Month: October 2019

As part of their activities during Wellbeing Week, Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE) worked with the Canal & River Trust last week, to clean a stretch of the historic Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

Two teams of PPE employees volunteered for three-hour shifts to cut hedges, remove graffiti, and pick up litter to make the canal towpath more presentable and navigable for users.

To view a video, click here

In addition to volunteering in the local community, Precision Polymer Engineering participated in yoga sessions, mental health seminars and a bake sale fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support during Wellbeing Week.

 

 

When a fire broke out at a local mini-storage facility, College Station (Texas) Fire Department Chief, Jonathan McMahan knew to grab the HURST Jaws of Life® StrongArm tool.

It wasn’t just training and innate reaction that led him to that tool choice. It was also experience. Fire had hit that same storage facility a few months before, and the response team used the StrongArm tool to cut the locks off 30 doors in less than five minutes.

The HURST team recently talked with Chief McMahan about the importance of getting the doors open so quickly and why he chose StrongArm.

Q: Tell us about the first time you were called to a fire at the mini-storage unit last fall.

A: When we arrived, we saw there were a couple of units on fire on each side of the drive, so we knew we needed to quickly cover a scene that was spread out. The ladder company got there, and the ladder captain and I immediately began forcing entry on the units using the StrongArm. There were 15 units per side, 30 total, and we had all the locks cut off the whole building in less than five minutes.

 

Q: You received a similar call this spring. Why was the second call different?

A: When we got on scene, we could see fire coming from the storage units. The fire was more advanced, and we had reports that people could be inside some of the storage units. Based on experience with a similar fire at the same facility, we got the StrongArm and went to work because it had proved itself. I had all the locks off in less than five minutes, giving the engine companies access to put the fire out while freeing up the ladder company to do ventilation.

 

Q: You said there could have been people inside the storage units?

A: Yes. We had credible information that people were working in some of the units. The battalion chief yelled, “There could be people inside of these! Get the doors open.” I immediately knew which tool to get.

 

Q: Why did you choose StrongArm as your door breaching tool?

A: Ordinarily, we would have used a K Saw, which is an abrasive, metal-cutting saw. It would have taken a lot longer to get through these locks on these storage units. Not only that, but there’s no way to cut the lock off without damaging the doors; the saw is heavy, and you’d bump into the door latching mechanisms.

For me, this was a no-brainer. StrongArm was the tool for it because of the power versus weight ratio and the minimal chance of destroying the door latching mechanisms. The removable tips of the StrongArm let us easily get just the lock, so the owner could shut the door, put a new lock on it and it’s fixed.

 

Q: So StrongArm helped protect the property?

A: StrongArm helped us live our mantra that night: Life safety, incident stabilization and property conservation.

 

Q: Do you have any advice for other first responders considering StrongArm and HURST Jaws of Life?

A: We’ve had StrongArm tools for a year, maybe a year and a half, and we’ve used it for forcible entry into buildings and even popped a car door in a minor incident. But I’d tell them to judge for yourself. Get a sales rep to get StrongArm and eDRAULIC® tools out there and put them to the test. I’m not buying based on specifications; specs are outputs and are easily manipulated. I’m buying based on outcomes, and the outcome in these two incidents speaks for itself: StrongArm took care of business quickly and easily and with the least amount of property destruction.

 

 

 

SAMPI, which produces positive displacement flow-meters and terminal automation systems, collaborated with it’s Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT) group sister company Liquid Controls to create a new flow computer for petroleum and chemical liquids.

Joining Liquid Controls’ LCR.iQ® and MASTERLOAD.iQ™ products on the CENTRILOGiQ® platform, the TEX flow computer is easy to setup, simple and smooth to operate, and is widely compatible with all fleet management solutions.

While sharing similar design elements as its LC counterparts (display, keypad, multi-language, wireless capability, and more), the TEX also boasts unique hardware and software features designed specifically to meet refined fuels and LPG regulatory requirements throughout Europe, and other regions of the world.

Given vastly different market requirements in the two regions of the world, the teams worked closely together to design their respective new registers with common disciplinary elements and unique features required to properly serve their respective markets.

Introduced at the World LPG Forum in Amsterdam last month, TEX is being manufactured by SAMPI in Italy and will ultimately replace the Sampi TE550 / Truck III electronic register in their markets.

SAMPI and Liquid Controls continue to work together as they develop complimentary products and services across the platform to provide IDEX a competitive advantage.

 

New machine learning technology from ADS Environmental Services (ADS) is making it easier to anticipate sewer overflows and blockages before they happen, protecting property and the environment.

ADS, which provides integrated hardware, software, and Data as a Service (DaaS) solutions, unveiled its newest installment of the PRISM software platform at the WEFTEC (Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference) tradeshow in Chicago, Illinois last week.

PRISM (PRoactive Insight for System Management) is a cloud-based web application that allows end users to view a map of flow rates, water levels, and rainfall monitors throughout a wastewater collection system. The software enables municipal engineers, managers, and operations users to transform data into actionable insights through an easy and transformative user interface.

Unlike competitor products, the PRISM platform empowers customers to “See what you normally cannot see, to prevent what you normally cannot anticipate.”

Unique to ADS Environmental Services, PRISM includes the addition of the blockage PREDICT™ machine learning application.

Blockage PREDICT™ provides a new early warning system for potential overflow-causing blockages in the collection system, with up to a 2-week advance warning before serious problems arise! With additional “learning” and enhancements, these algorithms soon will have the potential to identify the actual causes of the potential problems and allow our customers to respond quickly and correctly without having to guess what the problem may be.

PRISM also includes the SLiiCER™ application, giving users the ability to quickly evaluate their full collection system response to storm events. Users can quickly evaluate their entire network for the negative impacts of rainwater infiltration and inflow into their systems due to any type of rain event, and then plan their reactive response to these events to better focus their operational and capital spending.

Expanding upon the first software installment, which was launched in late 2018, this latest installment of PRISM features significant improvements to support management, engineering, and operational decisions in their wastewater collection systems.

To learn more about the PRISM 2.0 software, click here