Compliance & Precision News Round-Up - Issue 16

This issue covers:

Safety Warning on Beko Tumble Dryers

Appliance brand Beko has announced that several of its 6kg and 7kg condenser tumble dryers may be affected by a faulty third-party capacitor that could fail, overheat and pose a potential fire risk.

According to the manufacturer, the warning applies to around 51,000 appliances – 30,000 of which are in consumers’ homes – that were manufactured between May and October of this year.

As a precautionary measure Beko aims to replace the offending capacitors and has put in place a ‘voluntary corrective action programme’. It took out national and regional press advertising to make consumers aware of the problem and to get them to check their tumble dryers to see if they own any of the models affected.

Beko service engineers are also on call to visit consumers’ homes to modify any affected appliances, said Beko.

In the summer of 2011, Beko received unwanted attention when it was caught up in a fire safety scandal involving the London Fire Brigade, which warned of up to 500,000 potentially dangerous Beko fridge-freezers in the UK. More at www.ertonline.com

Jewson Tool Hire Invests in Safety

Jewson, the UK’s leading supplier of sustainable timber and building materials, is equipping its expanding range of tool hire branches with new electrical safety testing technology as part of its ongoing commitment to health and safety.

Over 30 new tool hire branches have been fitted with specialist Clare B255 testers from the Seaward Group.

The Clare B255 tester has a comprehensive electrical safety testing capability and has become the product of choice within the Tool Hire, service and repair industries. The compact bench top tester enables electrical safety tests to be carried out quickly and effectively, ensuring that power tools and other electrical rental equipment functions correctly with maximum safety.

The B255 enables the full suite of electrical safety tests to be carried out and includes earth/ground bond and hipot/flash testing alongside load, run and leakage testing.

In the Jewson branches the tester is used as part of an overall process which ensures that all power hand held tools and construction equipment are routinely serviced, tested and recorded before being made available for hire.

The testing is linked to computerised records and service schedules to ensure that the correct functionality and safe operation of all hire and rental equipment is maintained at all times.

Lee Percival, Jewson Tool Hire Regional Director for the North and Scotland, commented: “The safety of our staff and customers is our number one priority. Our training programmes are designed to ensure that all Jewson Tool Hire staff are up to speed with best practice and industry requirements. We work in partnership with Seaward to ensure all our Tool Hire branches meet the HAE standards for electrical safety testing”

Clare electrical safety testing equipment is part of the Seaward Group. More details at www.seaward.co.uk

New Vacuum Cleaner Regulations Drafted

The draft Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations for vacuum cleaners have undergone several significant revisions over the past couple of years. The Regulatory Committee is scheduled to consider the latest Ecodesign draft on 27 February 2013.

According to the UK’s Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Applicances, (AMDEA), each of the proposed aspects has caused its own difficulties for different member companies, not least because the interaction of other elements directly affects energy consumption, which is the main point of the energy label. As well as the total energy use of each product, the label is expected to show a performance rating for both hard floor and carpet (if applicable) and dust re-emissions.

The final element causing disquiet is the noise rating, with a proposed maximum of 77dBA seen as rather lower than many current appliances could match. However, additional measures to counter noise emissions could increase a product’s energy use, which would detract from the intention of the legislation. AMDEA has been involved in discussions with CECED and with Defra who are both seeking a view on what would be a sensible limit to offer the European Commission as a counter proposal.

More at www.amdea.org.uk

DO4000 Keeps Resistance Measurement On Track

Accurate low resistance measurement and improved quality control during rail track maintenance programmes is provided by the Cropico DO4000 range of high performance, digital milliohmmeters.

The portable and rugged instrument includes a number of advanced features to ensure measurement accuracy and is suitable for track joint resistance testing and checking the accuracy of power distribution joints. It can also be used as part of a signal maintenance and refurbishment schedule, notably for the quick and accurate checking of signal wire integrity.

The DO4000 enables forward and reverse current measurement with auto averaging, true current zero, long scale length and a selectable measurement range from 40mΩ to 4kΩ with respective resolutions between 10µΩ and 1Ω.

Within the range, model 4001 also includes temperature compensation, with preset coefficients for copper and aluminium plus user settable coefficients for other materials. Temperature measurement over the range –50 to +800ºC is also available.

Protection up to 415V rms is provided at the measurement terminals and push button operation is achieved easily by clearly marked function controls. Direct reading measured values are displayed on a four-digit LCD display..

Over range and low battery indication is also provided and warning LEDs illuminate when an open circuit lead condition is detected. The 4000 series can be supplied with long leads to allow for accurate measurement and a rechargeable battery option includes a battery pack, docking station and charger.

The DO4000 forms part of a comprehensive range of precision measurement instruments available from Cropico, part of the Seaward Group. More at www.seaward.co.uk

Southern Electronics Show

The UK’s largest exhibition for electronics production and sourcing takes place in February at the Southern Manufacturing and Electronics show.

Held on the 13th and 14th February, at the Farnborough International Venue (Five), the event will feature new services, components, technology and equipment for the electronics industry.

Included will be examples of the latest technology, components, equipment and machinery and including inspection equipment, test and measurement solutions, electronic components and production assembly solutions.

For more details visit www.colnedata.co.uk

EU Standardisation

The EU Regulation on standardisation was published last month and came into effect on 1 January 2013. Many of the provisions relate to the standards bodies themselves, such as BSI and CENELEC and may involve some future changes in the way that they operate.

The most significant aspect of this new Regulation is its formal recognition of the CE marking but it also suggests that Member States should encourage the participation of public authorities, including market surveillance authorities, in certain national standardisation activities.

It also incorporates a formal objection process for both Member States and the Parliament to question whether a standard fulfils the essential requirements of a Directive. This right was previously specified for member States (but not the Parliament) in Directives themselves.

More at www.amdea.org.uk

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