Compliance & Precision News Round-Up - Issue 15

This issue covers:

• Bender Benefits from DO4002
• BEAMA Makes the Case for Low Carbon Electricals
• GAMBICA Sets Up New Lab Managers Group
• Demand Boost for Calibration Services
• Counterfeit Seizures Landmark

Bender Benefits from DO4002

 A specialist in insulation monitoring devices and on-line earth fault location systems for the healthcare sector uses Cropico instrumentation to deliver improved electrical measurement and safety testing.

 Service engineers at Cumbria-based Bender UK, part of the German owned Bender Group, are using DO4002 digital ohmmeters to ensure that earth loops are less than 0.1 ohm when commissioning and servicing electrical equipment.

The lightweight units are very portable, making it quick and easy for engineers to check the safety of hundreds of isolated power system installations in operating theatres, cath labs, MRI rooms, CT scanners located throughout the UK.

Bender chose the DO4002 to ensure compliance with the Medical Electrical Installation Guidance Notes (MEIGaN), which cover the safety requirements of electrical systems installed in diagnostic imaging, patient treatment and radiotherapy rooms.

Bender’s project engineer Stuart Garnett said that the DO4002 is fulfilling all expectations and has been impressed with its performance.

“It’s an excellent instrument, which makes it easy for our engineers to undertake the safe electrical testing of our products regardless of where they are located.

“Nothing compares with it in terms of portability and design function. All in all, it’s an impressive and unique product that will make the job of electrical safety testing a whole lot easier.”

BEAMA Makes the Case for Low Carbon Electricals

 BEAMA has published its ‘Case for a Government-backed Smart & Low Carbon Electrical Infrastructure Sector Group’, calling for a manufacturing policy focus that will help deliver the UK’s 2050 Energy Strategy objectives.

 Speaking at BEAMA’s AGM in November Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, welcomed the publication stating: "I very much welcome this paper from BEAMA. We know that in order to reach our 2050 objectives we will need the right skills, the right regulatory framework, the right policy levers to promote innovation and a collaborative approach to promoting investment.

My industrial strategy is very much about looking to the future, setting out a long-term, whole of Government approach to how government supports business and aligning activity to deliver it. We will consider how this sector can contribute to our strategic approach."

BEAMA’s CEO, Dr Howard Porter, believes the time is absolutely right to drag important electrotechnical infrastructure out of broader construction and utility manufacturing Sector Strategy Groups to give it the focus it requires. He said: “Some £150bn needs to be invested in our energy infrastructure over the coming decade, and, whilst much of this will go towards generation, there is a very strong need to ensure we have a coherent manufacturing policy for distribution technologies and smart building infrastructure.

“There will be a natural convergence of utility and construction products as we pursue the smart and low carbon electrification of the UK, but we do not believe policy objectives will be met without a focused Sector Strategy Group overseen by BIS. We have a unique opportunity through our Smart Meter rollout, smart and innovative networks investment and progressive growth in electric heating and transport to make the UK a potential knowledge and export hub for the rest of Europe and the world. But, to achieve that vision, we are calling on BIS to give the sector the attention required to tackle skills, regulatory, innovation and investment issues.”

‘The Case for a Smart & Low Carbon Electrical Infrastructure Sector Group’ is available to download from www.beama.org.uk.

GAMBICA Sets Up New Lab Managers Group

 A new organisation, the British Laboratory Managers Association, has been launched by the trade association GAMBICA recently.

 The British Association of Laboratory Managers (BLMA) is being formed to enable all laboratory managers to learn and improve their skills in laboratory management. The BLMA will provide opportunities to meet other laboratory managers, exchange ideas, and build on the experiences of other managers to improve laboratory management skills.

The BLMA is being setup as a separate association within GAMBICA, the UK, not for profit, trade association for companies involved in the instrumentation, control, automation and laboratory technology Industry

Tim Collins, Director, lab technology, GAMBICA Association Ltd says: "An initial soft launch via a selected number of GAMBICA member clients has resulted in an extremely positive response with an inaugural management committee meeting planned to formulate the issues and activities the BLMA will look at."

One of these will be an inaugural annual meeting, expected to be in May/June 2013. Other activities could include special interest group meetings as well as a website with a member´s area that would include forums, newsletters and a document depository. Topics covered may include: managing laboratories, green laboratories, regulations such as REACH, WEEE and managing waste, HR, health and safety, electronic note books, tendering and purchasing.

More details are available by contacting blma@gambica.org.uk.

Demand Boost for Calibration Services

 A new survey shows that the European calibration market earned revenues of $1.09 billion in 2011 and expects this to grow to $1.55 billion in 2018.

 The survey from Frost & Sullivan, Analysis of the European Calibration Services Market, says that demand will be high over the next two years as regulations become more stringent and quality more essential.

Onsite calibration is considered more cost effective by end users, and particularly in the process industries. In addition, a significant rend in the calibration service industry is the outsourcing of work to calibration service companies, labs and the equipment manufacturers themselves.

More details at www.smt.frost.com.

Counterfeit Seizures Landmark

 The UK electrical industry has passed a milestone with the news that over 15 million counterfeit products have been seized since 2001 as a result of industry collaboration.

 Although the total of 15,260,746 suggests a large scale trade in fake electrical goods, this continuing progress is making it more and more difficult for counterfeiters to get away with making and distributing unsafe copies of electrical equipment and appliances.

The number is put into sharp focus by considering that every product seized has the potential to harm end users who are unfortunate enough to come into contact with it.

Product seizures have been a result of an open attitude and information sharing between companies, associations, officials and investigators – and the anti-counterfeiting network is getting bigger and stronger all the time.

An industry initiative developed by BEAMA, a ‘Blow the Whistle’ function also allows visitors to the www.counterfeit-kills.co.uk website to play their part. Those who encounter or suspect the trade or use of counterfeit electrical goods can inform BEAMA (confidentially if preferred) who will take the necessary steps to track the problem and put an end to that supply route.