Prevention or cure
Inadequately designed and/or poorly maintained car transporters and tipping trailers are presenting increasing and potentially serious risks to drivers and operators. And they're not alone: there also remain worries with lifts and escalators.
Lift ropes and lubrication
When it comes to steel wire ropes for lifts and elevators, getting lubrication and maintenance right couldn't be much more critical. At the most basic level, all such ropes must be periodically checked for equal tensions, as well as for lubrication, while lift ropes (whether on traction or hydraulic applications) must also be re-lubricated in a controlled manner. The problem, however, is how much and when.
Engineer surveyors: a testing role
In the beginning?there were boiler explosions, and lots of them! And so the engineer surveyor, as we know that person today, came into existence - around the middle of the 19th century. This was a time of rapid industrial expansion that was driven, figuratively and literally, by steam. Mancunians will say with pride that, in that era, their city had the greatest concentration of steam boilers of any city in the world.
A man of the people
When John Ratcliff, CBE, was made Patron of the SOE (Society of Operations Engineers) a year ago, not only did he see that as a tremendous honour, he also regarded is as a huge responsibility. For one thing, he was passionately committed to ensuring that each of the SOE's professional sectors - IPlantE, IRTE and BES - did not suffer from a loss of identity or become swallowed up by the umbrella organisation.
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 clients realising that the periodic inspections carried out for them are not just for insurance purposes, but also a regulatory requirement. As for the worrying point, inspectors will also tell you that far too many organisations are now relying far too heavily on them as a substitute for maintenance engineers.