Stay AIRSAFE with BCAS
Keeping up-to-date with the latest health and safety practices while managing a busy working schedule is challenging, and taking a whole day out of the office to attend training courses might not be practical. BCAS offers a wide range of online e-learning courses, which provide fast and easy-to-understand information to keep teams working safely.
New BCAS executive director appointed
The British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) has appointed Vanda Jones as its new executive director. She will become the society’s fourth executive director in the Society’s 85-year history and will take over from Chris Dee, who is retiring at the end of 2015 after 15 years in the role.
PNEUROP sets the green agenda
BCAS is playing host to the 2015 PNEUROP Plenary, an important annual event for the compressed air, gas and vacuum industry between the 25 to 27 June in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Free associate membership offer extended
The British Compressed Air Society is offering end-user customers of current BCAS members 12 months’ free associate membership – worth £975.
BCAS hosts the 2015 PNEUROP Plenary
BCAS is hosting the 2015 PNEUROP Plenary, an important annual event for the compressed air, gas and vacuum industry, held from 25 to 27June in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Spring Conference success
The 2015 BCAS Spring Conference held during Maintec on the 25 March at the NEC, Birmingham gathered a high turnout, with delegates pouring in to listen to a variety of presentations from keynote speakers.
New ISO11011 standard
BCAS has welcomed the official introduction of the ISO 11011 to help standardise energy audits offered by compressor manufacturers and equipment suppliers.
New BCAS vice president
BCAS has appointed James Maziak, managing director of Maziak Compressor Services Ltd., as its new Vice President. James will provide support to current BCAS President, Andy Jones, before he takes up the reins in November 2016.
BCAS hosts the 2015 PNEUROP Plenary
BCAS is playing host to the 2015 PNEUROP Plenary, an important annual event for the compressed air, gas and vacuum industry, this year being held from 25 to 27 June in Stratford-upon-Avon.
New BCAS technical officer
BCAS has appointed Dean Abbott as its new technical officer designate. He will take over from Greg Bordiak, who is retiring at the end of 2015 after more than 25 years in the role.
Andy Jones appointed 55th president
The British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) has appointed Andy Jones, managing director of Mattei Compressors, as its 55th president. Jones takes over the role from Derek Turnbull, general manager of Parker Hannifin, who has held the position for the past two years. He will continue to ensure the society evolves to meet the needs of both its members and compressed air end-users and their requirements for relevant, timely information. In particular, Jones will be promoting the benefits of using a BCAS member to provide professional and competent sales and service advice and support, as well as the wide range of training courses available from the society to help improve safety and standards across the industry. He commented: “Over the next two years, I want the BCAS stamp of approval to be an industry-wide sign of quality and its members to be customers’ first choice for compressed air and vacuum sales and support. In addition, I plan to extend the reach of our specialist compressed air training courses, particularly our range of online resources which can offer a more flexible route to learning.” Chris Dee, executive director for BCAS, added: “Andy has already played an instrumental role in BCAS in his role as vice president for the past two years and as a board member prior to that. We are very pleased to welcome him to his new position. Our thanks also go to Derek Turnbull for his work with the board in developing a new strategic plan to help shape the society for the future and to improve support for members.” Dee continued: “Customers today are demanding more efficient and innovative compressed air solutions to help meet their environmental obligations and to reduce cost of ownership. In this cost-conscious environment, BCAS fulfils an increasingly important role; not only in supporting its members’ interests but also in advising manufacturers, distributors and service agents on best practice and changes to legislation.” Jones continued: “I’m looking forward to working with our members to ensure that BCAS continues to deliver the right expertise and support in meeting these key challenges. BCAS is instrumental in helping to raise standards across the industry. In particular, initiatives such as our 12 months’ free associate membership scheme, an offer that is open to all end-user customers of BCAS members, are having a positive impact.” He added: “The offer provides UK companies with a whole host of BCAS membership benefits including discounts on training and publications, as well as access to compressed air codes of practice and the society’s networking events. Through the marketing committee, we plan to implement similar schemes in the future to help increase the reach of the organisation to even more compressed air users.” Further information about the new BCAS end-user membership scheme can be found at www.bcasairsafe.co.uk
Reducing the environmental impact of compressors
By Chris Dee, executive director, the British Compressed Air Society. One of the major directives impacting on the activities of compressed air equipment manufacturers in the UK is the Ecodesign of Energy Related Products’ Directive 2009/125/EC. According to Gov.UK, the objective of the directive is to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other adverse environmental impacts throughout the life-cycle of a product with emphasis placed on the design and development stages of a product with a view to improving its energy efficiency”. It does this by setting minimum requirements for certain energy consuming products of which compressors and associated equipment form a significant component part. Background Compressors have been listed under the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC working plan 2012-2014 as Lot 31, with a preparatory study assigned to consultants VHK from the Netherlands for the period March 2012 to June 2014. During the discussions at the kick-off meeting in March 2012, it was clear that the category of ‘compressors’ is comprised of an extensive range of products, and it was not possible to cover them all in a single study. Five distinct application ranges were identified therefore, and the initial focus was agreed to be centered on ‘standard air compressors’, because this range is served by oil-injected screws/vanes and oil-lubricated pistons, which are considered the workhorses of the industry. With estimated annual sales in excess of 100,000 units, the best energy-saving potential was expected for this product range. It was therefore assumed that the other application ranges would be investigated in a further study, after the ‘standard air’ study had been completed. Lot 31 study findings The statistical approach revealed a substantial spreading in the isentropic efficiency of standard air compressors of approximately 20 to 30 percentage points depending on the capacity of the compressor. The study proved that, despite this large spread, the estimated energy savings are moderate. [subhead] The way forward At the Ecodesign Horizontal Consultation Forum on 5th May 2014, the European Commission presented two policy options: 1. To postpone the Ecodesign implementing measure for ‘standard air’ compressors and, after further analysis of ‘low pressure’ and ‘oil-free air’ compressors, propose a single implementing measure for all three application ranges; or 2. To propose an implementing measure for ‘standard air’ compressors while in parallel, continue the analysis for ‘low pressure’ and ‘oil-free air’ by introducing information requirements and/or by mentioning these specifically as a matter for future revision. [subhead] Pneurop position With regard to the options proposed by the European Commission, both could be acceptable. However, Pneurop insists that adequate time is allowed to conduct in-depth studies for the ‘low pressure’ and ‘oil-free air’ application ranges, so that the study conclusions will be of the same quality as for ‘standard air.’ Pneurop also wants to highlight that putting a regulation in place for ‘standard air’ without a perspective on significant energy savings will entail substantial costs – not only for manufacturers but also for member states and the Commission. Therefore Pneurop emphasises that ‘business as usual’ is a valid and already ambitious scenario for ‘standard air’ because it will actually yield energy savings. This is because manufacturers will continue to improve their products from worst available technology (WAT) to best available technology (BAT) at compressed air ‘system’ level, thereby improving energy savings as well as their competitiveness on a global scale. If a Regulation is introduced on ‘standard air’ today, and if a stringent scenario is selected, the benefits in terms of energy savings will be far from what could be expected. Instead of focusing on effective measures to improved complete compressed air systems, manufacturers will be compelled to devote their engineering resources primarily to substitute the products banned from the EU. This will enable little or no progress towards achieving the BAT level and will inevitably impair their longer-term global competitiveness. The coming reality The European Commission Consultation Forum held on 23 October 2014 for Lot 31 ‘Standard air compressors’, which was attended by member states, industry(Pneurop) and other interested parties, reviewed the draft Regulation that the European Commission had drawn up as a result of the recommendations and options in the study done by VHK. The result of the discussion was a confirmation that compressor manufacturers will, like electric motor manufacturers before them, be subject to an EU Regulation identifying energy efficiency requirements for 'standard air compressors'. The EU wants the Regulation to be published by the end of 2015 and the first of the two stages to be effective from January 2018, with the second stage coming into force in January 2020. The expected result by January 2020 will be the removal of about 40 per cent of the compressors that do not meet the required efficiency levels within the scope.Question time
As the British Compressed Air Society’s (BCAS) technical officer, Greg Bordiak is used to dealing with a wide range of questions from both members and end-users. Here, he answers some of the most frequently asked questions.
Free BCAS membership for end users
If you are a customer of a current BCAS member, you could benefit from 12 months’ free associate membership – worth £975. The offer is part of our ‘Insist on BCAS – Be Compliant And Safe’ scheme, which aims to make processes that use compressed air compliant, safe, more efficient and ultimately more profitable. The free associate membership provides UK companies with a whole host of benefits including discounts on training and publications, as well as access to compressed air codes of practice and the society’s social events. The free membership will be backdated to 1 July 2014 and will last for 12 months in total. A company’s BCAS membership must have been active on 1st July 2014 for its customers to be entitled to this offer. To take advantage of this offer please contact Chris Dee, BCAS executive director, stating your company name and full contact details, along with the name of the supplier of your compressed air products and/or services – Email: chris@bcas.org.uk, Tel: 020 7935 2464. For further information visit www.bcasairsafe.co.uk.Train to gain
With compressed air utilised in such a wide variety of applications a thorough understanding is essential; not only to those who supply or service compressors, but also for the operatives who use compressed air on a daily basis. Training is therefore key for ongoing staff development, whether to improve skills, enhance existing knowledge or as part of legislative compliance. Here, Greg Bordiak, technical officer at the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) discusses the latest courses to be offered by the association; specifically in relation to the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR):
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