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
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.”
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.
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
Ball Valves vs Globe Valves
Design - Ball valves have a chamber with a spherical ball that has a hole bored into it. The ball is connected to a handle, which increases or stops the flow.
Benefit - Ball valves allow the user to see exactly what position the valve is in. If the handle is perpendicular to the line, the hole is facing perpendicular to the line, and therefore is fully closed.
Application - Ball valves are used in high-pressure and shutoff applications, because they do not wear easily.
Design - Globe valves have a plate with a hole in it, and a disk or plug completely or partially fits into the hole, slowing or stopping flow.
Benefit - Globe valves offer greater precision than other valves when it comes to regulating flow.
Application - Globe valves are used in applications where flow needs to be finely tuned, they are designed to restrict flow.
Check out GVC’s line of ball, gate, globe and check valves here.
Source: http://www.ehow.com/facts_6759345_difference-between-ball-globe-valves.html
Swing Check Vs. Piston Check
One of my customers had a RFQ for a Check valve, and wasn't sure if her customer was wanting a Piston or Swing. I tried to explain to her the difference in a piston check valve and a swing check valve and here is what I came up with.
My expert engineer explained that the clapper in the swing check valve, is attached to a hinge pin, and swings freely, so when pressure is being applied, it takes very, very, very minimal pressure to make the clapper move.
In a Piston Check – it takes more pressure because the movement is up and down. (Movement is vertical) – And is harder for the air to go through.
FIRE TESTED VS. FIRE SAFE DESIGN
The other day I had a customer call me and ask me the difference between Fire Tested and Fire Safe Design, I answered him the best that I could based on my own acquired knowledge however I thought this would be something for me to blog about so that I could learn more about it. Here is what I learned:
Top Level: Fire Safe Tested Valves: Valves built and tested (with fire at given intensity and time and with following operational and leakage tests) according to a given Firesafe standard. The standards will accept within limitatations equally constructed valves in near pressure classes and sizes as 'Firesafe tested' if the Firesafe test for one size and pressure class is passed.
The customer will either accept an earlier passed test or require a new test for a certain (bulk) order of 'Firesafe tested' valves, within the range described, as a part of the contract.
Middle Level: 'Firesafe Design' from a factory that have at an earlier time fire tested with passing results equally constructed valves (according to a given Firesafe standard), but where the actual valve size or pressure class (or near sizes and pressure classes as allowed under the given standard) have not been tested earlier. (Usually for economical or time-consuming reasons, or because standards does not include the sizes or pressure classes.) Tests may or may not be required from the customer, with or without economical compensation (according to market competition, risk evaluation and cost).
Bottom Level: Firesafe design from a factory not actually at any time having Firesafe tested a valve, or with 'Firesafe' tests with weak actual quality or relevance, and/or large deviations in construction.
Source: Eng-Tips Forums, Intelligent Works Forums For Engineering Professionals
LIQUID PIPE MISTAKES COULD CAUSE FUTURE CALIFORNIA PIPELINE EXPLOSIONS
“Following the San Bruno pipeline explosion, the fire marshal wrote in a May report that many state fire departments “had outdated maps and old contact lists” and did not provide local officials with maps of their liquid pipelines, despite a 1988 federal law that required them to do so. To solve this problem, fire marshal division chief Bob Gorham notes that the state of California could set up an online map of pipelines for emergency officials. The National Pipeline Mapping System also provides information on the location of many liquid pipes across the country.”
I do believe that it was wrong for the San Bruno Fire Marshal; whom did not provide the local officials with an updated map of liquid pipelines. Even though despite the year of 1988 tragic explosion in San Bruno, which killed 8 people and left many injured; in the article (http://www.gjel.com/blog/liquid-pipe-mistakes-could-cause-future-california-pipeline-explosions.html). One of the most mouth full information to provide for the residents is if the map is accurate. Many Government Officials do not even know the exact location where these pipelines were placed. From reading this article it occurred to me that the pipelines could possibly be near your home, your child’s school, and even your work place. So continue to be on the lookout on articles in your area of these dangerous pipelines.
“Check out the map to see if one of these dangerous pipelines is in your back yard.”
Christmas Tree Valves
Have you ever had an RFQ asking for a X-mas tree valve? And how are they related to the oil field? Here are some interesting facts about them;
“-Most oil wells have two pipes that extend to the area where the oil and gas are located. One is the outer pipe called the production casing. It seals the well bore from all the outside dirt, rock and other stuff that the well is drilled through. There is a second pipe that the oil and gas runs through to get from the bottom of the well to the surface”.
-In simpler words; the Christmas tree is a valve assemble that is designed to fit on the casing and attach to the tubing so the well and be controlled, maintained and worked on. For those of us that wonder what they look like out in the field; here is a picture of one I found on the web.
http://aoscoly.com/web/pdf/gmp/wellhead%20and%20christmas%20tree.pdf
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