today, we are sending a clear message around the world that the UK will be a nation of clean energy as we build back better and greener from the pandemic. We will not leave oil and gas workers behind in the United Kingdom’s irreversible shift away from fossil fuels. Through this landmark sector deal, we will harness the skills, capabilities and pent-up private investment potential of the oil and gas sector to power the green industrial revolution, turning its focus to the next-generation clean technologies the UK needs to support a green economy. At every step on the path to net zero emissions, we will create the right conditions for new green industries to base themselves in the UK and create new high-value employment opportunities, while future-proofing existing businesses to secure the long-term viability of jobs in our industrial heartlands.”
- By 2030, the sector will voluntarily commit to ensuring that 50% of its offshore decommissioning and new energy technology projects will be provided by local businesses, helping to anchor jobs to the UK.
andPresidentnewVice-President
DUST. THE UNDERESTIMATED RISK OF EXPLOSION IS YOUR EQUIPMENT COMPLIANT? Powders or dustlike substances found in the food and beverage industry are processed or are byproducts of the production process. Take advantage of our unmatched expert knowledge in preventing dust explosions and use it to protect your employees, plant and machinery. R. STAHL, T (+44) 121 767 6400, E enquiries@r-stahl.com, r-stahl.com/en/uk
Adrian Jackson, Chief Executive of the Oil and Pipelines Agency, has been elected as the new President of the Tank Storage Association, the trade association representing all aspects of the UK’s bulk liquid storage industry and associated logistics. Adrian succeeds Paul Denmead, Director of Terminal Operations UK at World Fuel Services Europe. Wilma Kelly, HSE Director at Certas Energy, has been elected to the position of VicePresident, and will also join the Board of Directors of the TSA. The Presidency and Vice-Presidency transferred at the TSA’s Annual General Meeting, which was held virtually on March 24.
Adrian Jackson said: “I am honoured to take on the role of President of the Tank Storage Association and to work with the Association’s broad membership as we look to the future and lead the way in seizing the opportunities of tomorrow. At a time of transformational progress for our sector, as we look to recover from the pandemic and lead on the innovations needed to support the achievement of the UK’s decarbonisation targets, my priority will be to demonstrate the value and benefits that the bulk liquid storage industry provides. “As part of these efforts, we will also be shining a light on the rewarding and diverse career opportunities that our industry offers. I would also like to warmly thank the outgoing President, Paul Denmead, and Board Members for their dedication and active involvement in TSA’s activities. Building on this legacy, I will continue working closely with TSA Members and other stakeholders to promote the vast and strategic advantages of our Wilmaindustry.”Kelly said: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Vice-President at such an important time for the bulk liquid storage sector. The Tank Storage Association has a proud legacy as the leading voice for UK terminals and associated logistics and I look forward to continuing the work of its talented team in championing this incredibly vibrant industry.”
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Adrian Jackson and Wilma Kelly – Image: TSA
There is much talk and significant progress being made in the commercial use of Hydrogen as a renewable energy source and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Well, BEKA IS ready for Hydrogen All of our hazardous area certified products can be used in a Hydrogen environment. is ready for Hydrogen www.beka.co.uk sales@beka.co.uk +44 (0) 1462 438301 Indicators & displays... conventional to fieldbus beka_quarter_page_124x86.indd 1 7/30/2020 1:55:49 PM Protecting Your Plant Rotech Motion Sensor’s can be used whenever information or monitoring of shaft rotation, position, direction, speed, slip etc is required! Rotech Motion Sensor’s can be used for indication, control, interlocking, protection, sequencing, alarm initiations and many more functions! Rotech Motion Sensor’s can be used wherever materials are transported or processed By conveyors, elevators, screws, mixers, etc! Web: Tel:Email:rotechsystems.co.uksales@rotechsystems.co.uk+44(0)1513562322 Monitoring the world
www.hazardexonthenet.netStandards15Standards15
Peripheral vision
Every two months, SGS Baseefa Technical Manager Ron Sinclair MBE gives his perspective on the latest developments in the world of standards.
The new rules will make life simpler for the many manufacturers who had considered placing the Mark on their products but were put off by the previous complicated rules. Although the logo has also changed, the rules for its use have not.
SGS Baseefa’s Technical Manager Ron Sinclair MBE will continue to attend the European Notified Bodies Group for ATEX (ExNBG), although representing SGS Fimko, their partner EU Notified Body, now that the UK bodies are excluded. He is Chair of the IECEx Service Facility Certification Committee and a member of the IECEx Executive. He is chair of the UK Standards Committee operating in this area for electrical equipment, and recently retired as chair of the European committee. About the author The new IECEx logo
The current working assumption is that DS 060 will remain in operation until the end of this calendar year (to be confirmed by the IECEx Executive in 2021 Q4), and that a full discussion will take place during the early September meeting of the IECEx Management Committee, where all stakeholders will have the opportunity to make an input. It is possible that, in future, some intermediate assessments may take place remotely, but almost certain that initial assessments and major re-assessments will be face to face. We must wait for the Management Committee to decide. Two other topics of general interest: As hinted at by Thorsten Arnhold in his article last month, IECEx is becoming aware of the rapid development of interest in hydrogen as an intermediary for energy storage. Thorsten made an interesting presentation about the current views in Germany and IECEx will be investigating how to take this forward, using combinations of both IEC and ISO standards for certification in this field. The IECEx logo and Certification Mark have changed. Full details, including how it is to be used as the Certification Mark, are in the February 2021 edition of IECEx 04, which can be downloaded from www.iecex.com. Put simply, both the new logo and the new certification mark are directly equivalent to the left-hand square of the previous logo.
Withembarrassing!vaccination roll-out showing us a glimmer of light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, the question was raised; having gained experience with remote assessments, could, or should, we continue with some remote assessments once we have established a “new normal” and DS 060 is no longer in operation? The jury is still out on this question. Clearly there are financial cost savings to be made, but this has to be balanced with the more subjective costs of doing assessments without the benefit of peripheral vision, and without the benefit of personal engagement brought about during a conventional assessment.
We will have just got fully comfortable with doing everything remotely when (hopefully) we are suddenly released and can actually meet face-to-face. But how well has remote working actually served us? IECEx were very quick out of the blocks last year, with Operational Document OD 060, which outlined how IECEx could continue to operate in the face of an international emergency which, by necessity, curtailed all the visits of assessors and auditors to certification bodies and to their clients. Some things have continued to be postponed, but, in the main, OD 060 has served the industry well and has enabled IECEx to continue to function, without any drop-off in the quality of the work. Industries creating hazardous areas have, by and large, continued to operate; manufacturers have continued to design new Ex products and still require certification. The IECEx Executive met remotely at the end of March. Once again, those in Australia kept going into the early hours of the following day and the Americans had to get up early, while those of us in Europe met during “normal office hours”. Because all participants have met each other face to face on numerous occasions, that sort of meeting always goes well. What did give us concern however, was where an IECEx assessor or auditor was officiating remotely with a company that they had not previously visited. The consensus was that for documentation reviews, it could work well, but an assessment of a testing laboratory, while possible, was not so easy. This is where an active peripheral vision comes into its own. It is not what a remotely held smart-phone or laptop camera shows you that is necessarily the most important. A good assessor is always looking around to spot things that can provoke a question. “Why is that DMM on the next bench apparently available for use, whilst its calibration label shows it should have been calibrated six months ago?” And sometimes the questions can be even more
Conference • Workshops • Exhibition • Awards Programme 20216th & 7th October • Harrogate • Yorkshire • UK Following recent updates from the UK Government, the Hazardex 2021 Conference, Exhibition & Awards will now take place in person, on the 6th & 7th October 2021. The health and safety of all participants remains key in the organisation of Hazardex 2021. With the continued rollout of vaccinations across the UK and Internationally, these new dates will help ensure the event is safe and productive for all. COVID-19 regulations and UK Government guidelines will be observed & enforced as required at the time of the event. Contact us for 2021 participation information now! Email:Tel:hazardex@imlgroup.co.uk+44(0)1732359990 www.hazardex-event.co.uk www.hazardexonthenet.net Media Partner NEWRELEASEDDATES Supporting Organisations Delegate, Exhibitor & Sponsor packages now available for Hazardex & PPTex 2021 - contact us for details
PPTex Products The age of Virtually‘interconnectedtheworker’Casestudy:automationanddigitalisationatscalethere–bringingworksitestolifewithdigitaltwins May 2021 Image: 3t Energy Group
Sellafield Ltd plays key role in drone development challenge bp and Oxbotica complete industry-first autonomous vehicle trial at German refinery Image: BP
Beyond the trial, bp believes that Oxbotica’s technology can help it to create an inherently safer operating environment for field workers through its reliable, repeatable, and predictable Theapplication.software can be installed into any vehicle and can work indoors, outdoors, underground, in any weather condition and any time of day or night. It has zero dependence on external infrastructure such as GPS or third-party mapping and is completely sensor- and platform-agnostic.
of Specialist Equipment Services, Sellafield Ltd, said: “The specialist equipment services team provides engineering and maintenance support to the whole of Sellafield and we continually seek out areas of innovation to improve services on our complex and congested site. This new technology has huge potential for our future operations; making our work safer, faster and more cost effective.”
The futuristic system will enable remote inspection and monitoring of nuclear sites and has a range of other applications including on construction sites, oil and gas installations, road, rail and telecoms infrastructure and in providing live support to emergency services.
The funding comes from the Future Flight Challenge, Phase 2 competition, part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy that works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. As a publicly funded organisation itself, Sellafield Ltd will not receive any of the challenge fund but the Sellafield site offers a unique testbed for the use of this technology on nuclear licensed sites and already has its own team of highly skilled and experienced drone pilots. The drone system, which uses similar technology to autonomous cars, enables autonomous drones to be flown under tight human supervision by pilots based in a central control room hundreds of miles away.
“It also closes the loop between our engineering and maintenance and robotics and artificial intelligence programme; ensuring we are always using the best available technology so we can continuously improve our service to the Sellafield site and the rest of the NDA Group.”
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Peter Allport, Remote Handling Lead for Specialist Equipment Services, Sellafield Ltd Engineering and Maintenance said: “This technology has the potential to revolutionise how we use drones at Sellafield, increasing the operational envelope and transforming the way in which drones are piloted.
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Watson, SVP Digital Science and Engineering at bp, said: “Lingen has 30 km of roads. Intelligent technology like this helps us make the incremental but equally critical improvements to our operations, so we can continue to focus on delivering the energy the world needs in the way that it wants. I am looking forward to working with Oxbotica to explore how we can unlock the full potential of autonomy.”
The challenge put the drone system through a series of increasingly complex tests to see how it would respond in a range of circumstances, demonstrating significant potential for inspections and maintenance of congested and hazardous areas.
bp has successfully completed an autonomous vehicle trial at its Lingen refinery in Germany, working with Oxbotica. During the trial, thought to be a world-first in the energy sector, the vehicle travelled over 180km fully autonomously, safely navigating the extensive and complex environment of the bp refinery, including busy junctions, narrow paths, railway crossings, and multiple terrains, during both day and night and in unpredictable weather conditions. Oxbotica was able to deploy its autonomy software platform and integrate with the existing infrastructure within two hours of arriving on site. Following the success of the trial, bp aims to progress to deploying its first autonomous vehicle for monitoring operations at the refinery by the end of the year. The self-driving vehicles will enhance human operations and improve safety by increasing the monitoring for irregular conditions, faulty equipment and security threats, making it more frequent and around the clock. The autonomous vehicles’ enhanced analytics will help the site reduce the size of its current Moragfleet.
Sellafield Ltd has a key role in a consortium of industrial, aerospace and aviation giants that has won a share of a £30 million government challenge fund to develop and test a remotely operated drone system.
The announcement follows bp’s recent $13m equity investment in Oxbotica. Ozgur Tohumcu, CEO at Oxbotica said: “As part of our first refinery trial in Lingen, we showcased how autonomy improves safety, reduces emissions and improves productivity. The investment from bp will allow us to scale our autonomous software platform across the energy ecosystem with a number of planned use cases and unlock the true power of universal autonomy.”
Led by the specialist drone command and control solution developer, Sees.ai, the consortium includes BAE Systems, Atkins, Skanska, NATS, Vodafone and a host of other organisations with unique specialisms and Markperspectives.Foster,Head
HoverGuard complements ABB’s existing gas leak detection offering with the vehicle-based MobileGuard™, hand-held MicroGuard™ and stationary EverGuard™ (to be launched later in 2021). They are all designed to operate independently. Combining them provides the most comprehensive platform to detect, map and quantify leaks with unprecedented speed, reliability and accuracy throughout the entire natural gas infrastructure, including upstream, midstream, downstream, and gas utilities. Extronics has been awarded a phase two grant from the UK government sustainable innovation fund for its work in developing a contact tracing and social distancing solution primarily targeted at process industries but also suitable in other work environments. Extronics was previously awarded an initial grant for developing a social distancing and contact tracing solution as part of the existing iTAG X30 product platform. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is investing up to £200 million to fund single and collaborative research and development projects as part of the Sustainable Innovation Fund (SIF). The aim of this grant is to help all sectors of the UK rebuild after the effects of COVID-19. Dr Julian Poyner, Engineering Director at Extronics, commented on the need for this development, “Although a vaccine is available and is being rolled out free of charge in the UK, this is not the case in many other countries. It is unknown how long it will take to vaccinate the world population and therefore it is highly likely that social distancing and contact tracing (SD&CT) will need to remain in place for many years. Facilitating safe working is still key to getting economies back up and running. The benefits of contact tracing and prioritising testing of operatives who have had encounters with a confirmed case have proven to be useful and practical to organisations operating in the process industries.”
Extronics awarded Second Development Fund for social distancing & contact tracing solution
The major development areas made possible by the second phase of the UK Innovate grant include:
ABB launches drone-based gas leak detection and greenhouse gas measuring system
Pipelines often cross inaccessible terrain to supply industrial and domestic gas. Operators of these networks must ensure the safety, integrity and reliability of their pipelines but accurate detection of odourless and invisible gas leaks can be challenging and expensive. ABB’s latest addition to its ABB Ability™ Mobile Gas Leak Detection System, HoverGuard™, provides the solution by finding leaks faster and more reliably than ever HoverGuardbefore. detects, quantifies and maps leaks up to 100 metres from natural gas distribution and transmission pipelines, gathering lines, storage facilities, and other potential sources quickly, safely and reliably. It automatically generates comprehensive digital reports that summarise results and can be shared in minutes after a survey.
Extronics was one of 19 companies successful in receiving the grant as part of the SIF offered by the UK government. Extronics iTAG X30 is the world’s first hybrid technology tracking tag for hazardous areas Zone O, 1 and 2. In February 2021, Extronics delivered its first batch of 1,300 iTAG X30 tags to a major petrochemical company in Malaysia. The second phase of funding will build upon the successful deployment of the iTAG X30 social distancing and contact tracing solution. It will mean that Extronics can develop an offline version that does not require site wide wi-fi. This will help speed up deployment of a SD & CT in cost effective way to ensure personnel remain safe whilst on-site.
- Design and incorporation of a software Application Programmable Interface (API) to allow information from the ELE to be sent to any third-party platform.
HoverGuard™ flying over a city – Image: ABB Image: Extronics www.hazardexonthenet.net
The cloud-connected, multi-gas solution is the first Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based system to quantify the three most important greenhouse gases methane, carbon dioxide and water vapour continuously while flying. Each greenhouse gas affects the environment differently and is present in the air in different amounts. The extremely fast response and high precision of the analyser allows scientists and researchers to reliably quantify greenhouse gas fluxes which provides important information when studying the complex environmental processes affecting climate and pollution. Patented cavity enhanced laser absorption spectroscopy detects methane with a sensitivity more than 1,000 times higher and over 10 times faster than conventional leak detection tools. This sensitivity and speed allows HoverGuard to detect leaks while flying at altitudes of 40 metres, or higher, and at speeds greater than 88 km/h. It can cover 10-15 times more land area per minute by operating on low-cost commercial UAV capable of carrying a payload of 3 kg.
- Alternative communications technologies to allow the backhaul of data from the iTAG X30 to the Extronics Location Engine (ELE).
- Elimination of the virus from the surface of the iTAG X30 which will help prevent its spread.
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Virtually
worksites
with digitalwww.hazardex-event.co.ukPPTex-DigitalTwins20
Working in environmentshazardouscomes with inherent risk and training is vital. Although classroom training has its place, nothing quite compares to ‘hands-on’ workplace training where the practical application of ‘doing’ rather than ‘watching’ helps knowledge and skills stick. The aviation industry realised decades ago that a ‘hands-on’ training experience can be created using simulators, allowing pilots to practise skills in a safe environment. Even when mistakes are made, no-one gets hurt. Technology advances means we can now create a ‘hands-on’ workplace environment digitally. Highly immersive, with the same look and feel of a real workplace environment, these virtual reality worlds can comprehensively prepare personnel for the real world of work – particularly useful for hazardous areas, where there’s a high risk to health and safety. The statistics prove it – with many studies showing strong learning retention rates of up to 75% for VR training – significantly higher than a comparative 10% retention rate for simply reading the information. These benefits, along with the backdrop of Covid-19, are resulting in a growing demand for digital twins and at 3t Transform we are seeing a surge in enquiries from many sectors. there – bringing to life
Depending upon the complexity of the asset to be created, the quality of the CAD model and the size, it can take anything from one month to six months to develop a digital twin. How much do they cost? This question could be rephrased as ‘how long is a piece of string?’ It really depends on your objectives and how complex the area is to recreate digitally. Although it’s hard to put a price on development costs, it’s safe to say digital twins are extremely cost-effective. When you compare the cost of arranging training for hundreds of people and tot up the travel and resource implications versus the cost of creating a digital model, which can be rolled out globally to limitless numbers, the savings becomes evident. There is also an argument that says what cost do you put on a life or life-changing injury? Digital twins can certainly mitigate and reduce the risks. Equipment needed To run a digital twin effectively the best way is by using a VR headset but they can also be used with a mouse and arrows on a computer screen. Mobile phones can also be used, however the quality of the platform dictates the visual quality of the digital twin. For the best experience, you will need a fairly powerful gaming laptop or a PC to run a digital twin. Once deployed, the experiences can be run offline and if you are using a learning management system, they can be synced back to this periodically via wi-fi. What are the benefits? There are very real benefits to using digital twins. For workforce development, the advantages are clear: - Time-saving: a digital twin can be used to save time and money whenever a product or process needs to be tested – this includes anything from design, implementation, monitoring or -improvement.Costreduction: Virtual learning dramatically reduces the need for instructor-led courses and reduces the time and money spent travelling to training centres. Training can also be done on site or remotely for global -workforces.Increased employee effectiveness: Being able to practice in a virtual environment which replicates the real one, helps to build competency and ensures your workers are work-ready. Studies show that the information is also retained better. Digital twin applications Digital twins can be used for all sorts
bringingdigitaltwins www.hazardexonthenet.net
So, what is a digital twin?
A digital twin, in essence, is a digital representation of a physical object, room, or work site. From a single space to a building, FPSO vessel or an entire site – even Chernobyl – anything can be developed into a digital twin. There are no Aslimitations.wellas a physical entity, digital twin technology can replicate your worksite procedures by using advanced analytical, monitoring, and predictive capabilities, test processes and services. This means a limitless range of scenarios can be developed to train and test your workers before they enter a live working environment.
A digital twin needs to look and behave as it would in real life. Fires need to feel realistic; explosions should behave as expected; and pipes and levers need to move as they would in the real world. When you get this right, you can see it in the behaviour of people when they put the VR headset on. They become completely immersed in the virtual environment and are oblivious to real world surroundings. This is perfect for hazardous area training where students can learn about safe operating procedures and practices without ever being exposed to risk.
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A strong gaming background is a huge advantage when creating high fidelity environments like digital twins and you should look for evidence of this when choosing a supplier. The production of a digital twin starts with a CAD model of the area required. This is processed through a proprietary optimisation tool set, while photographs and 360-degree video footage are used as a reference to ensure visual realism. Getting the visual quality high is essential when making a digital twin. It’s all about immersion and tricking the brain into thinking it’s actually in that environment.
Developing digital twins
www.hazardex-event.co.ukPPTex-DigitalTwins22 A Jet Fire shown digitally
of applications and, once they are developed, we are seeing clients maximise their investment by using them across a range of applications. With a few minor tweaks, the same digital model could be used for marketing to showcase a product or place and also as a sales tool. For example, the creation of digital twins to showcase new apartment blocks before they’ve even been built, allowing customers to customise interior upgrades like changing carpet for tiles or real wood flooring. As well as helping make customisation decisions, digital twins are being used for hazard awareness training, health and safety inductions and company presentations.
Case study – Digital twins in action We’ve worked with a range of global companies to develop digital twins. For BP, 3t Transform is developing a bespoke four-week training programme for operational personnel on the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim development project, which includes creating a virtual reality digital twin of BP’s facilities, to help deliver an immersive experience of the project. Using the digital twin, the operational personnel will be able to familiarise themselves with the layout of the facilities and learn operating systems and procedures. 3t Transform has also worked closely with DNV GL to create a virtual reality training programme for the management of emergency situations in the oil and gas industry. Over a period of 18 months, we developed storyboards, captured 360-degree video footage and developed a range of learning scenarios to be delivered on our virtual reality platform. Many of the scenarios created were based on actual events or events which could have happened to add to the realism. For example, in one particular virtual reality scenario, a relief valve on top of a pipe is swapped out for maintenance by the user. The user is then made to incorrectly tighten the temporary stopper and fail to record the action in paperwork. This activity eventually results in the temporary stopper being knocked out by accident and a spark igniting the gas within the pipe causing a jet fire. By actively involving the user in making these mistakes you ensure better memory retention. Essentially you learn more from your own mistakes so a delegate seeing the consequences of their actions will remember the experience. The project is helping oil and gas
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personnel to learn lessons from past events and potential hazards to ultimately improve safety in the industry. As well as being well received by clients, the DNV GL VR programme was recognised by the oil and gas industry for its innovative approach after winning an award in the Offshore Achievement Awards. Another example of how digital twins are adding value is a project for Saudi Aramco Nabors Drilling Company, or SANADSANAD.wanted an effective and standardised way of training its land rig workers in hazard awareness. We created a digital twin of a land rig and developed an engaging virtual reality training programme to teach land rig workers shut-down procedures and how to work safely at height and on the drill floor. Active learning at its very best, the highly realistic virtual reality programmes take delegates through procedures. When the correct actions aren’t followed, delegates see and experience tragic outcomes such as explosions, suffocations and critical accidents. As well as improving awareness of the hazards on site, our programmes are helping to speed up workers’ competency rates assuring SANAD of the highest levels of safety across its assets. These examples highlight some of the very real benefits of using digital twins to train and assess personnel in a realistic ‘hands-on’ virtual environment. After all, for potentially dangerous and hazardous environments, encountering an emergency situation in the virtual world is far better than confronting one in the real world. A digital Diesel Deluge About the author Richard Coates is Director of Tech Operations at software and virtual reality specialist, 3t Transform, part of the 3t Energy Group of companies, where he is responsible for delivering cloud-based software and learning technologies which help companies work smarter, safer and moreRichardefficiently.hasa wealth of experience in software design and business having started his career with British video games developer, Eutechnyx. He progressed to managing a global team of 50+ creating 3D environments for world-renowned games-titles such as Pimp my Ride, NASCAR inside line and Ferrari Challenge. Richard went on to set up his own virtual reality and software company, Neutron VR, with co-founder Dinesh Kumar. In 2019 Neutron was acquired by 3t Energy Group to enhance its technological capabilities and Richard took up his current role.
Not all of these are filmed in less developed countries either. If we consider statistics from the 2019 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in the USA, we get the following data:
Many years ago, life was simple, or so it seemed. If something needed to be done, appropriate forms would be filled in and we’d disappear off into some part of the plant and return later when the work was completed or left in a state where we could carry on with it tomorrow. Aside from the odd visit or the radio message, we would be left alone and depending on the work, might not appear back in our normal break area for quite some time. Of course, the world has moved on. Industrial accidents and improved legislation have seen to that and the responsibility for safety continues to be driven more and more forcefully into the remit of the senior management of every company, with less and less recourse for them to hand off the work to HSE, quality, reliability, operations and the other myriad of departments involved. This is evidenced by the recent publication of ISO 31000, which puts the responsibility squarely into the hands of the executives of any business.
- Workers 55 and older accounted for 38% of fatalities. Up 8% on 2018 so experience only takes you so far.
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- Exposure to harmful substances or environments was the highest number ever recorded with 642 fatalities.
But what does this mean for workers? It’s interesting to note that generally fatalities at sites fall into three main categories, each contributing around a third to the overall total. In simplest terms, these are slips, trips and falls, human error/unsafe acts, and contact with moving objects (vehicles, lifting & moving objects and equipment). In many ways, these are much the same risks as our forebearers had to beware. In the main, I would argue that whilst there have been changes, particularly in high hazard industries, most of the industry’s focus has been on improving the plant’s capability and efficiency and often the result has been a reduction in workforce numbers, leading to everyone having less time to do more things. In many parts of the world, while there have been great leaps in technological capability and productivity, the safety of workers has been left behind. It is an unfortunate truth that is difficult to swallow, but one only has to spend a small amount of time on media sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook to see regular examples of unsafe acts, often being caught on camera by willing participants. I say willing because they do nothing to stop the activities that are being carried out.
- Fatalities resulting from slips, trips and falls increased 11% over the previous year. This implies that we struggle to mitigate particularly simple risks.
The age of the ‘interconnected
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- 693,000 working people sustained an injury at work according to the labour force survey and 38.8 million days were lost to work related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2019/20.
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I will quote Einstein at this point and agree with him that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”, so the question is why has safety fallen behind? After all, the ideal methodology for any business should align with the rules of SQDC, in that we do nothing until it is safe to work, then we make sure that quality is right and once that’s in place we get the delivery right and only then should we look at how to make a business more profitable.
The truth is that safety hasn’t really fallen behind and there are lots of solutions available that allow work to be carried out in a more intelligent way by the use of technology, but there is a reticence to use them for a whole multitude of reasons. These include cost concerns, new ways of working and training, additional time concerns, and often an existing culture of acceptance that is almost certainly the hardest thing to change in any However,industry.ifwe look at costs from a different perspective, and consider data from 2019/20 health and safety statistics published by the UK HSE we see that: - 1.6 million people are suffering from work related illnesses.
Digital Control of Work software, such as Yokogawa RAP’s, is an example of a more intelligent way to manage safe working at plants of any size and in any industry. Safety systems fall into the category of ORM or Operational Risk Management and are a way of trying to make sure that work is carried out safely and efficiently with minimum risk to employees or contracted workers carrying out the required tasks. These systems break down into digital solutions and hardware solutions and the two should work together in harmony. The term ‘connected worker’ is sometimes used to define the process but in many ways the term ‘interconnected worker’ or ‘integrated worker’ is probably better, because the information should be flowing in both directions, giving the worker access to site information whilst at the same time allowing
‘interconnected worker’
- The estimated cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions in 2018/19 was £16.2 billion. Additional to the above, those responsible for environmental crimes, which often go hand in hand with a lack of safety awareness and responsibility hit record levels in 2020 with 862 penalties issued totalling £254.7m with an average size of £15,000 (Source: ENDS report key trends in environmental fines in 2020). This begs the question can we really afford not to invest in safer control of work, given the huge costs when things go wrong?
Examples of unsafe acts while working at height with seemingly little or no regard for personal safety
Safe working with the workforce technologically interconnected with the plant
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Digital Field Assistant Technology
- Environmental monitoring systems
- Control of Work Software (for risk assessments, permits and isolation management including key items such as critical equipment and barriers)
Watch an exclusive interview with Mark Breese on Digital Control of Work software on the Hazardex website now: https://bit.ly/3sGEdyT
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the site to gain information from the workers themselves, in terms of their own situation as well as their effect on plant conditions.
Wearable solutions include: - Worker location tracking - Conditional analysis (noise, gas readings, etc) - Worker health tracking (can be passive or active) - Communication systems (headsets, radios, wireless and mobile devices)
Digital solutions include:
To summarise, a focus on safety and a general culture where safety comes first will lead not only to a safer workforce, but to one that is more efficient and productive and where there is a significantly lower risk of incidents and the costs and lost time associated with them. By using the digital tools and wearable technologies available within the market, it is possible to truly integrate workers within a plant environment, allowing them to safely carry out their jobs more easily and in the knowledge that they are safer in doing their work.
- Worker Software (shift logs, shift handover, worker rounds) - Mobile and mapping capabilities (to see the work easily) - Audit, incident and change management software
All this could lead one to believe that workers need to visit the gym more often to work out if they are going to be carrying all of this kit in addition to normal and required PPE, but the truth is that modern technology has far better form and fit than even 5 or 10 years ago, making the connections to and from workers more possible and affordable and all without burying the worker in a mass of equipment that could make them look more like a deep sea diver! Major gains can be achieved throughout organisations by focusing on safety first. These include: - Less paperwork management - Risks are made easier to see and understand - Real time activity can be confirmed without having to walk back to an office location - Health can be monitored in real time All the above leads to not only a plant where there is less risk of a safety or environmental incident, but also to a more efficient workplace, and by integrating workers into the plant in a more meaningful way, they become a part of the system itself as opposed to sitting outside it. Indeed, the digitally integrated worker is the next step beyond industry 4.0 where traditional manufacturing processes are automated. To quote the European Commission, “the next step (Industry 5.0) is to place the wellbeing of the worker at the centre of the production process and use new technologies to provide prosperity beyond jobs and growth while respecting the production limits of the planet”. That leads to the question of what is a digitally integrated worker? It seems a simple question, but the answers are myriad depending on the work required. It also leads to the question of whether ‘worker’ is a term exclusively applied to humans or not, because in many highrisk applications, robots have become the workforce of choice.
At first glance, robotics takes the risks from safety issues away, and in terms of protecting humans it does that admirably, but what about the safety of the robots themselves? Interestingly, not only do risk assessments still apply, but they will be different for robot working to human working. The best example is stairs where mitigating the risk of falling for a human might be to fit and use a handrail whereas for a robot the solution will be a guided ramp. But what if the area is wet and slippery? In such cases the handrail will still help but the ramp becomes a significantly more dangerous issue to mitigate.
The answer is that there is a balance between robotics and people, where the two must again be integrated with one another for the maximum benefit to the safety of the workers themselves, whatever form they may take, and of the plant they are working on.
About the author Mark Breese is Global Sales Manager at Yokogawa RAP. As well as being a Chartered Chemist and member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Mark has almost 30 years’ plant and process industry experience across a variety of industries. Starting as a chemical process engineer, Mark has also worked in technical applications support, product management, sales, marketing, engineering, and R&D. He has also been granted several patents for novel industrial equipment designs.
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Large scale environmentsindustrialpresent unique challenges for inspection and data collection High-volume chemical manufacturing is one of the most complex industries, requiring massive infrastructure, advanced machinery, and rigorously detailed processes. BASF’s Ludwigshafen location alone extends over 10 square kilometres – the world’s largest integrated chemical complex. ANYbotics and BASF identified the autonomous legged robot’s promise to solve human mobility and data-collection challenges at such a large scale based on ANYmal’s customisable environmental data-collection capabilities. “We have here a highly heterogeneous environment that has been continuously
ANYbotics has collaborated with global chemical manufacturer BASF to deploy ANYmal at one of the company’s sites. The autonomous, four-legged robot has helped display the efficiency, quality, and scalability of robotic inspection and data-collection capabilities in complex industrial environments. On production floors, robotics and manufacturing have gone hand-in-hand for decades. But on industrial plants, repetitive inspections, environment mapping, and efficiency analytics have mostly relied on manual work. These physical efforts impact economic sustainability, as well as process reliability and data quality. Fixed sensors and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices are used to monitor critical processes. Still, these integrations lack scalability for multisensory inspection and monitoring with the full coverage of extended areas. ANYbotics has been working on a solution to apply the advanced industrial inspection capabilities of the autonomous legged robot ANYmal to bring complete visibility and higher-quality data collection to chemical processing plants. The result is a replicable model for cost-savings and improved data quality at scale through the merger of digitalisation and autonomous mobile robotics. Digitalisation supports efficient production BASF is a German-based multinational chemical company and one of the largest chemical producers in the world. The company has been in business since 1865 as they continue to invest in technological innovation to achieve high levels of quality. Digitalisation is high on the agenda also in production plants, and robotic solutions play an important part. BASF Automation Manager Peter Welter coordinates cross-company efforts in robotics and mechatronics through partnerships and proof-of-concept testing. “Automation is definitely at the intersection of the digitisation strategy. We are at the end of the implementation process, and robotics has made a huge contribution,” says Peter.
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The ANYmal robots rest on a docking station until they are scheduled for a routine inspection or triggered manually. After up to two hours of operation, the robot self-navigates back to its docking station to recharge without any need for human intervention
Peter and his team are focused not just on how automation can save valuable time but also improve data quality through process repetition. About two years ago, ANYbotics caught Peter’s attention and since then, they have collaborated to bring this technology to a BASF plant in Ludwigshafen for testing.
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Case study: automation and digitalisation at scale
growing for the past 150 years. A walking robot such as ANYmal fulfills one of the main requirements to navigate these complex environments with many steps and steep stairs”, says Peter. Together, the two organisations began testing the possibilities. Robot simulations lead to innovation in virtual commissioning BASF had already begun investing in digitalisation, having developed a detailed CAD model and a point cloud of one of the production plants for chemical intermediates at the Ludwigshafen site in Germany. At the ANYbotics lab, we used BASF’s environment map to simulate an autonomous inspection mission to verify the mobility through critical areas as well as the visibility of points of interest from the robot’s viewpoint. Using ANYbotics’ physics simulator, the team was able to efficiently perform the preparation work associated with mapping an environment, determining the paths, and optimising the position of the docking stations. Releasing ANYmal at BASF Validating the ANYmal’s capabilities in our simulated environment had the benefit of accelerating the on-site commissioning process. ANYmal was able to localise at BASF’s real facility using the digital twin data, a game-changer in terms of scalability, which would allow deploying the system efficiently across BASF’s hundreds of plants. Once ANYmal began traversing the diverse terrain of BASF’s facility, the autonomous legged robot was able to perform typical inspection tasks such as reading gauges, taking acoustic measurements of pumps and compressors, and checking the environment for hotspots using its integrated thermal camera. A better way to collect better data As Asset Manager at the production plant, Felix Volkmann’s charge is ensuring the efficiency, maintenance, and integrity of the plant’s infrastructure and machinery. For Felix, the collaboration with ANYbotics has the potential to improve essential data collection as well as human resource allocation. Felix explains, “With automation and robotics, we can increase the quality of the documentation of our assets by having clearly documented and easily accessible test reports via thermal imaging and sound recording, which can be collected daily so we can precisely track the history.”
ANYmal’s pan-tilt inspection payload scans BASF’s equipment for visual, thermal, and acoustic condition monitoring and performs data analysis to indicate unusual occurrences
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Using BASF’s facility CAD model, ANYbotics is able to pre-program and simulate the robotic inspection mission validating the routines and accelerating the deployment on-site
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BASF will further evaluate the possibilities of leveraging ANYmal for plant inspections due in no small part to our collaborative innovations in a remote virtual setup, saving valuable time and cost. Furthermore, the ability for ANYmal to successfully localise and navigate BASF’s complex industrial terrain while collecting visual, thermal, and auditory data offers various options for scaling the partnership between robotics and digitalisation. “With this proof-ofconcept, we show that the idea of a more digitalised plant can be further enhanced by robotics”, summarises Peter.
Peat powered electricity generating station – Image taken by K Fallon
is changing. In the UK, a recent survey showed that by 2026 19.56% of engineers will have retired or be close to retiring. Similar studies in the US show that 23% of the American chemicals manufacturing workforce will be eligible to retire within ten years. In the oil and gas industry, there is even a name for it: “The Great Crew Change” – the gap where experienced engineers in their 50s and 60s will shortly be retiring and the ones to fill those jobs are in their 20s and 30s.
• Time spent developing people is not as directly beneficial to the company. It takes time for the experienced engineer to impart their knowledge and time for the inexperienced engineer to take it all in, potentially creating a cost/resource issue for the company.
So, when training up a young engineer, leave the analysis and diagnosis to the AI and concentrate on teaching them the human aspects that escape the capabilities of the Fortechnology.thosewho are slightly sceptical of this, consider the advantages of an AI plant monitoring application:
AI plant monitoring won’t take away anyone’s job, but it will allow them to focus on the bits that only humans can do – creatively solving problems, strategizing, understanding problems within the wider contexts of plant reliability and efficiency, economics and risk assessment, and weighing up the benefits and trade-offs of making a particular decision.
How, then, do you solve this problem? The general response is to train up younger engineers so they can capture knowledge from the more experienced engineer. Generally, this is difficult, time consuming and has plenty of problems associated with it:
I was recently talking to a work colleague about how artificial intelligence (AI) is able to continually monitor an entire plant, provide early detection and diagnosis of problems and recommendations to resolve them, and his response was, “we’ve got engineers to do that”. I replied, “and they’re incredibly valuable, aren’t they?!” Every plant has a few of these engineers. Those who, if any problems come up, will dig into the data, review what has been happening, piece all the bits together and diagnose the problem. A lot of them have spent 20, 30, even 40 years understanding the equipment. They have seen most problems before and have a gut instinct for how to solve them. As well as being very valuable, they also tend to be hard to recruit. They often have an eye to retirement and when they do finally exit the industry, a significant amount of experience disappears out of the door.
There’s a wave of smart, tech savvy engineers who are coming through, eager to learn. What they can’t do is develop 30 years of learning and a gut feel in a few years, so we need to be clear about what skills we need them to develop quickly and what can be done by other means, including artificial intelligence.
• Constantly looking at data 24-7, 365 days a year, performing analysis in more detail than a human ever could and does it almost instantaneously. It spots issues months before anyone else would ever notice it.
• It’s always available, even at 3am, identifying an issue before your operators do.
• It learns not just from its own experience, but also systems on similar plants located around the world.
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• Younger engineers may not want to train to do the same job for the next 20 years anymore.
• Never forgets what it has seen and is not unduly biased by memories of the last or most traumatic failure.
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• It will articulate multiple failure mechanisms and provide detailed quantification on the most likely. can manage equipment knowledge transfer and tackle the skills gap
• Based on the domain knowledge of worldclass engineers.
• Never tires or retires, taking knowledge out the door.
In this article, Andrew Normand, UptimeAI partnership lead for Encora Energy, explains why AI can play a major role in tackling the engineering skills gap.
Image: Shutterstock
• Once trained, these young engineers are now valuable and therefore liable to leave for pastures new.
• Multi-discipline – process, mechanical, electrical, instrument and control, all rolled into one.
Humans can’t do this, so let’s focus on what they can do but AI can’t:
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• AI can’t be creative, whereas the engineer can solve the problem in a bespoke way.
A premier power generating company with six units was using preventive maintenance, digital control systems (DCS) alarms, and condition monitoring to identify operational issues. However, the operations team ran into an unexpected generator failure, which led to 45 days of unplanned downtime, causing a loss of US Despite$750,000.reviewing the operational data with the manufacturer and an independent third party, the engineering team could not work out how this happened without any warnings and how they could possibly predict such failures in the future. The challenge was to find a solution to prevent this from happening again. The process The UptimeAI Plant Expert was used in a pilot test. To analyse the generator failure, historical operating data from the generator was loaded into the application. This application is different to traditional solutions, which rely on manual thresholds to identify impending problems. Manual thresholds for generator signals can be set close to trip limits; hence, the reason why they did not catch this failure. On the other hand, if thresholds are set too low, this can cause hundreds of false alarms. Further individual signal limits do not help explain the impact of other parameters such as load on the generator performance. This approach also requires significant upkeep of these rules. Unlike manual threshold-based solutions, UptimeAI combines AI and subject matter knowledge to mimic experts by continuously learning without manual rules and explaining complex issues to help mitigate them. While deep-learning techniques analyse good versus bad behaviour considering all of the operating parameters, built-in fingerprints with failure modes, recommendations and fault-tree analysis enable the AI solution to diagnose and explain the issues. Results
This approach removes the need for retiring engineers to pass on 30-40 years of knowledge to younger engineers who are unlikely to stay as fixed in the industry and allows training to be focused on human skills in a wider context –benefitting both the engineers and the companies that employ them. In short, using AI can free up time for engineers to find real-world, practical solutions to problems, make these engineers so much more valuable to an organisation, save the organisation time and money, and provide a solution to the long-standing engineering skills crisis. Training 31
About the author Andrew Normand is UptimeAI partnership lead for Encora Energy. With more than 15 years’ professional experience and an extensive global background in technical/ management consulting and operationsbased engineering, Andrew is currently driving forward Encora Energy’s roll-out of UptimeAI’s technology in the UK and Europe. Andrew offers in-depth knowledge of the European process industries – particularly the energy, oil, gas, chemicals and power generation sectors – as well as the regulatory environment in the UK and Europe.
Case Study: AI saves power generating company US$750,000
• AI can’t influence and organise, whereas an engineer can unite people behind a Humansolution.skills are important and should not be wasted on the things that AI can do vastly better when applied correctly.
Focusing on these kinds of skills enables you to develop employees so they are useful on a much wider scale. Without worrying about the analytics/diagnosis, everyone can focus on the humandependant aspects of the work and the transfer of skills from one person to This,another.surely, is a better way to help plug skills gaps within the engineering sector, which is widely recognised to be suffering from a long-term skills shortage.
UptimeAI made it easier to predict the impending problem, understand it, and act within minutes without needing to follow any manual rules. Once the issue was detected and understood, the customer realised that maintenance of the equipment could have been scheduled during turnaround or the team could have planned an outage to fix the equipment. As a result, the generator failure could have been avoided, saving US $750,000. Following the pilot, the customer is now deploying predictive maintenance solution for all of the six units.
• AI operates only in a narrow context. Engineers can see the broader context: economics, strategy, market, health and safety impacts, risk judgement.
UptimeAI Plant Expert diagnosed the problem in 30 minutes, identifying six sensor alerts due to missing data, out of range and flatline. Using an anomaly score as an aggregated metric for the health of the system, UptimeAI would have generated an alert ten months ahead of the failure and a second high-priority alert four months ahead of the failure. It would have taken several months for an engineer to detect the same fault – or perhaps it would not have been detected at all. This time could have been better spent by the engineer on understanding what this means in the wider context of operating a power generator in the real world, finding creative solutions to the problem, and getting everyone in the engineering team bought into the solution.
What can we do today to improve the safety of people involved in operational roles to help them make better decisions and assist them in conducting their jobs safely amid the daily grind of an operation?
For all the discussion of zero harm in the mining industry though, one factor remains hard to ignore: While we continue to place people in high-risk environments, we will continue to see safety incidents occur in our industry. It is unrealistic to consider zero harm achievable overnight in an industry as large as mining. Which begs the question, what can we do today to improve the safety of people involved in operational roles to help them make better decisions and assist them in conducting their jobs safely amid the daily grind of an operation?
There is a case to look at the broader spectrum of safety within the industry, including culture and change management, processes and workflows, and the technology at play to assist in continuously improving mine safety. This article will drill down into the latter, exploring sensor technology in particular, and its increasingly important role in helping to make operations’ safety more
Sensors and autonomy Mining technology is evolving rapidly. The last 20 years have seen mining companies embrace technological innovation to
www.hazardex-event.co.ukSensing an improvement in mining safety and productivity Sensor technology has proved to be invaluable in helping to reduce the risk of accidents in busy mines
The mining industry contributes significantly to the global economy in countless ways and plays a pivotal part in our everyday lives. We are constantly looking at ways to mine more efficiently, lower our costs to be more profitable and drive environmental and social responsibility. Most importantly though, the industry strives to be safer by reducing safety incidents. Most, if not all companies target zero harm. And in countries like South Africa, for example, the principle has been codified in the CEO Zero Harm Forum to galvanise stakeholders across mines and government. The initiative has succeeded in reducing fatalities by 88% since 1993 and occupational health-related deaths have also been reduced.
It’ssustainable.thistechnology which will be essential to ensuring zero harm. Culture and processes will see it adopted effectively.
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improve productivity and safety. The two can go hand in hand, if treated right.
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Accelerating technology adoption is the advent of automation, but automation technology pieces need not be just for Ifautomation.webreakdown the technology stack for an autonomous vehicle, for example, it is interesting to see what each of the technologies are and how can they be used or leveraged in a non-autonomous Aoperation.goodplace to start is EMESRT, (Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table) a global initiative involving major mining companies. EMESRT engages with key mining industry Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to advance the design of the equipment to improve safe operability and maintainability. The group has been integral to categorising levels of control for vehicle interaction risks, guiding how these risks can be managed from technology design to implementation. While these measures have helped operators to take better decisions and avoid accidents, they have also accelerated the use of technology to semi-autonomously intervene in certain risk situations, removing the human factor. Levels 7 to 9 on safety illustrate technology’s evolution in the last five to 10 years. Thanks to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and the variety of sensors becoming available, mines can now select a wide range of solutions to address the main control scenarios proposed by BeforeEMESRT.we proceed, let’s define the word According‘sensor’. to Wikipedia, “In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information to other electronics, frequently a computer Inprocessor”.themining environment, we know that change is constant. Let’s explore some of the sensors enabling the mining industry to improve its safety practices. Global Positioning System, aka GPS GPS or Global Positioning System enables operations to track the velocity, point in time and location (latitude, longitude and elevation) of our assets. Understanding the location of our assets, humans included, in an operation is vital to how we proactively manage a site during normal work conditions, but especially in times of an Foremergency.vehiclesafety, when a GPS is fused with an IMU, (inertial measurement unit) we can obtain a clearer indication of the attitude of the vehicle, allowing us to project trajectory and time of arrival, manage traffic and understand where and when vehicles are likely to intersect. This greatly assists in developing collision avoidance technology, which can lead to a reduction in vehicle-to-vehicle incidents.
Increasingly,areas. advanced technology is connecting sensors for safety and productivity solutions. Technology vendors and solution providers are working together to improve the decision-making process and the workflows of multiple solutions across the safety and production ACEspectrum.sees one solution in a specific process connecting automatically to a notification or an action in another solution, thus improving safety and/ or productivity. For example, a collision avoidance system connects to a slope monitoring system, thus alerting the
Cameras Cameras provide context to the mining environment and can complete the picture when other sensors are leveraged. They can be used in the playback and training of operators. In real time, cameras paired with AI can provide the industry with even safer operations by analysing driving behaviours and facial expressions, automatically detecting fatigue or distraction. This is proving to be a lifesaving technology in many operations worldwide. LiDar Light Detection and Ranging, better known as LiDar, is essentially a sonar that uses pulsed laser waves to map the distance to surrounding objects. The main benefit of LiDar is its accuracy, allowing vehicles to image and calculate at ranges of up to 60m at a few centimetres accuracy. Another benefit is the ability to leverage the data captured from the LiDar system and use it in other downstream processes. Sensor fusion While each of these sensors provides significant value to the end user in the mining operation, the real power comes when we can fuse the various outputs together, leveraging each of their strengths and adopting different technologies to hide their weaknesses. By combining GPS, LiDar, cameras and radar, a solution gains complete situational awareness in the majority of environments. To achieve this, there needs to be an enormous amount of processing power, in-depth knowledge of the core technology stacks and clearly defined outcomes of what is being sought. Autonomous Connected Ecosystems, aka ACE By autonomous connected ecosystem, we mean a series of interconnected technologies enabling an autonomous operation. For example, an autonomous load and haul ecosystem comprises autonomous, semi-autonomous, and manned haul trucks, loading units, auxiliary equipment, light vehicles, people, haulage network, loading and dumping
Radars 4D imaging radar uses echolocation and the principle of time-of-flight measurement to find things in its environment. The big bonus of radar is its ability to work in mining’s harsh conditions, including dust, rain, snow and darkness. 4D imaging radar can tell when a vehicle is moving and at what speed. The major difference from LiDar is the radar’s ability to sense at greater ranges, up to 300m, which is essential in a moving environment.
operator to both the risk of a vehicle incident and the threat of imminent slope failure. In either case, the operator is empowered to act. Using data from multiple sensors and modularising solutions is increasingly leading towards simple and consolidated hardware architecture, sometimes known as the Smart Device Ecosystem (SDE). Installed in vehicles, an SDE means one set of components to deliver multiple solutions. For example, in the same antenna, computing box, perception sensors and display, a mine could deploy multiple solutions for fleet management, collision awareness and avoidance, spotting assist, fatigue management, machine control and machine and asset health. Not only can all of this be confined to a single unit, decluttering the cabin, but it also reduces maintenance and capex investment.
d. Near real-time volumetric change measurement feedback using on-board vehicles’ LiDar and radar sensors to compare material moment traceability and minimise the consolidation time of production target vs. plan Conclusion By exploring the evolution of change and innovation, we can see how sensor technology has improved safety and productivity today and where future improvements lie. An important technology step was the evolution from data collection tools to provide information for mine operators’ decision-making to automating the decision-making process within FMS and safety solutions. This has helped to optimise productive material movement in real time without human intervention Interoperability spanning solutions such as safety, mine design and automation across multiple technology providers makes it possible to automate machines and also processes based on real-time decisions to take the right action to optimise productivity and improve safety.
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a. Slope deformation alerts in real time to vehicles equipped with any on-board solution, such as a fleet management system (FMS) or collision avoidance system b.(CAS)Automatic blast pattern synchronised in date and time of blast to prevent and know in real time if vehicles are occupied during blast times
c. Interoperable FMS, CAS and sensors provide real-time decision actions to autonomous vehicles
The SDE approach takes the use of sensors one step beyond the vehicle ecosystem, incorporating overall in-pit and pit-to-port ecosystems in the following ways:
is Chief Technology Officer at Hexagon, a provider of sensor, software, and autonomous solutions. As CTO of Hexagon’s Mining division, Rob oversees all technology and innovation teams and brings more than 15 years’ experience in the mining industry. He provides clients with efficient, reliable, and effective solutions that meet the current and future challenges of mining operators across the globe. He is passionate about working with clients to achieve operational excellence – all underpinned by his strong analytical, practical, and methodical approach to solving problems, combined with strong communication skills and industry experience.
RobAboutwww.hazardexonthenet.nettheauthorDaw
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A Smart Device Ecosystem means one set of components to deliver multiple solutions such as fleet management, collision awareness and avoidance, spotting assist, fatigue management, machine control and machine and asset health Technology used to develop FMS and other solutions generated huge amounts of data, which created the challenge of distilling the right information for mine operators. This led to the development of data visualisation and analysis tools that from a single source of truth provide the right information, in the right format for the life-of-mine. For example, from the health of machines, such as current engine status, or hydraulic errors and what action to take; to making the right decision to optimise assets’ availability and reliability. Improved reliability allows supervisors to use this information optimally to meet productivity goals while distilling the maximum possible value of assets Some examples of these practices distilled from the use of FMS and other solutions, such as health and safety: a. Reduced costs by minimising the number of vehicles required for the same production goals b. Improved productivity by adding extra available time per vehicle by optimising c.reliabilityReduced costs and improved productivity by reducing downtimes and better cycle times with driver awareness and accident prevention.
Civic and legal responsibility to measure site emissions is backed by legislation and governing authorities. In the UK, sites will need to comply with their section 61 notices. These are a proactive measure that can save a contractor or developer time and money, improve environmental performance and prevent prosecution by keeping sites compliant with law and legislation. Site monitoring must be recorded and reported on, and action taken if limits are exceeded – sites must be able to evidence compliance and maintain their reputations, and local communities must be considered. Alongside the human cost to health, fines of up to £20,000
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Site boundary or ‘fence line’ monitoring is used widely on construction sites and other highrisk locations including demolition projects - Image: Shutterstock
Local environmental health bodies will require work sites to prove their regulatory and legal compliance through accurate reporting and data sets for given hazards over specific time periods. Site-wide compliance is vital across the construction and demolition industries.
compliant with boundary monitoring
Alistair Hookway, Editor of Hazardex, talks to Tim Turney, Global Marketing Manager at occupational health and workplace hazard monitoring expert Casella, about the use of boundary monitoring to identify potential hazards, ensure compliance and protect workers from health Whatrisks.issite boundary monitoring, and where is it used? Site boundary or ‘fence line’ monitoring is used widely on construction sites and other high-risk locations including demolition projects, mines and quarries and environmental remediation sites. Boundary monitoring units are set up on the exterior perimeter of the worksite to monitor for potential hazards that might cause compliance issues for the site or present health risks to workers and site neighbours. It’s an essential part of the safety and risk management ecosystem of these sites, and helps control and mitigate potential environmental, health, and reputational risks. What hazards can be monitored for? Hazards that are typically monitored for include excess levels of dust, noise, vibration and, in some cases, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Volatile organic compounds include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have shortand long-term adverse health effects, and if these are present on a site or work their way into soil or groundwater they can present a hazard to future development or remediation of a work site or property. Why is site boundary monitoring important? There are two main aspects to this –health and compliance. From a compliance point of view, there are stringent legal and environmental controls surrounding levels of noise, dust and vibration that construction projects cannot exceed.
What are some important factors to consider when purchasing a boundary monitor? Site managers are of course busy people, so as little manual maintenance of environmental monitors is key. Having a single unit that can measure parameters such as noise, dust and vibration (plus others) means only one unit to install, and one set of software with which to interact and learn, making the process easier and saving time. Once units are installed at a site boundary, they need very little interaction – ‘set it and forget it’, as the phrase goes. They enact monitoring 24/7 without input, running either from mains, battery, or even solar powered Usersconfigurations.canthen receive automatically generated, customised reports to a set schedule, or when specific emissions limits are reached, preventing issues with surrounding residents and subsequent complaints to authorities. Limits can be used to trigger preventative measures such as dust suppression. Managers only need to check a single unit or combined data report, a more efficient method than checking multiple monitors and data sources. Alerts can be sent instantly via text, allowing sites to monitor levels around the clock and react quickly to reduce levels of dust or noise that exceed set limits and mitigate potential negative outcomes, and give site managers a reliable data source that can be accessed any time. Daily, weekly, or monthly reports can be sent directly to an email inbox in graphical or tablature format and can even be supplied directly to local authority or environmental organisations – getting ahead of potential site-visits from inspectors. These remote reports allow managers to check data streams across multiple units and multiple sites remotely, reducing physical time spent on site. By being able to provide data in email/file formats to environmental and local authority inspectors directly, this also reduces the time having to spend managing data and ensures environmental incidents are prevented, and data is reported in a timely manner.
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About the interviewee Tim Turney is Global Marketing Manager at Casella and graduated as an engineer from Queen Mary and Westfield in London. Since starting at Casella in 1998, Tim has been involved in the acoustics and air sampling industry, specialising in measurement and instrumentation technologies.
Hazards that are typically monitored for include excess levels of dust, noise, vibration and, in some cases, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)Image: Shutterstock
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($30,000) per violation are possible if preventable noise and dust exceed agreed emissions levels, not to mention the long-term potential costs of a damaged business reputation. What kinds of boundary monitoring equipment are available? There are a variety of different solutions available for site boundary monitoring. Many are dedicated to specific individual hazards, including dedicated dust, noise or vibration monitoring systems. While a variety of different monitoring solutions can be employed and combined to give a full picture of site emissions and risks, increasingly project managers and occupational hygienists are turning to combined solutions. These combined monitoring solutions bring together several real-time hazard monitoring devices in one enclosure, which can be easily installed at the edge of a site and, once powered, require minimal further interaction. Data capture continues seamlessly, and reporting can be entirely customised to suit the needs of the end user. These units can be easily relocated as site boundaries change or redeployed to new projects. Having a constant source of monitoring data gives projects a safety net in terms of accountability. Data is always on hand to prove that sites have been compliant, and give a full and accurate picture of the site’s potential emissions.
The 2021 Hazardex Awards for Excellence, to stage on the evening of October 6th in Harrogate, UK, will include six categories for which nominations are now open!
The Hazardex awards programme has long been a benchmark for those supplying products, services and systems within hazardous areas. You can play your part in raising awareness and standards across the sector by nominating for the Hazardex 2021 awards, entering your vote and encouraging your colleagues to do likewise.
The deadline for nominations is August 6
20216th & 7th October • Harrogate • Yorkshire • UK Exhibitor & Sponsor packages now available for Hazardex & PPTex 2021contact us for Awardsdetailsnominations open for Hazardex 2021,
Entry is free, and this is the ideal opportunity to reward those companies and individuals you think most deserve recognition for the most innovative products, systems and services. The deadline for nominations is August 6 after which Hazardex readers and website users will be asked to vote for the winners in each category.
To nominate, visit our website: www.hazarex-event.co.uk
H ow we can help • Information at a glance • Keep track of current and up and coming projects easily • Improve your departments performance • Manage resources more efficiently • Standard or tailor made teltel 01732 871 41701732 417 wwebeb wwwww.tcardsdirect.comw.tcardsdirect.com PERSON TAK NG RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACT ON NEAR MISS / AHAZARD CTIONEST MATED COMPLETION DDATE ETAIL OF ACTION TAKEN DATE WORK REQUEST No ( F APPL CABLE) CONFIRM FEEDBACK PROV DED TO EMPLOYEE YES CONFIRM ACT ON AS COMPLETED AND C T ME A proven management tool to help keep track, allocate and improve efficiency Spe cial Offer System only £9 5.00 inc 200 T Cards + P&P and VAT • RMaintenanceequests • IContinuousmprovement • Staff In/out • Weekly Planners PLANT NAME REF LOCAT ON BR EF DESCR PT ON OF NEAR MISS HAZARD DATE REPORTED BY SUGGEST ONS FOR IMPROVEMENT TIME SH FT A CRITICAL B MAJOR C MINOR NEAR MISS: LIKEL HOOD OF FATAL TY LOSS OF BODY PART OR S GN FICANT LOSS OF STRUCTURE EQU PMENT/MATER LAL KELIHOOD OF SER OUS NJURY DAMAGE LLOSS) IKEL HOOD OF M NOR NJURY DAMAGE ALOSS) N EVENT W TH POTENT AL TO HAVE RESULTED N NJURY DAMAGE OR LOSS T C d e T 01732 87 417 R O de R 3 407 4 NEAR MISS / RHAZARD EPORT A B C P0003 LANT NAME REF LOCATION BR EF DESCRIPTION OF NEAR M SS / HAZARD DATE REPORTED BY SUGGEST ONS FOR MPROVEMENT TIME SHIFT A CRITICAL B MAJOR C MINOR NEAR MISS: (L KEL HOOD OF FATALITY LOSS OF BODY PART OR S GN FICANT LOSS OF STRUCTURE/EQU PMENT/MATER AL (LIKEL HOOD OF SER OUS INJURY/DAMAGE LOSS) (L KEL HOOD OF MINOR NJURY DAMAGE LOSS) AN EVENT WITH POTENTIAL TO HAVE RESULTED N NJURY DAMAGE OR LOSS T Ca d D e t Te 01732 87141 Re O d Re 13 407 4 NEAR MISS / HAZARD REPORT A B C 0002 PLANT NAME REF LOCATION BRIEF DESCRIPT ON OF NEAR MISS / HAZARD DATE REPORTED BY SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT TIME SHIFT A CRITICAL B MAJOR C = MINOR NEAR MISS: (LIKELIHOOD OF FATAL TY LOSS OF BODY PART OR SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF STRUCTURE/EQUIPMENT MATER AL (L KEL HOOD OF SERIOUS INJURY/DAMAGE/LOSS) (LIKELIHOOD OF MINOR INJURY/DAMAGE/LOSS) AN EVENT WITH POTENT ALTO HAVE RESULTED IN INJURY DAMAGE OR LOSS T Ca ds D e Te 01732 871417 R O de Ref 13 407 4 NEAR MISS / HAZARD REPORT A B 0C 001 Other Standard boards include: 11605 Near Miss A5 2pp Leaflet F_Layout 1 15/02/2012 15:27 Page 1 Media Partner Supporting OrganisationsContact us for 2021 participation information now! Email:Tel:hazardex@imlgroup.co.uk+44(0)1732359990 www.hazardex-event.co.uk www.hazardexonthenet.net Conference • Workshops • Exhibition • Awards Programme
The Awards evening will take place during the annual Hazardex International Conference and Exhibition, which is widely recognised as the most important global event specific to hazardous area operations across all major industries. The event brings together the international process safety community to review best practice and the latest research in those areas key to managing process safety effectively.
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Dropped Object (Drops) risks are an area of particular concern in any period of stopstart activity and industry leaders need to recognise this threat in order to bring power generation through the global crisis without compromising on safety.
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The majority of the world’s electricity generation takes place within traditional power plants, encompassing oil and gas fired plants, coal and nuclear.
With hundreds of thousands of people working at these plants worldwide, it is vital that safety remains a priority. The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that the levels of personnel on-site are being kept to a minimum, with non-essential operations paused. This will inevitably be followed by a spike in activity once lockdown restrictions have eased, posing a potential hazard –especially since key maintenance work and inspections have been postponed.
Power generation and Drops Prevention A key characteristic of operations and maintenance (O&M) in power gen is its cyclical nature. Activity often comes in waves, so large numbers of specialist technicians will be deployed simultaneously. This commonly involves personnel working across multiple levels, including working at height with critical infrastructure nearby.
In situations like this, a dropped tool or falling fixture could have catastrophic consequences, damaging regionally or even nationally important electricity generation assets. This could even lead to explosions if highly pressurised and extremely hot components such as boilers are ruptured by a Drops incident. In circumstances like this, there can often be a domino effect where minor incidents lead to more serious events.
The scale of these facilities poses additional challenges, as the number of personnel and fixtures is accordingly large – increasing the potential for an incident.
Image: Shutterstock Occupational Safety 39
Power generation, Covid-19, and dropped object prevention
www.hazardex-event.co.ukOccupationalSafety40 Image: Shutterstock
Drops at Power Generation sites can be ‘static’, where fixtures fall without the application of external force, or ‘dynamic’, where external force causes an object to become dislodged from its securing point and fall down. While ‘static’ Drops can be caused by corrosion, ‘dynamic’ drops can occur during lifting operations, personnel dropping equipment, and vibration. Vibration can be intense in certain types of power plants, such as reciprocating engine facilities, but are a factor in all plants with significant rotating machinery. Drops incidents pose a fourfold risk to personnel, assets, finances and reputation. Injuries to workers caused by falling objects can cost hundreds of thousands in compensation and legal costs. Incidents which cause severe injury or death can make national news, tarnishing the reputation of companies which fail to mitigate Drops risks effectively. Additionally, asset damage will not only incur costs related to repairs replacements,and but also the huge costs of downtime while repairs take place. Power gen companies will also garner negative public perceptions from any blackouts caused by avoidable asset damage.
The problem is made worse by the aging assets at many facilities. With investment in traditional power plants increasingly hard to secure, the focus is shifting to life extension rather than building new facilities, and while critical infrastructure will be updated as a matter of course, smaller equipment may be overlooked. The danger of lights, cameras, speakers and similar objects becoming Drops increases with time, turning fittings and equipment into hazards. Upgrading and retrofitting existing plants also increases the volume of maintenance work, exposing greater numbers of personnel to risk.
The problem is most acute in developed economies, where traditional power gen is increasingly side-lined in favour of new energy forms – but is still often projected to remain the largest source of energy for some years to come. As gas plants move into a more flexible, supporting role, they will see a shift to more intermittent operations. This makes the implementation of robust Drops prevention programmes more vital than ever if the facilities are to remain viable.
Variable temperatures, especially in gas plants, will become more of a factor during intermittent operations. Owner-operators must ensure that the equipment and structures in every plant are able to handle this.
Tethering solutions wrap around an object and are secured to the worker, ensuring that tools, such as communications devices, spray canisters and measuring equipment will not fall if dropped or knocked - Image: Dropsafe
When choosing Drops solutions for their plants, there are several considerations which owner-operators must take into account when planning a comprehensive Drops mitigation strategy. One key factor is that solutions must be able to stand up to a range of temperatures. The heat given out at certain locations within plants, such as near furnaces and pipes necessitates that robust solutions are installed, rated for high temperatures and are able to deal with temperature variance. Drops prevention solutions must also be easy to install. The cost benefits from a tool free, low labour installation are a strong enough incentive for this – but as ever, versatile, but avoids the expensive shut
Safety solutions and longterm opportunities
To avoid lights, speakers and pipes and similar equipment from falling from their positions, a secondary retention solution should be installed, enclosing vulnerable objects and securing onto a strong structural attachment point. Some companies may be tempted to cut initial expenditure by choosing cheap wire slings, or makeshift nets and chains. However, best practice dictates a high-quality steel wire mesh net, with a carabiner to provide an extra layer of security. In the long-term, more durable solutions such as this will prove more cost effective – similar to barriers.
Finally, personnel must be trained and equipped with tethering solutions. These wrap around the object in question and are secured to the worker, ensuring that tools such as communications devices, spray canisters and measuring equipment will not fall if dropped or knocked while working from height; even a tape measure dropped from height can strike with deadly force.
installed. The long-term cost effectiveness and safety of these solutions are often in harmony, with the most durable and longlasting solutions requiring less maintenance and less frequent replacement.
Occupational Safety 41
This type of incident is underreported due to near misses not being logged – but
The value of existing power gen assets is enormous, so owner-operators must take all necessary steps to ensure that costs are driven down without making compromises on safety. By using the latest advancements in Drops prevention technology, and ensuring that Drops best practice is consistently applied, the industry can secure their continued operation for the future.
Originally, enough of the barrier was purchased to safeguard two out of a total of eight boilers on site. Following the success of this initial installation, the barrier has now been extensively installed and rolled out across the whole facility. The flexibility of this installation would be difficult to achieve if hot works had been necessary, due to the extra HSE requirements and sign offs entailed. The furnaces at the facility are combined with a boiler each, and are on a rolling maintenance programme, which sees no more than two shut down at any one time in order to maintain consistent production. This initially meant that a dynamic product was required, as the barrier was moved to keep pace with the rolling changes. The potential proximity to the furnaces – where significant heat is generated – meant that a product with sufficient heat resistance was required, with a high threshold for thermal softening and degradation. A robust Barrier system should be able to withstand temperatures of up to 80°C if it is to be deployed in the vicinity of industrial furnaces. High thermal cycling performance to account for temperature fluctuations is also a factor in power gen applications.
Occupational Safety42
The power gen industry is at a critical juncture in its history. The Covid-19 crisis has reduced many activities at power facilities around the world to the operational essentials. The volatility in oil and gas price will deepen the effect of this. Power prices will rise in the coming months, however, as lockdowns ease off, necessitating an increase in personnel onsite. Adoption of the latest Drops prevention solutions will help to insulate power gen from these challenges when activity levels increase – and may save lives.
Case Study: Drops prevention at a major power facility in Asia-Pacific
The way forward for power generation
Traditional power generation facilities are often very large, to capture economies of scale. Operators of these large facilities will therefore expect to see high levels of cost-effectiveness in their HSE procurement, due to the volume of products required. A bespoke, flexible installation such as the one Dropsafe conducted for this power generation operator is a sure-fire way to make sure that facility operators see the maximum value from their investment while enhancing safety. To further meet the requirements of the client, Dropsafe manufactured a customised toe board for the barrier, which helped to ensure that the installation of the solution was tailored for the power stations involved – increasing the effectiveness of the solution while further reducing installation costs. The volume of the order ensured that this was a costeffective step, necessary to maximise the safety of the facilities.
A leading energy operator undertook a major installation of the Dropsafe Barrier at a large power station in Hong Kong. The system was installed to mitigate Drops risks during essential maintenance operations – with technicians working at height to conduct vital inspections and repairs on furnaces and boilers.
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The case study highlights that in power gen, a quick installation requiring minimal tools is essential due to the size of the plants involved – reducing the time and resources needed to ensure the safety of technicians. The universal attachment system on the Barriers was a crucial factor in ease of the installation, adding an extra level of versatility and significantly reducing training costs.
About the author Mike Rice is Commercial Director of Dropsafe, the dropped object specialist. He was previously involved in a road bike and water sports company and before that worked for two fitness, health and safety concerns. A barrier solution helps avoid tools and equipment from being knocked off walkways - Image: Dropsafe
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Amphenol Industrial Operations has enhanced its Max-M12 productThis makes the use in gas /vapor zone 2 hazardous (zone be installed by the end-user themselves. regulations is achieved by modification of the safe electrical circuit, which the hazardous All features of face scanner can be safely pro max) comes with a black case is Beside safe use phone extraction sites. Atexxo Manufacturing is market leading in the field of user friendly and easy to install explosion proof equipment.
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The ATEX Vortex A/C Enclosure Cooler is certified for ATEX Zones 2 and 22 with a T4 temperature rating. The units operate in environments up to 80°C and are designed to cool enclosures quietly with their 62 dBA sound level, rather than adding to industrial noise. The unit is built to ensure no ambient, dirty, or humid air enters the cabinet. A mechanical thermostat turns the unit on only when necessary, optimizing performance and operating costs. All Vortex A/C models have a small footprint that easily mounts on any enclosure and in confined spaces.
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The InstMC Ex-SIG won the Best User Application award at the Hazardex 2020 Awards for Excellence, which took place at the Hazardex Conference & Exhibition in Harrogate, UK on February
For more information or custom solutions please our department or visit our website www.atexxo.com Zone 2 iPhone 11 (Pro Max) – Increased Intrinsically Safe Apple Smartphone MeasurementAtmospheresand(Ex-SIG)aimsandsupportdevelopmentin the range of activities group is producing to help inform These are the SIG before available. An example is included on
TrainingTraining enquiries@trant.co.uk+44SouthamptonSO409AH(0)2380665544trant.co.uk Buyers Guide and Datafiles 51 Heaters Control PanelsTraining Control Panels AUTOMATION CONTROL & TECHNOLOGY enquiries@trant.co.uk+44SouthamptonSO409AH(0)2380665544trant.co.uk Your Total Solutions Provider Specialists in design and custom build of a wide range of Hazardous Area Equipment Registered OEM for Technor Marechal Heaters The EVL series of LED lighting fixtures, launched by Cortem Group in 2015 and available in four sizes, has been innovated and enhanced to offer an even safer and more performing product. • New “Ex op is” certificate • New multi-LED plate • New range of the ambient temperature to -40°C + 60°C and temperature classes colder (T5) with gas group IIB+H2 and IIC • New supply voltages range from 12 to 277V • New powers available start from 20W up to 220W, with steps of 10W and 20W • Different lumen outputs ranging from a minimum of 1,700lm to a maximum of 21,000lm • Transportable version with electronic driver and a model specifically designed for a rapid and a timely replacement of the old generation discharge lighting fixtures installed directly on a pole. www.cortemgroup.com info@cortemgroup.com The EVL series lighting fixtures innovated and enhanced Data files To advertise in the Product Datafiles or Buyers Guide con Kathryn Startin +44 (0)1732 359990 kathryn.startin@imlgroup.co.uk Data Files/Buyers Guide 27 Manufacturing, the Netherlands. The Apple iPhone 11 in hazardous locations. The explosion proof manufactured by Apple than converted and certified directives by Atexxo Manufacturing. This makes the use in gas /vapor zone 2 hazardous areas. (zone be installed by the end-user themselves. regulations is achieved by modification of the intrinsically safe electrical circuit, which makes the hazardous locations. All features of the original face scanner can be used safely at hazardous pro max) comes with a black case finish and is versions. Beside safe use as a phone all versions intrinsically safe camera or RFID scanner. •Features:Explosion safety level: II 3G ; Ex ec ic IIC T4 Gc Charger 110-240VAC Charger Applications:50/60HzHazardous material storage, petro chemical plants and oil and gas extraction sites. Atexxo Manufacturing is market leading in the field of user friendly and easy to install explosion proof For more information or custom solutions please contact our sales department or visit our website www.atexxo.com ATEX Zone 2 iPhone 11 (Pro Max) – Increased Intrinsically Safe Apple Smartphone MeasurementAtmospheresand(Ex-SIG)aimsandsupportdevelopmentin the range of activities group is producing to help inform These are first the SIG before available. An example is included on
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1642 bookings@roxby.com438700www.roxby.comFurther Accredited Courses HealthMechanicalInstrumentationElectricalin:&Safety
areas.
ATEX
The Institute has a range of Special Interest Groups, which members of the Institute can join for free as a membership benefit, including: Explosive Atmospheres Functional Safety • Flow • Cybersecurity • Digital Transformation Measurement FurtherStandardsdetailsmay be found at the Institute’s website Control Ex Special Interest Group
The InstMC Ex-SIG won the Best User Application award at the Hazardex 2020 Awards for Excellence, which took place at the Hazardex Conference & Exhibition in Harrogate, UK on February 26. The Hazardex awards are designed to recognise excellence in the hazardous area sector and has become the benchmark for those supplying products, services and systems. More details can be found at www.hazardex-event.co.uk.
Following complex product development Mobexx is excited to announce release of the XCZ1-iPhone. This revolutionary product is compatible with iPhone XR/11/12/12 Pro and maintains all functions of the iPhone whilst adding ATEX/IECEx Zone 1 Certification, extreme robustness, durability and IP64 sealing. Built with aluminium and toughened glass, Mobexx manufacturing partner Xciel has worked closely with Intertek to ensure the XCZ1-iPhone meets or exceeds all ATEX and IECEx certificationXCZ1-iPhonerequirements.offersorganisations that have standardised on IOS products an easy solution to implement iPhones where Zone 1 certification is required. The iPhone is unmodified so maintains full Apple warranties and the protection is provided by the flameproof XCZ1-iPhone case.
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Automation and process technology in a single system: with PC-based Control
www.beckhoff.com/process
With a comprehensive range of components for explosion protection and the common interfaces in TwinCAT, Beckhoff offers the possibility to integrate automation and process technology in a system without barriers into Zone 0/20. The range extends from the narrow, intrinsically safe EtherCAT Terminals from the ELX series and the high-grade Control Panels and Panel PCs from the CPX series through to EtherCAT, the fast process technology fieldbus, and the TwinCAT control software with specific process technology interfaces. This allows users to directly connect intrinsically safe field devices and to realise integrated control architectures with barrier-free process technology.
TwinCAT 3: with process technology interfaces Complete EX range: from Panels and Panel PCs to the I/Os
PI11-01E
