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.
16/05/2023
The networker
If society could be described as a network of connections between individual people, industry is defined as connections between companies and organisations. Facilitating relationships with government and information exchange at a higher ...
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21/09/2022
Bulking up
Using the right kind of bulk bags and handling equipment is paramount for the transportation, storage, processing and packaging of many solid materials – as is ensuring the highest levels of safety. By Brian Wall
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17/06/2021
SPMTs: trailers that lead the way
Deployed linked together in ranks and files, SPMTs can meet the scale of huge structural components, unlike other types of construction equipment. That means that they are the solution to shift and lift just about anything large, awkward ...
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01/06/2020
Lifting (global) standards
The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association published the ninth edition of its guide to lifting safety last year. Who is it aimed at and what has changed?
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11/05/2020
Heave-ho
Heave compensation systems are used to reduce the influence of waves upon offshore operations. We explore how these systems work and the benefits that they bring
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04/05/2020
Plastic fantastic?
At the one-day Engineering Solutions Live show in March, Matthew Jones, senior applications engineer for northeast EMEA and wider EMEA at Stratasys, described the benefits that additive manufacturing can bring to industry in terms of ...
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12/12/2019
Elevated status
As the operator of a tower crane, getting from the bottom to the top and vice versa takes considerable time and effort. Surely there is an easier way?
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07/10/2019
Gently does it
Bringing together information from sensors has significantly reduced unwanted movement in extended booms and crane jibs when lifting materials
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01/05/2014
Essential guide to...LOLER
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) are designed to protect employees using lifting equipment such as cranes and hoists, but they can also make a significant contribution to productivity, says Ian Vallely
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27/08/2013
Risk ramped up
Loading bays – or goods in and out areas – are one of the most common places for workplace accidents.
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05/04/2012
Moving experience
Although aimed primarily at commercial vehicle operators, engineers and technicians, the CV Show offers useful opportunities for those whose careers span the fixed and moving plant divide. Brian Tinham reports
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07/12/2011
Maintain your guard
Health and safety regulations continue to be breached, with sometimes tragic, as well as costly consequences. David Lewis reviews the legal landscape and some salutary cases
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07/04/2011
Uplifted engineering
The revised Machinery Directive will have an effect on operations engineers using lifting equipment. Dr Tom Shelley reports
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09/12/2010
Seeds of safety
Lifting-related deaths and injuries still remain worryingly high. But adherence to statutory regulations and best practice could make a real difference, as Brian Wall reports
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10/08/2010
Uplifting engineering
Modern lifts are taking advantage of recent electronic and electromechanical technology advances to improve efficiency and cut emissions. Brian Tinham examines the background
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01/03/2010
CV Operator show
There are good reasons for plant engineers to get to this year's CV Operator Show - particularly if your responsibilities include mobile equipment. Brian Tinham explains.
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01/12/2009
Raise high the pallet, engineers
It's too easy to go for the same old equipment for yet another lifting or handling task. Brian Tinham examines some of the options and the engineering issues in specifying plant
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01/10/2008
An inspector calls
If you speak to engineer surveyors across the industry, chances are they'll mention two trends - one slightly surprising, the other plain worrying. On the surprising side of the equation, they'll probably mention that only now are some ...
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01/08/2008
Flying without wings
Mobile plant takes some stick in the armed forces. It's not just that it's required to do the job it was designed for - loading baggage, bombs or weapons on and off aircraft; transporting and lifting materials, equipment and people, both ...
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01/03/2008
Law in your own hands
You could be forgiven for thinking that on 6 April the eyes of the legal profession will be firmly on the Corporate Manslaughter (Corporate Homicide in Scotland) Act, as it comes into force. But you would be wrong. Why? Because for the ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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