June 2008
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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June 2008
Industrial safety specialist Castell has been reminded of its company history by a visit from the founder’s granddaughter.
Anthea Hartley arrived at Castell’s headquarters in Kingsbury, north London, on 25 April 2008, to unveil a restored photo of her grandfather, James Harry Castell. She was then given a guided tour of the factory by managing director Tim Whelan, before witnessing the historical development of the company’s products, from the earliest interlock to current technologies like Salvo and Quadcam.
Representatives from Castell’s offices in the USA, Germany and China were also present.
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April 2008
The world’s largest independent manufacturer of diesel engines has demonstrated its faith in Castell’s Salvo by installing the driveaway-prevention system at a second UK site. Cummins Ltd has now adopted Salvo at its Darlington site, following a recommendation from the company’s Daventry facility.
“It’s failsafe,” says Gary Summerson, Warehouse & Receiving Manager at Darlington, of the interlocking safeguard. “The improved level of safety, both physically – by locking access to the trailer braking system and interlocking the operation of the ramp – and through greater awareness by truck drivers and warehouse staff, pushes us closer to eliminating unintentional driveaways from the loading docks.”
The recent HSE booklet ‘Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety’ recommends interlocks as a safe system of work to combat driveaways. Prior to the installation of Salvo, Cummins Ltd relied on retaining drivers’ keys and using safety barriers.
Having reversed their trailer up to the relevant bay, drivers collect a Salvo Susie lock from the storage cabinet inside the office. 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 and turn it, changing the traffic lights from green to red and allowing 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.
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March 2008
Pork Farms, one of the UK’s leading bakeries, has chosen to protect its employees from the threat of driveaways by investing in Castell’s Salvo. The safety system has been installed on all four loading bays at Pork Farm’s Palethorpes site in Shropshire, which handles an average of 130 vehicles per week.
“Salvo is easy to control and cost-effective,” comments Dave Bradley, Logistics Support Manager, when asked why his company decided to adopt the interlocking system. “We did look at wheel-locking devices but felt that Salvo was simpler and more manageable within our site processes.” Interlocking systems are recommended as a safe system of work to combat driveaways in the recent HSE booklet ‘Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety’.
Having reversed their trailer up to the relevant bay, drivers collect a Salvo Susie lock from the storage cabinet inside the office. 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, turning the traffic lights from green to red, and allowing the motorised door to be raised and the dock leveller positioned. The key remains trapped in the control box until the door is fully closed.
When loading / unloading has finished, the door is closed, the key released and the Salvo Susie lock removed.
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January 2008
Castell has recently appointed Ms Nie Shaofeng (Sally Nie) as its marketing manager for China. Based in Shanghai, she will be responsible for sales and marketing strategy and development in the region.
Before joining Castell, Sally worked as the marketing manager of Spraying Systems Co., the world leader in spray technology. Her main responsibilities there included handling marketing strategy for China and south-east Asia, as well as sales and marketing training for branded products. Prior to that, she spent three years as assistant to the sales and marketing director of Dresser-Rand (Shanghai) Compressor, a subsidiary of Ingersoll-Rand.
Sally began her career at Shanghai Metal Forming Machine Works as assistant process engineer, having graduated from Harbin University of Science and Technology in 1997 with a degree in industrial design. Sally’s wealth of experience in the steel, papermaking, petrochemical and electronics industries will greatly benefit Castell’s market development in China.
Founded over 85 years ago, Castell Safety International Ltd designs and manufactures the world’s widest range of industrial safety systems and offers unrivalled experience in trapped key interlocking. The company currently operates from locations in London, Cincinnati, Cologne and Shanghai.
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December 2007
Copella Fruit Juices, part of PepsiCo, is the latest food industry member to invest in Salvo, Castell’s drive-away prevention system. The innovative safety device has been fitted to both loading bays at Copella’s factory in Boxford, Suffolk, safeguarding 50 deliveries per week.
The natural fruit juice company felt it unnecessary to consider any rival loading-bay-safety technologies. “Salvo has been very successful elsewhere in PepsiCo,” reveals John Watson, Copella’s Health & Safety Manager, “so it was logical for it be installed here too.” Salvo currently protects a total of 103 bays, across six sites, for PepsiCo’s Walkers Crisps.
Having reversed their trailer up to the relevant bay, drivers collect a Salvo Susie lock from its storage box inside the warehouse. 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, allowing the motorised door to be raised and the dock leveller positioned. The key remains trapped in the control box until the door is fully closed.
When loading / unloading has finished, the door is closed, the key released and the Salvo Susie lock removed.
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November 2007
Industrial-safety specialist Castell has added a UK version of Salvo Chock to its Salvo range of drive-away prevention systems. Used in combination with the EU model, the new unit removes the risk of drive-aways occurring during loading operations involving all rigid vehicles or semi-trailers.
Salvo Chock introduces discipline into the chocking procedure by interlocking the chock to the loading bay. If the chock is not correctly fitted, the bay door cannot be opened. The chock also provides a striking visual deterrent to a time-conscious or neglectful driver who is tempted to prematurely depart from a loading bay.
Once the driver has positioned the vehicle at the bay, the chock is collected and positioned; the yellow UK version is fitted to the vehicle’s front right wheel, while the orange EU model is intended for the front left. Depressing the foot pedal three times clamps the two halves of the chock around the wheel and releases the trapped key. It should be noted that the key cannot be removed while the chock is in its free state.
Salvo Chock is now tightly clamped and cannot be removed unless the coded Castell key is reinserted. The key is transferred to the control panel located at the loading bay, which allows the loader inside the warehouse to open the door.
To remove Salvo Chock, the loader must first close the loading bay door. The driver can then remove the key from the control panel and return to the chock. Inserting the key and pumping the pedal releases the pressure and allows removal of the chock.
Salvo Chock is designed to fit rigid vehicles and semi-trailers with a wheel size of up to 295/80R22.5 (94cm diameter). The unit is heavy-duty and features a stainless-steel locking mechanism.
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October 2007
Castell Iso-Lok has unveiled a brand new website, including a fully-stocked online shop for the easy purchasing of their Lock-Out/Tag-Out safety devices – and at a 10% discounted rate. The website can be found at www.iso-lok.com.
The site also incorporates a new ‘Live Support’ feature for instant aid on safety issues: three mouse clicks from the homepage are all that separate the user from a team of knowledgeable safety experts ready to provide advice and answer queries.
Amongst the products on offer are a variety of padlocks: available in brass or stainless steel as keyed to differ, keyed alike, or master and differ (with all keys recorded for additional safety and the possibility of further supply). The new Multi-Clasp lock for multiple-user lockouts is also available in a variety of designs to suit the situation, as are the new Iso-Valve covers and other valve and device lockouts.
A range of lockout boxes, cabinets and stations of varying sizes, features and contents can be purchased for one-stop safety shopping. As Castell Iso-Lok is the premier distributor for Brady lockout/tagout equipment, many of their products are stocked along with a range of safety signs and tags. The final new products filling out the shop’s virtual shelves are the new ‘Iso-Lok Packs’, which include an individual pouch and selected lockout equipment for instant and easy personal safety.
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September 2007
Industrial safety specialist Castell Iso-Lok has developed a new Multi-Clasp padlock for Lock-Out/Tag-Out procedures. The new lock features a standard fixed-width hasp shape and now sports a highly-visible, safety-colour coded, polyester powder coated finish.
The new Multi-Clasp has room for six individual padlocks to be attached, allowing multiple workers to lock off the same machine. The lock will not open until each separate padlock has been removed. This ensures that the locked-off equipment cannot be reactivated until everyone has completed their work, and safe operation can continue.
Lock-Out/Tag-Out systems work on the principle of individually keyed padlocks and keys which workers can use to lock off machinery or controls. They cannot then be operated while the worker might be at risk due to their use. Usually used during machinery maintenance, this simple, reassuringly mechanical method of improving personal safety is as reliably effective as it is straightforward.
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September 2007
Castell’s drive-away prevention system Salvo is now protecting warehouse staff at Europe’s largest single-site PVC compounding operation.
Hydro Polymers, part of Norsk Hydro ASA, has installed Salvo on the only loading bay at its Newton Aycliffe site, in County Durham. The bay handles approximately 30 trailers per day, for both the UK and European markets.
“As soon as I saw Salvo, I thought that it was a little bit of genius,” says Paul Burns, Warehouse Manager at Hydro Polymers. “It’s simple to use, cost-effective and does exactly what it’s supposed to.”
Prior to contacting Castell, Paul had recognised the need for an additional safety system beyond the wheel chocks and driver-surrendered keys that were already in operation at the site. He had investigated alternative methods – such as vehicle restraints, hydraulic gates, barriers and traffic lights – but had found them all to be cost-prohibitive.
When drivers have reversed their trailer up to the loading bay, they are given the Salvo Susie lock by the warehouse operative. Fitting the lock to the trailer’s exposed emergency air line coupling immobilises the trailer and releases a uniquely-coded key, which the operative then inserts into a control box located inside the warehouse. Turning the key powers up the bay, enabling the door to be raised and loading or unloading to begin. The key remains trapped in the control box until the door is fully closed once more.
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