Plant Equipment Feature Library

Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.

Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE (the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.

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01/02/2008 Global warning

For some engineers, questions about how much money could have been saved if a major failure had been predicted, trigger thoughts about the cost of expensive process interruptions and downtime. For others, it's all about avoiding ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Dusting off better control practices

It is one thing to extract and trap dust and fumes, but quite another to do so efficiently and at minimum cost. But that's what we have to do: it is important to minimise energy and consumables usage, as well as complying with health and ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Carbon capture

The UK is to finance the construction of a 300-400MW coal-fired power station with full carbon capture, and intends to work with China on developing and implementing the technology globally. Why? 'Because coal is still the cheapest and ... » Read More

01/02/2008 Atomic kitten

Ever wondered about nuclear submarines and the issues for plant engineers in operational and supporting roles, either onboard or dockside? Andrew Law, specialist in the operational plant support department at Rolls-Royce Nuclear Propulsion ... » Read More

01/02/2008 40 metres under

Experience, sound engineering and better sensing technologies have together transformed the effectiveness of the Channel Tunnel's waste water plant. Not only has its dedicated water treatment works near Dover been rendered redundant and ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Watch your waste

According to a report by Research and Markets, 'Global Waste Management Market Assessment', municipal solid waste (MSW) generated worldwide reached 2.02 billion tonnes in 2006 and is expected to increase by 37.3% between 2007 and 2011. ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Taking the air

Energy sustainability is one of the hottest topics on the political agenda - closely linked to environmental concerns. Combine these with soaring energy costs and it's no surprise that reducing consumption on plant is right up there for ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Lubricate the parts

Just a decade ago, outside the automotive industry, synthetic lubricants were in low volume production. PTFE-based lubes, for example, were expensive problem solvers, aimed only at applications where mineral oils just couldn't handle the ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Lifting the lid on lifting

Most plant engineers probably have a horror story about lifting equipment that failed or malfunctioned. For many, the experience will have resulted in neither serious injuries nor fatalities. But the truth is, we all know they so easily ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Cooling the tube

Anyone who travels on London Underground knows that the tube is too hot, particularly on the deeper central area lines. When Transport for London's (TfL) Cooling the Tube programme director Kevin Payne tells you: "We're going to move from ... » Read More

01/12/2007 Beating boiler failure

Design and manufacturing requirements for shell boilers are covered by BS2790:1992 and water tube boilers by BS1113:1992, while the recommendations for treatment of water for steam and hot water boilers are detailed in BS2486:1997. So, if ... » Read More

01/10/2007 The heat is on

Two of the key concerns for anyone involved in process heating are to save energy and reduce running costs. But how many organisations really know how well – or badly – they are doing? Brian Wall finds out » Read More

01/10/2007 Testing the waters

No one likes being overburdened with regulations, and plant engineers are no exception - fact. However, in a world forced into a rather late, reactionary effort to clean up its act, pollution in the waste water and effluent sector was ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Pumping challenge

Engineering invariably involves a balancing act - mostly between, on the one hand, keeping within budget, while, on the other, developing robust, dependable solutions that meet parameters, such as design life and risk mitigation. » Read More

01/10/2007 Passionate about energy

Every engineer knows that energy saving is good. It's almost invariably linked with worthwhile emissions savings and there are attractive financial returns. Also, installing new equipment, instrumentation and/or controls usually solves ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Going underground

What keeps London Underground's head of operational engineering awake at night? Top of Maurice Poole's list is the competence of project and maintenance engineering people - across all the professional sectors. That's not just in his own ... » Read More

01/10/2007 Fire for the future

It is now possible to improve the efficiency of steam raising boiler systems by 10% and there are cases where fuel bills have been cut by 30%, using technology developed by London-based Autoflame. What's more, although developed for ... » Read More

01/08/2007 Replace or recondition?

Reconditioning large roller bearings can save a great deal of time and money - and result in at least as good a job as installing new. And that applies even on critical machinery that could seriously impact plant availability. Sounds ... » Read More

01/08/2007 Control freak

Let's talk about drives, motors and controls - no, not just the technologies for linear or rotational motion control, important though those are, but also control engineering in, for example, transportation, the process sector and the ... » Read More

01/08/2007 Bellows baloney

Contrary to popular misconception, metal bellows expansion joints are as useful as any other of the tools in the plant engineer's armoury - provided good mechanical engineering practice is followed. So says bellows manufacturer Teddington ... » Read More

01/06/2007 Uplifting technology

According to HSE (Health & Safety Executive) statistics, more than a third of all industrial accidents and the over-three-day injuries each year are caused by handling loads. Most are strains to the back, arms, hands and fingers as a ... » Read More

01/06/2007 Steaming efficiency

Engineers know there are significant opportunities for improving energy efficiency in boiler houses - saving cost and reducing carbon footprint, while also helping users to be eligible for the Carbon Trust's Energy Efficiency Accreditation ... » Read More

01/06/2007 Pumping up improvements

While designs of pumps and valves for the process and related industries had barely altered in decades, changing requirements have recently resulted in some useful improvements. First, the sustained high cost of energy has led to greater ... » Read More

01/06/2007 Except for LOLER

Agreed, it's not Lola, as in that seminal '70s song, but there's little doubt it would be 'a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world, except for LOLER' - the all-encompassing Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. They ... » Read More

01/04/2007 The old ones are the best ones

Most worthwhile energy-saving techniques have been around for years, but, as increased energy prices, newer legislation and growing public awareness around emissions all force users to reconsider fuel consumption, many are now re-surfacing ... » Read More

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