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Industrial safety specialist Castell has opened a manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. Castell’s managing director, Tim Whelan, attended the official opening ceremony in October 2009.

Castell opens Chinese factory

(l-r): Judy Jia (administrative assistant), Tim Whelan (managing director), Wendy Wang (purchasing manager), Martin Zhang (director Halma China), Connie Zhang (administrative assistant)

Castell Safety China achieved its business licence in May 2009, and both its production and sales and marketing functions are now fully operational. The number of production staff recently increased by 25 per cent, while the company qualified for ISO 9001:2008 certification through BSI China.

Although primarily created to ensure that Chinese employees are protected in their workplace, Castell Safety China also manufactures trapped key interlocks for 30 per cent of Castell’s global customer base. The operation focuses on local sourcing of components to reduce production costs and maintain short lead times.

Castell Safety China is currently fulfilling an order worth RMB 1.36m (£120,000) for the China Nuclear Power Engineering Company (CNPEC). The interlocks supplied will be used in the Fuqing nuclear power project in Fujian and the Haiyan Fangjiashan nuclear power project in Zhejiang.

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Dairy Crest, the UK’s leading chilled dairy foods company, is protecting loading bay personnel at two sites with Castell’s interlocking driveaway prevention system, Salvo.

Dairy Crest improves loading bay safety with Salvo

“Without a shadow of a doubt, it’s the best system we’ve found,” commented Martin O’Brien, health & safety manager at Dairy Crest’s Fenstanton dairy. Martin became aware of Salvo thanks to Sarah Mellor at the company’s Crudgington facility, where the safety system has been in operation for two years. Having spoken to the staff at Crudgington and seen Salvo in action, Martin decided that the system was also the right choice for Fenstanton.

The decision was influenced by Fenstanton’s chief shunter, Alan Crouch, who, while impressed by Salvo’s simplicity and ease-of-use, was particularly taken with the product’s ability to put control of the loading procedure in the hands of shunters. As Martin explains: “The shunters have been the driving force behind the adoption of this technology, and they’re the ones who are most pleased with it.”

Fenstanton handles an average of 100 vehicle movements a day on its 10 loading bays. Shunters reverse trailers up to the relevant bay, remove the Salvo Susie lock from its storage box and fit it to the trailer’s exposed emergency airline coupling. This action immobilises the trailer and releases an individually coded key from the end of the lock, which the shunter then inserts into the Salvo Control Panel next to the bay door. Internal Salvo Beacons alert loaders that the bay door can be opened, while yard-side traffic lights switch from green to red to inform shunters that loading or unloading is taking place. Once the trailer has been loaded or unloaded, the process is reversed. The key remains trapped in the Salvo Control Panel until the door is fully closed. This ensures no loading personnel can be in the trailer when it’s removed from the bay.

Salvo has eliminated all accidents connected with the site’s loading bays since it was installed. During installation, the Castell team completed the 10 bays in five working days without any disruption to the 24-hour site operation.

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Castell Safety International Ltd has launched Salus, a new trapped key access interlock suitable for any type of industrial door.

Salus is a genuine innovation in trapped key safety interlocking technology thanks to its unique and patent protected high-integrity locking mechanism. Aside from a high level of safety, the key benefits of Salus include reduced downtime due to less maintenance being required on the lock; faster commissioning time as a result of Castell’s new end coding manufacturing system; increased speed of access through its single-handed operation; and improved machine efficiency via the easy-close alignment feature. The new interlock is also compatible with existing Castell figure locks.

Going back to the drawing board to create Salus has allowed for enhanced features to be built into the lock. These include an integrated lock cover, an ergonomic housing to reduce dirt traps and, through the lock mechanism, the ability to close gates or doors despite them being misaligned. The lock housing and mechanism are constructed from stainless steel, which means that the lock is suitable for use in food or pharmaceutical production areas that require a full wash down, or in corrosive environments.

Salus can be used with both sliding and hinged doors. The interlock also benefits from the recently implemented end coding technique which expands the lock’s flexibility while keeping it fully compatible with existing systems. Further flexibility derives from Salus being DIN rail-mountable. Although physically smaller than previous Castell access interlocks, Salus can be mounted to any existing fixing holes with the aid of an additional mounting bracket.

Tim Whelan, Castell’s managing director, commented: “The Castell design and development team have spent a great deal of time understanding our customers’ requirements. This has resulted in a product that delivers real benefits to the world of safety.”

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New manufacturing approach has dramatically reduced lead times

Industrial safety specialist Castell has adopted an innovative manufacturing process to improve efficiency and benefit end-users, machine builders and distributors alike. The company is the first in the interlocking sector to implement end coding, which allows standard products to be coded at the final, rather than initial, stage of production.

End coding enables the company’s interlocks to be fitted uncoded to machinery and remain there until they are commissioned. The coding scheme can be changed right up until commissioning is accepted, when an authorised coding engineer codes the system. As a result, standard products can now be held as stock with distributors and machine builders, speeding up the supply chain.

The system relies on a coded tablet that is inserted into the lock. Once inserted, the tablet cannot be removed or recoded, which guarantees the integrity and safety of the system. Tablets can be provided within 24 hours of being defined and requested.

Since trapped key interlocks were first designed, the production of any system could not start until each code within the system had been defined. This created a number of potential issues. There was no flexibility during the commissioning phase for alterations once the locks had been fitted. Similarly, since each unit had been individually coded at the start of the manufacturing process, replacement stock required a full set of duplicates to be kept as spares. Machine builders could not stock items and orders could only be placed once end-users had confirmed codes. The product was not readily available as a stock item either at distribution outlets or from the manufacturer. Essentially, each component was a special and as such came with an extended lead time, no matter how frequently that product was used.

Keith Allingham, Castell’s operations director, has welcomed the company’s switch to end coding: “This major innovation will benefit all of our customers and give them the flexibility to ensure their system operates correctly pre-commissioning. This will both speed up commissioning times and deliver maximum system integrity – major advantages for all projects.”

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Leeds dairy latest to entrust warehouse safety to interlocking system

Arla Foods, the UK’s leading supplier of fresh milk and cream, has installed Castell’s Salvo on 16 loading bays at its state-of-the-art dairy in Leeds.

The facility handles between 100 and 200 vehicle movements a day and is the third Arla site to have entrusted driveaway prevention to the interlocking system.

“This is the one system that gives me confidence,” commented Darren Fisher, despatch manager at Leeds. “It’s done exactly what I wanted it to do.”

Darren learnt of Salvo via Arla’s national despatch managers forum, and specifically from his counterpart at the company’s Palmers Green site. Although traditionally wary of key-driven systems, Darren was impressed by the demonstration of Salvo he received at Palmers Green, and placed the order for Leeds dairy shortly afterwards.

Shunters at Leeds reverse their trailer up to the relevant loading bay, collect a Salvo Susie lock from a storage box and fit it to the trailer’s emergency air line coupling. With the trailer now immobilised, the shunter takes the key released from the end of the Susie and inserts it into the Salvo control panel inside the warehouse. Turning the key switches on internal beacons and allows the bay door to be raised. The key remains trapped in the control panel while the door is open. Once loading or unloading is complete, the sequence is reversed.

Leeds dairy is also using three Salvo Clubs to safeguard rigid vehicles. Like Salvo Susie, the device relies on trapped key technology, but is fitted to a vehicle’s steering wheel.

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Netto, one of the UK’s fastest growing supermarkets, has installed Castell’s driveaway prevention system Salvo at its distribution centres in Pontefract and Daventry, safeguarding a total of 53 loading bays.

“It’s worked very, very well,” explained Mark Glover, warehouse and distribution manager at Pontefract. “Castell’s rep came to show the loading team how the system worked and managed to convince the team of the safety aspects of the solution. It was paramount that the team bought into the concept.”

Management at the 300,000 square foot main facility at Pontefract, which handles 18,000 pallets a week, had been searching for a safety system to reassure warehouse staff. Following a word-of-mouth recommendation, it witnessed Salvo in action at a Christian Salvesen site and decided to favour the interlocking approach over two more expensive options that it had also been considering. The HSE booklet ‘Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety’ recommends interlocks as a safe system of work to combat driveaways.

Having reversed their trailer up to the relevant loading bay, drivers collect a Salvo Susie lock from the control box at the side of the bay. As the lock is fitted to the exposed emergency air line coupling – effectively immobilising the trailer – it releases a uniquely-coded key. Drivers insert the key into the control box next to the bay. This changes the traffic lights from green to red and allows the dock leveller to be positioned. The key remains trapped in the control box until the dock leveller is returned to its starting position. The key can then be released, and the Salvo Susie lock removed and returned to the control box.

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Graham & Brown, the UK’s leading wallpaper manufacturer, is protecting warehouse staff at its Padiham distribution centre, near Blackburn, with Castell’s driveaway prevention system Salvo. The 136,000 square foot site dispatches an average of 45,000 cartons, or 500,000 rolls of wallpaper, a week.

Following a driveaway incident from which a loader escaped without serious injury, the company realised that it needed to install a more advanced safety system than the verbal method on which it had been relying. John King, operations manager, and Joe Wright, health and safety manager, visited a near-by frozen food supplier to witness Salvo in operation.

“It only took us half an hour to be convinced that it was exactly what we were looking for,” said Joe. “We’re now considering installing Salvo at our distribution centres in France, the Netherlands and the US.”

Having reversed their trailer up to the relevant loading bay, drivers collect a Salvo Susie lock from the warehouse operative. As the lock is fitted to the exposed emergency air line coupling – effectively immobilising the trailer – it releases a uniquely-coded key. Drivers hand the key to the loader, who inserts it into the control box next to the bay. This causes an amber beacon to flash and allows the dock leveller to be positioned. The key remains trapped in the control box until the dock leveller is returned to its starting position. When loading / unloading has finished, the dock leveller is returned, the key released and the Salvo Susie lock removed.

The HSE booklet ‘Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety’ recommends interlocks as a safe system of work to combat driveaways.

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Industrial safety specialist Castell presented its driveaway prevention system Salvo to the Fork Lift Truck Association’s Safety Conference at Warwick University on 25th September 2008.  Jason Reed, Castell’s UK sales manager, spoke on the company’s behalf.

Jason highlighted the need for a product like Salvo by referring to the Health and Safety Executive’s estimation that 20-25 percent of all factory and warehouse accidents occur around the loading bay.  This equates to over 400 serious injuries a year, including an average of eight fatalities.

Jason was quick to dismiss the effectiveness of many of the common methods of loading bay control: “Traffic lights, like road driving, can be ‘jumped’ by drivers, and European drivers may look at the set of lights on the other side of the bay.  Hanging vehicle keys, meanwhile, doesn’t always mean you get the truck’s actual keys, or that the driver doesn’t have a spare set.”  He also pointed out that wheel chocks can be driven over, and that a yard banksman is becoming an increasingly rare sight.

“The trouble with all the alternatives,” Jason added, “is that they require a high degree of supervision, and if that supervision fails, discipline and retraining can be costly.”

Salvo, by contrast, is failsafe, since it removes the risk of human error.  Salvo consists of a mechanical key-holding cylindrical lock, which attaches to the articulated trailer’s emergency airline coupling, and an electro-mechanical lock inside the warehouse, fitted to the loading bay door.  Salvo links the trailer to the bay door during the loading of goods and forces drivers to immobilise the trailer prior to the door being opened.  If the trailer is not locked in place, loading cannot begin.

The recent HSE booklet ‘Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety’ recommends interlocks as a safe system of work to combat driveaways.  Salvo was a finalist in the FLTA’s Awards for Excellence 2005.

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The Doc Combo combines the features of a lockable document holder with those of a safety lockout station and group lockout box. Securely keeping both the permit to work documents and lockout equipment in the same unit, all aspects of lockout safety can now be controlled and monitored from one central location.

Up to 5 permit to work documents can be safety stored in the strong, clear Perspex cover sleeve, and 10 more in a compartment behind the unit. The strong, lightweight aluminium box behind is designed to securely hold keys, padlocks and Multi-Clasps (up to 15 total).

Once a permit to work has been completed it can be displayed in the cover sleeve. After the necessary padlock(s) for the job have been removed, the sleeve is then locked closed by up to seven supervisor’s padlocks. Once the intended isolation is in place, the padlock keys are dropped into the slot on top of the box. They will be securely held there until the work is complete – the supervisor then opens the Doc Combo again, and the lock-out can be safely removed.

The Doc Combo also comes with a pad of 10 permit to work documents, and can be arranged for left- or right-handed operation. The aluminium box is finished in a durable powder coating, has a tray for the dropped-in keys, and uses removable hooks to hold the padlocks inside.

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Industrial safety specialist Castell has revamped its Salvo range of driveaway-prevention products with third-party installers and distributors in mind.

The most significant new product to be introduced is a plug-and-play control panel.  The PCB-based, software-programmable device is multi-voltage and able to power external traffic lights and beacons, greatly simplifying and speeding up the installation process.

Other additions to the range include Salvo Club – which secures rigid vehicles by locking the steering wheel in place – and Salvo Bollard, a modular barrier system compatible with many kinds of access lock.  The latter can be interlocked with a component other than the door, allowing warehouse doors to be safely left open during the hot summer months.  It is also suitable for loading bays that do not have doors.

A comprehensive user guide is also now available, providing all the information required for sales, distribution, installation and maintenance.  Thanks to a manufacturing shift to product end-coding, lead times have been reduced from six weeks to just one.

According to the Fork Lift Truck Association – of which Castell is a member – over 400 serious injuries result from fork lift-related accidents every year, including around eight fatalities.  It is estimated that 10% of these incidents occur during loading operations, often when articulated lorries prematurely leave their designated loading bay, creating a gap into which the fork lift then falls.  Such an accident is known as a ‘driveaway’, and it was to eradicate precisely this kind of event that Castell developed its interlocking Salvo range four years ago.  The recent HSE booklet ‘Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety’ recommends interlocks as a safe system of work to combat driveaways.

In essence, Salvo consists of a mechanical key-holding cylindrical lock, which attaches to the articulated trailer, and an electro-mechanical lock inside the warehouse, fitted to the loading bay door.  Salvo links the trailer to the bay door during the loading of goods and forces drivers to immobilise the trailer prior to the door being opened.  If the trailer is not locked in place, loading cannot begin.

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