The impact of Covid19 is clear for all to see – escalating death tolls, Governments across the world striving to protect their populations and to keep their respective economies functioning against a background of considerable uncertainty.

“This is a heady cocktail. With already one year of controls and challenges across the business spectrum and with no clear end in sight, we also find the British terror threat is now at the severe level,” says Nick Hart, managing director, Hart Door Systems. “Prudent businesses should therefore be considering a review of security issues across their property portfolios as a matter of urgency.”

Rapid water jetting innovation has provided opportunities to operate at higher pressures and in different ways, widening the applications for jetting technology.

This has transformed the ability to clean, prepare and defoul many structures. Since the 1970s, jetting pressures have risen from 8,000psi (550bar) to 60,000psi (4,138bar).

New jetting systems have broadened applications across surface preparation, material cutting and hydrodemolition. Yet bigger is not always better, says Billy Campbell, who has more than 40 years in the water jetting industry.

The Water Jetting Association has extended certification for its safety awareness training course until the end of March 2021 to assist contractors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

High pressure water jetting contractors and users that want to take advantage of the extension must notify the Water Jetting Association (WJA) through their approved training provider.

The WJA requires all water jetting operatives to take its City & Guilds accredited safety awareness course every three years to refresh skills and maintain standards.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is expanding its sealing portfolio for hygienic systems in the process industry to include two new products: Hygienic Forseal and Hygienic Pressure Seal. Both are specially developed for food applications that experience high pressures and temperatures. The unique combination of high-performance elastomers (EPDM or Fluoroprene® XP) and premium PTFE materials (Quantum®) also makes the seals resistant to a wide range of aggressive media. 

Power management company Eaton today announced the production launch of its SBX advanced steering valve, a fail-operational steer-by-wire valve for off-highway machinery. The compact, modular SBX valve increases machine flexibility and intelligence by enabling machine designers to tailor steering performance to the operator’s preferences and operating conditions.

The SBX advanced steering valve was designed for use in a fully electronically controlled steer-by-wire system. Fail-operational functionality is achieved by mounting the SBX valve to a secondary electrohydraulic valve or manifold. Because there’s no hydraulic connection to the cab, the valve can be remotely mounted, allowing for more flexible machine design and reduced cab noise. The valve can be paired with the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM’s) machine control system or with an Eaton controller, further increasing design flexibility.

There’s one thing that Professional Tradesmen and Women can’t do without if they want to get their jobs done properly – Healthy Hands! 

So take good care of your most important tools and choose a pair that’s right for your work to ensure the ultimate in dexterity, durability, comfort and protection. The Newest designs offer high ‘cut protection’ plus wind and waterproof styles.

Modulift’s team of in-house experts designed, manufactured and delivered two custom lifting frames for the High Speed 2 (HS2) project, all within 6 weeks from the initial contact.

The infrastructure project, which is currently the largest in Europe, will provide a welcome boost to the economy with an estimated budget of £106bn. As well as providing faster rail links, with trains reaching speeds of up to 250mph, the Dept of Transport forecast that there will be 2,000 apprenticeships and 25,000 people employed across the project.

Modulift’s team of engineers were asked to provide a custom lifting solution that would lift high speed railcar panels with a lifting capacity of 25t, in two separate locations. The first lifting frame is being used at Southampton Docks, where headroom isn’t an issue. Whilst the second custom lifting frame is at DB Schenkers Immingham warehouse facility, where a low height solution is required.

Equipment produced by Sheffield-based rail depot maintenance specialist, Mechan, is set to improve servicing times in the South West, increasing passenger capacity. 

The bespoke manufacturer has developed a set of 12 lifting jacks and two turntables for a new maintenance facility being built at Exeter’s Old Views depot in Devon. 

The three-road construction with carriage wash is located on a brownfield site, adjacent to the existing depot and St David’s station. It will enhance operational and maintenance capacity, helping to service the new and updated trains being introduced to the region, providing additional seats and more frequent services. 

The idea is as ingenious as it is unique and has the potential to become a global role model: the Bunhill Heat and Power Network (BHPN) project in central London. By using waste heat from the London Underground network, 1,350 homes, a school and two leisure centers in Islington are now heated and supplied with hot water as part of the council’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and achieve CO2 neutrality by 2030.

In partnership with main contractors Colloide Engineering Systems, global technology specialist GEA supplied a purpose built heat pump solution for this flagship project, the first of its kind in the world. Bunhill 2 Energy Centre represents a real blueprint for the use of waste heat from public facilities, taking advantage of state-of-the-art technology on the site of the former City Road London Underground station which was decommissioned almost 100 years ago. The remains of the station have now been converted into a huge underground air extraction system that draws warm air from the tunnels underneath, still used by the London Underground’s Northern Line.

Chris Evans – Marketing and Operations Group Manager at Mitsubishi Electric UK looks at the effect the pandemic could have on the future adoption of automation in manufacturing within SMEs.

A catalyst for digital transformation

It is poignant to recall that at the time the world went into meltdown, industry in general was still riding the Industry 4.0 wave and looking forward to following a collective journey towards digitalisation and smart manufacturing. The global pandemic certainly put the brakes on that but what will happen when we emerge on the other side of this crisis?