Safety in the Warehouse
Although working in a warehouse may be an exciting experience to some- there are many injuries and even deaths that occur, and one must be careful while working in that field. Improper use of forklifts, material handling, and inappropriate use of personal protective equipment are some of the factors that explain why accidents happen in the warehouse.
Here are some tips on how to maintain safety in your warehouse:
OSHA offered these safety measures for warehouse workers’ general safety:.
- The warehouse must be well ventilated.
- All floors, aisles and surfaces must be free of clutter, hoses, spills, electrical cords and other materials or factors that could cause slips, trips or falls.
- Workers who have to perform physical work must have enough periodic rest breaks to avoid fatigue.
- All newly-hired employees must receive both general ergonomics training and task-specific training.
- Every employee must be trained on how to avoid heat stress in hot and humid environments.
You can find more information on this website:
http://www.safetyservicescompany.com/blog/warehouse-safety-general-guidelines-and-osha-citations
Life on a Rig
Ever wonder what life would be like if you lived on a Rig? When you first step on a rig, you will be handed your work boots, goggles, and working clothes. You will then be given a tour of the facility.
Depending on where you are located- some rooms have Television sets, and/or wireless internet that you can access. Some even have saunas, pools and gyms!
Offshore rigs operate 24 hours a day, so one week you might work the day shift and the next you might work the night. The schedule rotates to make it fair for everyone.
http://www.rigworker.com/lifestyle.shtml
Price of Oil goes down
You may have heard of small talk from other people, or just that you got gas for your car this week, the price of oil dropped! We may jump with joy here in America- But as the price of oil goes down here in the state, the price of oil increases in other countries.
“New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $97.01, down 93 cents, or 0.9% for the day, after rebounding from a session low of $95.52. Prices are down 8.6% over the last five days trading days. June Brent futures settled down 43 cents, or 0.38%, to $1112.73 on the Intercontinental Exchange.”
“The U.S. currency and oil prices tend to move inversely, as a stronger dollar makes crude more expensive for buyers in other currencies.”
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=117696&hmpn=1
Wind Turbines
Wind turbines are located offshore; they are mounted on floating structures that allow them to generate electricity in water depths where bottom towers are not feasible to put in. These wind turbines can reduce visual pollution.
Britain has more wind turbines installed around its shores than any other country in the world and our market is rated year after year as the most attractive market among investors.
“Offshore wind is critical for the UK’s energy future and there is big interest around the world in what we’re doing.
“Floating wind turbines will allow us to exploit more of our wind resource, potentially more cheaply.
“Turbines will be able to locate in ever deeper waters where the wind is stronger but without the expense of foundations down to the seabed or having to undertake major repairs out at sea.”
Solenoid Valves
“Solenoid valves are used wherever fluid flow has to be controlled automatically. They are being used to an increasing degree in the most varied types of plants and equipment. The variety of different designs which are available enables a valve to be selected to specifically suit the application in question.”
Some of the different types of Solenoid valves are direct acting valves, direct acting 2 way valves, direct acting 3 way valves and direct acting multi-way valves. Each design has its own function and use. Here is a brief breakdown of each. To find out more information about these valves, you can visit this website; http://www.omega.com/techref/techprinc.html
DIRECT-ACTING VALVES
With a direct-acting solenoid valve, the seat seal is attached to the solenoid core. In the de-energized condition, a seat orifice is closed, which opens when the valve is energized.
DIRECT-ACTING 2-WAY VALVES
Two-way valves are shut-off valves with one inlet port and one outlet port. When energized, the core and seal are pulled into the solenoid coil and the valve opens.
DIRECT-ACTING 3-WAY VALVES
Three-way valves have three port connections and two valve seats. One valve seal always remains open and the other closed in the de-energized mode.
Depending on the application, there are different kinds of body materials for these valves. Examples are brass, bronze, and plastic.
Big Strides in Clean, Renewable Energy
Ocean Renewable Power Company Maine, LLC has been issued a permit under the Hydrokinetic Pilot Program from the Federal Regulatory Commission. This program provides developers the ability to test new hydrokinetic technologies. The hope is that a determination as to whether a site is appropriate for this technology, the impact on environmental and any other effects can be made.
The Maine Tidal Energy Project is a three part project in The Bay of Fundy. The Bay is located on the border between eastern Maine and Canada and is known as one of the most vigorous tidal energy resources in the world with over 100 billion tons of water flowing in and out. The Bay has the highest tides in the world with tidal currents that equate to the force of 8,000 locomotives.
Beginning in 2008 ORPC became the first company to generate electricity from Bay of Fundy without the use of dams. The Beta TidGen™ System was the largest ocean energy device ever deployed in the United States. After a yearlong testing process the prototype was determined a technical success, but long term environmental impact is still to be determined.
If successful the project would increase the potential for bringing clean, renewable energy to other parts of the world thus reducing our dependency of fossil fuels.
Fun Fact: In August 2010 the Coastguard rescue boat Energy Tide 2 began using a 60kW turbine designed by ORPC to power the boat when docked.
Soft seated vs. Metal seated
The difference is "soft seated" or "metal seated". Soft seated valves are used in gas applications were any leakage is absolutely not tolerated. The materials used are Teflon or ceramic. Metal seated valves can have very tight shut-off, it all depends on the coating, pressure in the line, and the lapping of the surfaces.
Originally Ball valves were designed to have soft seats such as a plastic based material, now there are so many options for valve seats. It all depends on the media of what the valve is going to be used for.
Pipeline Spills into River
“A ruptured pipeline belonging to the China National Petroleum Corporation has leaked vast amounts of fuel which have reached the Yellow River, threatening the nation’s drinking water, state media have reported. Water quality monitors at the Sanmenxia reservoir on the Yellow River began detecting traces of diesel on Sunday, four days after the pipeline burst…”
Roughly around 100 metric tons of diesels were spilled into the river that day, but the local government there has refused to report the accurate number for the spill. The spill occurred near Chishui and Wei River in the northern province of Shaanxi.
http://www.worldoil.com/100_metric_tons_of_diesel_spill_into_rivers_from_CNPC_pipeline.html
Building a Pipeline
“The speed at which pipelines are built is one of the more serious constraints in preventing impacts. Most big infrastructures take many years to plan and build. Completion of pipelines, on the other hand, often takes 24 to 36 months. This means it is even more important for the ESA of pipelines to begin as soon as the prefeasibility planning begins. Route selection, the main means of reducing impacts, is often one of the first items planned by the engineers. “
I am blogging for a valve mfg so I won’t go into too many details on what a pipeline may consist of. Here are some of the components; Pipes, Flanges, Valves, Fasteners, etc. Some of the Ball Valves you might see are the Trunnion Mounted Ball Valves. (This is our specialty). Our Trunnion Ball Valves are mfg in accordance to API 6D, NACE Compliant, Two piece and Three piece designs, Double Block and Bleed. Our ANSI sizes are 150-2500, which we keep mainly in stock. For more information on our Trunnion Ball Valves, please visit our site; http://gvcintl.com/products_trunnion_mounted_ball_valves.html
Butterfly Valves
“A Butterfly Valve is used to control the flow of material through a circular pipe or tube. They consist of a circular disc with its pivot axis at right angles to the direction material is flowing.”
Some of the applications that use butterfly valves are air, gas, steam and liquid. The body can be made up of different materials such as cast iron, ductile iron, aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steel and exotic metals.
“Depending on the application, additional valve features that may need to be considered. Some of these features include: the manner in which the stem and disc are attached, the way the stem and disc assembly mount inside the valve body, undercutting of disc, type of material used in stem bushings and packing, and availability of a ring seal between the seat and valve body.”
To learn more about the different features and to learn about the different parts, you can visit;
http://forum.bulk-online.com/showthread.php?7088-How-amp-Why-Are-Butterfly-Valves-Used
Blogroll
Flanged Valves Posts
- Safety in the Warehouse
- Life on a Rig
- How does Oil affect our economy?
- Price of Oil goes down
- Wind Turbines
Pipeline Valves Categories
- Automated valves
- Check Valves
- Double block and bleed valves
- Flanged ball Valves
- Flanged Valves
- Forged valves
- Full port valves
- Gate Valves
- Globe Valve
- Grove Valves
- NACE valves
- Pipeline Ball Valves
- Pipeline Valves
- Reduced Port Ball Valves
- Shutdown valves
- Socket Weld Ball Valves
- Stainless steel valves
- Threaded Ball Valves
- Trunnion mounted ball valves
- Trunnion Mounted Valves
- Uncategorized
Pipeline Valves Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
Recent Pipeline Valve News
- URS' Flint Energy Division Lands $130 Million Oil Sands Project - ForConstructionPros.comURS' Flint Energy Division Lands $130 Million Oil Sands ProjectForConstructionPros.comThe project – worth up to $130 million to URS – includes be […]
- UK gas at two-month low as Norway imports treble - ReutersUK gas at two-month low as Norway imports trebleReuters* Within-day gas falls five percent as Langeled flows treble * Theddlethorpe maintenance cuts s […]
- CNG: The Missing Link for Natural Gas Transportation - CountingPips (blog)CNG: The Missing Link for Natural Gas TransportationCountingPips (blog)The region produces 600000 barrels of oil a day, accruing millions of dollars f […]
- URS' Oil & Gas Contract - Zacks.comURS' Oil & Gas ContractZacks.comThe company will build pipelines both below and above the ground and will provide access platforms and valve […]
- URS Awarded Oil Sands Pipeline Construction Contract - MarketWatch (press release)URS Awarded Oil Sands Pipeline Construction ContractMarketWatch (press release)Under the terms of the contract, URS will be responsible for the constr […]