Day: 8 June 2020

While most of the nation’s workforce has been compelled to work from home or pause working altogether, Kärcher, renowned German manufacturer of professional cleaning products, is helping organisations to prepare a safe and hygienic workplace through a series of specially prepared online resources and virtual training available to all.

It has never been more important to ensure a clean and safe environment for both employees and customers. Expert in effective cleaning, Kärcher recognises that different working environments require different cleaning regimes and equipment and its newly launched online cleaning resource reflects this. Available at https://www.kaercher.com/uk/professional/protect-your-people.html it comprises a useful guide, cleaning tips and checklists pertinent to multiple workplace areas.

Many businesses will have purchased new cleaning equipment or increased the head count in cleaning teams to optimise hygiene processes, both routes necessitating training. Kärcher’s new virtual training resource answers this need from a safe distance through a series of online training videos, as well as live customer consultations for those requiring more tailored instruction. Filmed at the Kärcher Academy, using Kärcher Professional machines, these training assets provide direct access to cleaning experts.

In these video tools, Kärcher explains how offices are vulnerable to dirt build-up on everyday touch points such as desks, keyboards and telephones. These are critical areas for contamination and need to be hygienically clean. Cleaning with water & detergent is an effective way to remove impurities, dust and dirt, followed by disinfection to destroy pathogenic micro-organisms and leave surfaces hygienically clean. Cleaning teams must also use personal protective equipment (PPE) – disposable gloves and aprons are a minimum standard.

It goes on to give specific advice on shared kitchens for employees as a number one priority, to prevent contamination and transmission of germs and bacteria. Ensure pipes have been thoroughly flushed through so the tap water is safe, as water that’s been left sitting in pipes for a long period of time could have accumulated chemicals and harmful organisms such as Legionnaire’s Disease. Deep cleaning and sanitising all kitchen utensils like forks, knives and spoons at 60oC or above will kill most germs and bacteria. Kärcher has a broad machine, accessory and detergent range to help achieve high hygiene standards.

In the last few weeks, Karcher has seen a surge in demand for steam cleaners. In particular for public bathroom facilities, a breeding ground for germs and bacteria, which make exemplary hygiene standards crucial. For hard-to-reach, high-risk touchpoints like sinks, taps and soap dispensers a Professional Steam Cleaner is ideal to disinfect without cloths and chemicals. Steam-cleaning ensures these areas are germ-free.

Steam-cleaning is also well-suited to general public areas if you want to avoid chemicals, and it easily reaches the nooks and crannies that can be difficult to reach with a cloth. High footfall public areas, like reception and the canteen, must be kept hygienic to ensure a safe working environment, combining everyday maintenance cleaning with deep cleaning methods.

Hyster Europe has announced that the factories making its Hyster forklifts, warehouse equipment and big trucks have started to resume production.

The sites at Craigavon in Northern Ireland, Masate in Italy and Nijmegen in the Netherlands have all re-opened and have been reorganised with social distancing measures. New processes and ways of working are in place to optimise efficiency, flow, and capacity.

“In recent months, our workforce has adapted to a ‘new normal’ – telecommuting and working in line with social distancing guidelines,” says Wim van Dam, Vice President Manufacturing & Logistics EMEA for Hyster Europe. “Working together to find solutions during this time has been crucial for our team and has enabled us to find opportunities to combine our new ways of working with the ability to service the market and its demands.”

To make it possible to resume production operations, Hyster has worked closely and collaboratively with suppliers to minimise disruption to the supply chain. Processes are in place so that suppliers can work in a safe way during the current circumstances, while still meeting supply requirements for the Hyster factories.

“To give customers the high-quality products and service they expect, our people are vital. So, we are grateful for the government support we have received to help retain our factory workforce,” Wim van Dam says.

As the pandemic continues to evolve in different countries, Hyster will continue to adjust its processes and policies accordingly to protect its team while meeting the needs of customers. The company has planned a phased approach for its wider team to return to work that will vary depending on government mandates, location, business needs, and health and safety.

See more on the Hyster response to Covid-19: https://www.hyster.com/emea/en-gb/covid-19-response/

Clark is now offering the C40-55sD and C60-80D900 series diesel forklifts with load capacities from 4 to 8 tons with a Kubota diesel engine of level 5. Equipped with a diesel particulate filter and diesel oxidation catalytic converter, Clark diesel forklifts now open up areas of application that were previously denied to them due to the lack of a diesel particulate filter. The new powerful 4-cylinder engine with common rail fuel injection has other advantages over the engines used up to now in addition to the more environmentally friendly technology. The V3800-CR-TE5B Kubota engine with fully electronic engine management is not only more environmentally friendly than its predecessor, but also scores with an optimized torque curve and more economical operation. This allows the operator to achieve higher efficiency when using the truck.

Low emissions and economical consumption

For optimal filtration of exhaust gases, Kubota combines a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) with exhaust gas recirculation and a diesel particle filter (DPF). Thanks to the integrated exhaust aftertreatment with DOC and DPF, the Kubota engine meets the strict exhaust gas standards of EU Stage 5 according to the regulation (EU) 2016/1628. Compared to Stage 3b engines, the Kubota Stage 5 engine again reduces the size of soot particles and limits the number of emitted particles.

Furthermore, the Kubota stage 5 engine is significantly more fuel-efficient than the diesel engine previously used. Due to the increase in efficiency, the operator achieves a saving of 5 percent in fuel consumption. No AdBlue is required to operate the Kubota Level 5 engine, but only fuel with a sulfur content of less than 0.0015 percent (15 ppm).

In addition, the Kubota engine scores with its quiet operation. For this purpose, the manufacturer has optimized the cooling system and, in particular, revised the fan and the air baffle with regard to noise generation. In addition, the cold start in the winter season was improved thanks to a preheating of the intake air.

Automatic regeneration of the DPF

When the truck is running in normal operation, the engine generates enough heat so that regeneration takes place automatically without stopping during operation. A regeneration process with a corresponding downtime is only necessary for light operations and short operating times. The driver is then informed via the Clark driver display and visually guided through the regeneration process. If a regeneration process is necessary, it should be carried out without fail to prevent damage to the diesel particulate filter.

Clark offers the new Kubota diesel engines with the usual options, such as air conditioning, speed limiter and various exhaust variants.

Everyone is capable of caring for nature, and Time for Nature is the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, which took place last Friday, 5 June). Even small acts of kindness can have a big impact as British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) discovered when Goplasticpallets.com donated two of its plastic pallet boxes in the summer of 2012.

At the time, the UK’s leading marine mammal rescue charity was looking for a durable vessel to act as a pen for the care and treatment of seal pups found malnourished, separated or injured. The vessel needed to be large enough to comfortably house the seal pups and easy to clean. A Google search lead BDMLR to Goplasticpallets.com, the UK’s plastic pallet experts, who generously donated two GoPalletBox 1210S 3R – a 610 litre plastic pallet box with smooth, solid walls.

On 4th August 2012, BDMLR’s Moray Seal Holding Unit welcomed its first guests – two abandoned seal pups who were picked up from seaside villages Hopeman and Cullen in Moray, Scotland. The plastic pallet boxes provided a clean contained environment for the seal pups on arrival whilst they were given fluids at regular intervals and then monitored overnight, before being taken to the Scottish SPCA Wildlife Rescue Centre near Alloa.

Eight years on, these original plastic pallet boxes are still going good and strong and BDMLR has since ordered a further 10 pallet boxes for its holding units.

Dan Jarvis, Welfare Development and Field Support Officer at BDMLR, said: “We’ve been using the 12 plastic pallet boxes as temporary holding pens for seal pups either for overnight respite and release or to relay them onward to a rehabilitation centre once they’ve had some recovery time, as the journeys can often be long.

“We now have pens in Northumberland, Suffolk and Cornwall, as well as the original pallet boxes in our Moray unit, all of which are used regularly and really help with reducing the strain on our volunteer resources, the rehabilitation centres, and of course providing better local care for the seals pups whilst they’re with us.”

In these exceptional times it seems UK wildlife is thriving, according to recent reports by the National Trust, and spotting a seal colony is one of Britain’s great wildlife spectacles, boasting 36% of the world’s population of grey seals.

If you spot an abandoned seal pup, contact BDMLR’s rescue hotline on 01825 765546 #WorldEnvironmentDay #ForNature