| The Model Railway Service |
| Tuesday, 08 April 2008 | |
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With over thirty years of experience in the market place, the rail sector is a core market for us, but Scientifics is not just a technical service provider to the rail industry. Our services go far wider than you might imagine. Yes, Scientifics’ testing, monitoring and analysis services ensure the safe and cost effective performance of plant, equipment and rolling stock. But we also apply our environmental and occupational hygiene expertise to help guarantee the health of staff and the well being of the environment. One of the traditional services associated that we provide is oil condition monitoring. Whether your equipment is mechanical or electrical the oil/fluid present can tell you a lot about its performance and integrity. The potential savings available from a properly implemented CM programme were highlighted as far back as 1988, when, in a study of maintenance practice in UK industry, the DTI reported that companies who have implemented a CM programme on their plant spend on average 25% less on maintenance of the plant than companies who have no CM program. The condition-monitoring programme we provide includes project management, quality testing, sophisticated Internet reporting packages with data trend monitoring, and most importantly practical advice. We provide this expert service to many of the UK train operating companies as well as manufacturers who require their plant and machinery to be monitored. Scientifics can also provide support for the railways’ infrastructure. We have a civil engineering team that test and assess the structural integrity of buildings and tunnels across the country. This might involve taking concrete core samples from existing structures and it also means working alongside the maintenance and construction operators to analyse the quality of the fresh concrete used in reinstatement and new-build work. We also have specialists in paint technology, corrosion and optics (lenses, bulbs and LEDs) and can provide advice and support for product development, facilities management and incident investigation. However, our services are not always in the traditional engineering and train operating side of the rail business. A great deal of our work focuses on the people that run the railways, customers, the public working alongside the network and the surrounding environment. We can be asked to provide expert advice relating to anything from asbestos management and occupational health, right the way through to how to comply with environmental laws and incident investigation. Our teams work alongside our customers to help them manage and maintain their depots and the facilities and plant that operates from their various bases around the country. This might include anything from environmental consultancy to providing a complete solution to manage the removal of asbestos from a building. Customers also employ our services to ensure their staff works safely and in a healthy environment. We provide occupational hygiene audits, ensuring employees are protected from excessive noise and fumes, plus we carry out health & safety training. We carry out regular checks on hand and arm vibration, fumes from solvents, paints and welding as well as noise to ensure that employment rules are complied with. Our expert team works with a variety of customers in the sector measuring air and water quality to ensure they comply with industry and environmental legislation. For Network Rail we monitor forty sites across the UK taking samples of drainage water and checking for PCBs as well as undertaking remediation work on their land. At one major rail depot we have worked with the Network Rail team to monitor the flow of effluent contaminated with oil flowing through the site and into a nearby river. As a result we set up a low-tech green solution that filters the oil and effluent. We cover the whole of the UK, providing one-off services, or bespoke packaged solutions backed up by fully accredited laboratories. We are passionate about providing our customers with answers that add value to their business. Our focus is always to deliver accurate, fast and reliable data allowing customers to make the right decisions for their organisation. You can find out more about these services by visiting our stand at Railtex 07 at ExCel in London’s Docklands. We are on stand Q66. If you want to learn more about the show then go to www.railtex.co.uk Call us on 0800 52 888 52 or visit www.scientifics.com. |
