NEWS SAFETY SYSTEM PLAYS ITS PART IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 I
n response to the soaring demand for hygienic products for use in the fight against Covid-19, an innovative wet wipes manufacturer, Nice-Pak, turned to Euchner to deliver a safety system upgrade in a strict timeframe for a converting machine that was being overhauled at its production plant in Flint, North Wales. As a result of increased production demands, machine utilisation and uptime are a
critical KPI at Nice-Pak. Consequently, the engineering teams were given a very short installation window to undertake a significant machinery refurbishment with the overall objective of producing a more reliable and intuitive machine. Generally, machines used to produce wet wipes are high speed and it was determined a high integrity safety related control system was required. This outcome had a significant impact on the use of series wiring of the machine’s safety devices. Euchner worked closely with Nice-Pak to design and manufacture a bespoke Industry 4.0 ready solution based on the company’s CTM interlocking switches and their associated IO-Link interface. Nice-Pak’s risk assessments determined that the safety equipment needed to meet the requirements of Performance Level PLd/PLe, according to EN-ISO-13849, as well as high levels of diagnostic coverage coupled with reliability. The CTM’s internal monitoring allowed Nice-Pak to connect multiple switches in series and still achieve high levels of safety-integrity up to Category 4/PLe. This series connection reduced the amount of field wiring that was required on the machine and in addition to the safety signals, the simple wiring architecture also carried inclusive diagnostic data.
Most conventional safety systems require extensive additional cabling to get basic diagnostic data, however, with the Euchner solution a single core within the interconnection cable carries all of the information for all the switches in the group. The safety chain was monitored via the integration of Euchner’s ESM-CB unit which was used to transmit the status of the individual switches to the higher-level Rockwell Automation control system via IO-Link.
Through the use of the diagnostic information, Nice-Pak can identify potential faults on the machine including switch misalignment caused by wear and tear or potential manipulation and proactively correct any issues prior to experiencing unexpected machine downtime. In addition, Nice-Pak engineering have replicated this information on the machine’s HMI to present the operating team with real time information to allow them to make informed decisions. Nice-Pak was also able to carry out the installation in less than half the time that it would have taken using a conventional solution. Gareth Roberts, Nice-Pak’s Group EC&I engineer, explained: “A major benefit of the Euchner solution is the ability to retain the diagnostic coverage, hence the performance level, while utilising multiple connected locking door switches wired in series, saving time and money. Euchner made some great recommendations, the products are high quality and working with their engineers has been very rewarding. The new safety solution was extremely quick to install and is performing exactly as expected
without any issues.”
www.euchner.co.uk
APPRENTICESHIP SEARCHES DRAMATICALLY INCREASE
he last 12 months have been tough on all of us, with life taking an unexpected turn that no one saw coming. But with the roadmap unfolding, furloughed staff returning to work, and ‘normal’ life resuming, many others have begun searching for new career paths.
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Apprenticeships were directly impacted by COVID-19 and lockdown measures, with 23,000 fewer people participating in an apprenticeship in 2019/20 compared to previous years. But with Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak promising a boost in support for apprentices and businesses keen to attract fresh blood into their industries, we will see these numbers begin to grow.
Recent Google search data already shows an increase across the country in searches for apprenticeships, with some industries being more popular than others. As the data also shows where in the country these searches are coming from, the regional differences in the approach to apprenticeships have been highlighted. Searches for customer service apprenticeships have seen the biggest growth across the UK, up 130% on last year. Specifically in London, where there has been a 233% increase in the search, it’s clear to see that with many customer service roles now fully based at home, habitants of our capital city are grabbing the chance to ditch the commute! Yet overall, London is the lowest region and city for apprenticeships searches per capita. Tradesmen apprenticeships top the searches in the North, with electrician apprenticeships being the most searched for across the whole of the UK. Liverpool was the highest searching city for electrician apprenticeships at 300 searches a month. Cardiff had an increase of 300%, with Wales being hit hard by redundancies that have risen from the pandemic.
It’s evident that apprenticeships differ across the country, but with workforces returning to offices and many returning to business as usual, apprenticeships shall soon rise again. With government backing and support, many businesses will see the benefit of working with apprentices, for both employers and employees.
www.ncl-coll.ac.uk
JUNE 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL 5
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