CRS Specialties Inc., a Welland, Ont., manufacturer of rebar bending equipment, was fined $55,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a student—working there as a co-operative education placement—was injured. A further fine of $4,000 was imposed on a supervisor for a similar violation of the act during the investigation of the incident.

On Mar. 23, 2011, at the company's Welland workplace, the student was taking apart a fan and washing it in a Varsol bath. When finished, the student was told to start a welding task. When beginning the task, the young worker was wearing a polyester-blend sweatshirt over overalls. Polyester materials are susceptible to ignition and should not be worn while welding. The student was not supplied with a welding jacket, welding sleeves, neck shroud or flame-retardant clothing. The supervisor did not intervene to make sure the student removed the sweatshirt and had sufficient apparel to prevent injury.

While the student was welding, the sweatshirt ignited and caught fire. The student suffered second degree burns.

Later, on Mar. 28, 2011, while the Ministry of Labour was investigating that incident, an inspector saw another worker in the same workplace not wearing apparel sufficient to prevent injury while welding. The worker was wearing a polyester-blend sweatshirt and only one welding sleeve.

CRS Specialties Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a competent person was appointed as supervisor.

Supervisor Chad Corriveau pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a worker was wearing apparel sufficient to protect the worker from injury while welding.

The fines were imposed by Justice of the Peace B. Phillips. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Rittal’s newly redesigned rain hoods allow for the of low cost fan cooling in any environment including harsh chemical and wash-down locations.  Rittal’s fan & filter rain hoods are available in powder coated carbon steel offering NEMA 3R and NEMA 4 protection.  The powder coated versions are RAL 7035 (light grey) blending in with colour and texture of Rittal’s line of industrial enclosures. 

The stainless steel version offers NEMA 4X protection. The surface of the rain hood is a #4 brushed surface matching the surface of Rittal’s stainless steel enclosures.

Rittal’s new Top Therm fans and filters provide CSA certified NEMA 12 protection right out of the box.  With the addition of a standard fan & filter rain hood this high level of standard protection can be increased to NEMA 3R, 4 or 4X.  The fan & filter rain hoods install over top of the standard Top Therm fan and filter units and can be easily done as a field retrofit. Installation is a simple matter of drilling 4 holes and fastening the hood’s mounting bracket to the side of the enclosure.  The hood slides over and clips in to the mounting bracket.  The blue silicon gasket makes a tight seal with the surface of the enclosure to maintain the required NEMA protection level.  Be it NEMA 3R, 4 or 4X.

There is a blue silicone gasket gasket that provides the NEMA rated seal to the enclosure.  This blue silicon material is easy to clean and makes it easy to see any contaminants left behind after the wash down process.
http://rittalsystems.ca

High-volume low-speed (HVLS) fans were designed to create a more comfortable environment, cooling work places down in the summer and keeping them warm in the winter.

Undoubtedly, this is what the HVLS fan was designed to do when first breaking into the material handling market in the mid-1990s. By creating a slow moving breeze at two to three miles per hour, facilities have reported a reduction in perceived temperature equivalent to seven to 11 degrees. But over the past decade, these fans have become more versatile than ever imagined.

The blades of these large fans produce a massive column of air that flows down toward the floor and outward in all directions before being drawn back vertically toward the blades to create what is known as a horizontal floor jet. But in addition to improving temperatures in buildings like warehouses, distribution centres, manufacturing plants and food/beverage facilities, these fans can help enhance energy efficiency, sustainability initiatives, air quality and employee safety.

Suitable for just about any environment, the next generation this fan is here.

Protect product integrity
Air circulation from the floor jets helps to keep not only food and produce fresh to prevent spoilage but also assists in protecting non-perishables by keeping them clean and dry. In addition, many users in refrigerated applications have also seen improvements in their indoor environment’s air quality from running their fans in reverse to destratify the air and create a more even distribution of oxygen.

Improve working conditions
Increasing air circulation and quality helps minimize floor condensation, keeping loading dock areas drier and ultimately safer for foot and fork lift traffic. Additionally, the improved air circulation created by the HVLS can enhance indoor air quality in dry storage and other distribution applications by dispersing the harmful fumes produced by the trucks and forks lifts at the dock door during loading and unloading.

Reduce energy consumption
HVLS fans are an excellent addition to any overworked HVAC system. They can help to regulate a facility’s temperature year-round from floor to ceiling, permitting an increase or decrease in thermostat temperature setting between three and five degrees without realizing any negative temperature changes in either direction.

Managing the internal temperature of a building creates the opportunity to realize energy savings of up to four per cent per degree change.

LEED the way
HVLS fans also help companies qualify for and earn credit toward LEED Certification in energy efficiency and atmosphere, indoor environmental air quality and innovation and design. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health, which are highly focused on energy savings and increasing air quality.

This fan was designed to create a comfortable work environment while keeping facilities running as energy efficiently as possible. Today, these fans are seeing new and improved uses every day, from product sustainability and employee safety to improved air quality.

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Steve Kalbfleisch is sales manager with Dock Products Canada. For more information, visit www.dockproductscanada.com.

A new tool from Rockwell Automation conveniently allows manufacturers to use mobile devices or computers to calculate potential savings derived from variable frequency drives to power pumps and fans. Manufacturers can use the online energy savings calculator or download the free mobile application to their iPad, iPhone, Blackberry or Android systems (see links below).

With this new tool, users can compare conventional methods, such as valves for pump control and dampers for fan control, to variable frequency drives and see estimated cost savings of installing an Allen-Bradley PowerFlex drive. The tool offers two ways to calculate energy consumption. Users can enter the minimum pump or flow percentages, annual operating hours, cost per kilowatt and other information about their own factory, or use the sample data provided by Rockwell Automation built into the tool.

“We’re committed to providing a comprehensive approach to meeting companies’ sustainability objectives to reduce energy waste,” said Doug Weber, business development manager, Rockwell Automation. “That’s why we designed these simple, online and mobile calculators. Now manufacturers can quickly and easily plug in information about their own systems to discover energy-savings opportunities, which is often the first step in pursuing them.”

The tool is part of the Rockwell Automation Intelligent Motor Control portfolio, which helps manufacturers easily access and control their motor assets. The technology behind Intelligent Motor Control – including variable frequency drives, intelligent software and condition-monitoring devices – helps manufacturers improve motor control performance for greater overall production efficiency.

“With the increasing prices of energy, manufacturing executives can no longer ignore the impact energy reductions can have on an organization's bottom line,” explains Nuris Ismail, senior research associate, Aberdeen Group. “We’ve found that business capabilities and tools designed to cut wasteful energy consumption can help them surpass energy and operating margin goals, as well as improve their operating equipment effectiveness by as much as 89 percent.”
www.rockwellenergycalc.com

Download information:
• Pump Energy Savings Calculator for Android
• Pump Energy Savings Calculator for iPhone and iPad
• Fan Energy Savings Calculator for Android
• Fan Energy Savings Calculator for iPhone and iPad

The inside scoop on what is happening behind the scenes at Big Ass Fans is live and ready as the company blogs its way into the 21st century.

Big Ass Fans introduces Isis, perfect for smaller industrial spaces for improved comfort and energy savings.

Las Vegas, NV - Orion Fans, a manufacturer of standard and custom AC and DC fans, fan trays and accessories, has developed a new series of application-specific high performance DC fans. The VA Series fans include the most popular frame sizes: 120x38 mm, 92x38mm, 80x38mm and 60x38mm. These models feature exceptional airflow and extremely high static pressure.