MPA HEALTH & SAFETY AWARDS SUCCESS FOR ATLANTIC PUMPS
There were double celebrations at Atlantic Pumps on Thursday following the MPA Health and Safety Awards in London.
Operations Team Leader, Ed Smith won an Individual Recognition Award for his work on the innovative sliding base while the company as a whole was highly commended for the same project.
The SlurryPro Sliding Base featured in our entry is installed at CEMEX Angerstein Wharf and has resulted in an easier and safer working environment at the site.
As you will no doubt be aware, slurry pumps are mostly large in size and notoriously difficult when it comes to undertaking maintenance and repair. It is a task that usually requires more than one person, the use of lifting aids and one that poses the danger of possible injury to those undertaking the operation.
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are the most commonly reported cause of occupational ill health in the UK. A third of all work related sickness/absence reported to the HSE is due to MSDs – with over ½ million workers reported to have suffered during 2016/17.
Assessing all risks in the workplace is essential, this includes risks to the musculoskeletal system, particularly from manual handling.
Although the CEMEX site at Angerstein Wharf near London has an impressive safety record, the site installed the base to reduce the risk of accidents on site. As the site strives for zero harm policy, the base reduces the amount of manual handling for CEMEX employees thus reducing the risk of accidents and MSDs.
Since its introduction at Angerstein Wharf in mid-2017, the addition of the SlurryPro Sliding Base - used in conjunction with their Warman 6x4 slurry pump, has been a revelation.
In the case of CEMEX Angerstein Wharf, the mains water pump used to take one day to strip replace and rebuild. The process contained high risk manual handling of the heavy pump casing and a full day’s downtime.
Using the SlurryPro Sliding Base instead of a fixed base has eliminated high risk manual handling and reduced downtime by 50%. This reduction in downtime is due to only having to unbolt the four casing bolts to slide the wet end and motor apart to expose wear parts.
The suction pipe doesn’t need to be removed and replaced and the pump casings stay connected to the frame eliminating high risk manual handling and therefore reducing the risk of hand injuries.
A lot of health and safety products mean more expense for a site, however the SlurryPro Sliding Base is a health and safety feature that also optimises production, with considerable savings. By reducing the downtime by half, the plant can produce nearly £30,000 more of saleable material.
The bespoke design was the work of Atlantic Pumps’ Operations Team Leader, Ed Smith. From initial discussions with colleagues and CAD design to build and completion was without problem and took just six weeks.
"I'm very pleased to have got to where we did in the awards" said Ed. "The team at Atlantic have put a lot of effort into this and it is rewarding to see the impact we are having within the aggregates industry.”
Learn more about the SlurryPro Sliding Base by calling our Sales team on 01246 284 420.
Below: Watch our video entry for the MPA Trophy and learn more about the SlurryPro Sliding Base
