Chemical Engineering October 2011 - 24

Newsfront
Because Safety Matters
Hi Temp Products ANSI/FM 4950 approved welding and/or fi re blankets are designed
to protect personnel and equipment from intense heat, fl ame, sparks, and molten metal
splash. Our products are used during Hot Work Operations in refi neries, petrochemical
plants, power plants, ship building, offshore platforms, steel mills, auto manufacturing, storage
tank fabrication, forest product plants, pulp & paper mills, and building construction.
In major plant shutdowns and new construction, welding blankets are used as equipment
covers to protect sensitive equipment and instruments from the potential damage
that can be caused by welding splatter coming into contact with equipment. Catwalks
should be lined with welding blanket material to prevent welding spark and spatter from
falling onto other levels and potentially igniting fi res where there may be petroleum
spills or simply keeping the spark from landing on persons working on lower levels.
Our materials are tested and approved by FM approvals.
Our material is American National Standard for Evaluating Welding Pads, Welding Blankets
and Welding Curtains for Hot Work Operations ANSI/FM 4950 approved, which is
extremely important because this is currently the only recognized standard for testing
materials used in hot work operations.
Our material Meets the NFPA 51B 2009 Standard Fire Prevention During Welding Cutting
and Other Hot Work.
California OSHSB (Cal/OSHA) adopted NFPA 51B 2009, revision into
law on August 30th, 2010 and started enforcing the law on September
29th, 2010. This standard requires the use of an ANSI/FM4950
approved material for hot work operations in the State of California.
To be in compliance, all welding blankets, pads, and curtains, must
be approved for their intended use in accordance with Section 3206
of the GISO. The State of California has made safety it's number one
priority for the people working in the Hot Work Field.
The Boilermakers Union has worked with Hi Temp Products to bring awareness
and support for NFPA 51B 2009, revision in the State of California.
Call Hi Temp Products today to fi nd out more about our coated and uncoated welding
blankets, curtains and pads. All products are available as rolled goods and pre-cut sizes.
USA Offi ces:
11500 NW Freeway, Suite 435
Houston, Texas 77092
Phone: (713) 688-3011
125 Sherman St.
LaConner, Washington 98257
Phone: (425) 327-2336
Email: comptex@frontier.com
Corporate Offi ce:
Hi Temp Products of Canada, Inc.
16810 129 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5V 1L2
Phone: 780-424-1829
Email: info@hitemp.ca
A Wireless
revolution?
t's no secret that wireless products,
including fixed, wireless gasdetection
devices, can save users
substantial amounts of money in labor
and material costs. Obviously, being
wireless they eliminate the cost of additional
conduit, as well as labor, installation
and maintenance. The systems
also offer additional flexibility because
it is possible to completely surround a
hazardous area with wireless gas detectors.
And, many companies offer
mesh wireless topographies that allow
processors to use an installed wireless
system to send messages from one
node to another throughout the plant.
If one node goes down, it automatically
sends the message to a different
node. This type of system is called
" self-healing " and allows the detection
to be very agile and very responsive.
For this reason wireless technology is
I
starting to gain momentum in many industrial
facilities. And because it's been
around for a while, there are a lot of
improvements in the technology regarding
reliability and security.
However, the majority of applications
in the chemical process industry remain
in remote areas where it is difficult to get
power to the site or difficult to run wiring
back to a receiver. This is especially true
when it comes to wireless gas detection.
There's a tendency to not fully adopt
digital protocols and wireless communication
for safety critical items because
users believe they need the reliability of
a wired, analog system.
This doesn't mean that wireless gas
detection is non-existent in chemical
processing. Instead, it's often added to
wired systems to supplement the capabilities
of that system. Typically what is
found are facilities with existing analog
detectors combined with wireless systems
on top to provide additional communication
and capabilities.
So while wireless gas detection is not
www.hitemp.ca
Circle 26 on p. 78 or go to adlinks.che.com/35070-26
24 ChemiCal engineering www.Che.Com oCtober 2011
yet at the point where everyone wants
to go 100% wire free, it is slowly making
progress. And, as security of these
systems continues to increase due to
the now available mesh networks and
encrypted, spread-spectrum, channelhopping
capabilities, not to mention
younger engineers familiar and comfortable
with wireless technology entering
the workplace, it is likely that
wireless gas detection systems will
eventually replace hardwired systems
in many locations.
❐

http://www.hitemp.ca http://adlinks.che.com/35070-26 http://www.Che.Com

Chemical Engineering October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering October 2011