For many businesses, the thought of an inspection by the Health and Safety Executive would provoke a measure of fear and trepidation; however, for the management of Cheshire-based Aqueduct Marina, it turned out to be a positive experience.

For some time, Robert Parton, MD of Aqueduct Marina, and his management team had been looking at investing in improved extraction for the grit blasting bay, as with the demand for their grit blasting services increasing, it was logical to invest in improving the equipment being used. So, despite the Health and Safety inspection finding the facilities complied with their PPE requirements, which meant the person doing the blasting was protected, there was an environmental concern about the dust leaking out during the operation. As a result, the company brought forward the investment to reduce the possibility of abrasive dust escaping when the bay was in use.

They called on the services of Hodge Clemco, a company that specialises in the manufacture and supply of abrasive blasting and surface treatment equipment. Hodge Clemco installed a reverse pulse dust collector system that creates a negative pressure within the blast booth and, by removing the airborne dust, allows the operator to maintain visibility within the booth. It also minimises any dust escaping from the blast booth, with the dust being contained in the dust extractor bins to allow safe disposal.

Liam Davis, Sales and Marketing Manager for Hodge Clemco, said, “Following our initial visit and conversations, we returned to the site with one of our design engineers to carry out a full site survey, which enabled Hodge Clemco to provide a full design layout drawing of the proposed 14,000cfm reverse pulse dust collector system for the approval of Aqueduct Marina. The dust extraction system supplied and installed by Hodge Clemco comprises of the latest fully programmable gamma pulse auto reverse pulse system with differential pressure recognition. It has an auto-clean sequence whilst in operation and an additional cleaning cycle on shutdown, ensuring maximum dust release is achieved from the ultra-efficient nano fibre filters resulting in a prolonged filter life.”

The result of this work is that Aqueduct staff have reported a marked improvement in visibility whilst working within the bay.

The installation of the new extraction equipment saw a £60k investment being made to this side of Aqueduct’s business. Robert Parton said, “During the H&S visit, the escaping dust issue was flagged as a potential local authority environmental issue. With the system now installed and in regular use, we have seen a noticeable improvement in conditions both inside and outside the workshop. It is an expensive piece of equipment, but in a world where good staff are hard to find, and lung health is a real focus of the HSE, this is resulting in a healthier, safer working environment for our staff.”