Ace Controls Blog

Vibration is one element of motion control that was overlooked during construction of the Olympic Park for the upcoming 2012 London Olympic Games, according to an official report.

The study, compiled for the Health and Safety Executive and the Olympic Delivery Authority, identifies two major oversights in the safety precautions taken on the site.

Vibration is one of these, while exposure to noise is the second, both described in the report as areas where “more could potentially have been done”.

While a fifth of workers on the site said they were frequently exposed to noise and vibration, motion control measures such as anti-vibration handles were not used.

This may have left many of those involved in the construction of the Olympic Park at greater risk of musculoskeletal injuries and stresses.

At Ace Controls, our SLAB damping plates double as both motion dampers and vibration insulators – the use for which they are probably better known.

We have developed ACE-SLAB beyond its vibration dampening application, so that it also serves as an effective motion damper for impact shocks.

Gas struts could have a part to play in the future of eco-friendly construction, allowing hatch access to green roofs without putting individuals at unnecessary risk.

Most eco-friendly roofs have some form of planted element – often simply a form of grass, but sometimes including shrubs if the space is to be used as a roof garden.

However, it can be preferable to allow access to the roof to be achieved via a flat hatch, rather than constructing a stairwell that could leave part of the planted area in permanent shade.

Gas struts can be useful here, allowing the hatch to be kept open until the individual returns to the interior of the building.

This has the dual benefits of ensuring they cannot become trapped on the roof, and of preventing the hatch from closing on a person’s limb or head.

With water shortages currently a concern in the south-east, such rooftops are finding favour with local councils.

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has suggested green roofs as a component in a SUDS (sustainable urban drainage solutions) system, alongside recycled rainwater and permeable pavements that can capture and store surface run-off.

In this way, the council claims unpredictable rainfall patterns could be overcome, ensuring a more consistent supply of water to the capital.

Installing motion control features as part of an organisational-level approach to workplace safety could cut injuries among workers by up to a third, new research suggests.

Carried out by the University of Georgia, the study looked at workplaces where safety is addressed on an organisational level, and compared them with those where individuals are trained – and blamed – on the perceived risks to which they are exposed.

Workplaces where individuals are protected by safety measures, without being asked to take sole responsibility for their working practices, are significantly less likely to face a painful mishap.

Combining employee freedom with smooth and effective running of the company leads to a 38% drop in injuries, with the effect linked to employees’ better opinions of their employers.

Meanwhile, a “positive safety climate” leads to perceptions among the workforce that can cut injury rates by 32%.

To create this positive climate, however, companies need to demonstrate that safety issues are important on an organisational level.

And this is where motion control steps in – limiting the undesirable movement of heavy goods and machinery, preventing damage to valuable items, and in turn protecting employees against injury due to runaway or falling objects.

Motion control can help to make sure that any lifting machinery used on construction sites is limited in its range – and can therefore reduce the safety risks associated with its use.

HSE guidance on the use of cranes and other lifting machinery suggests that full safety precautions should be taken over the equipment’s operating range of motion.

It adds that unauthorised movement of the crane should be prevented in a way that is recorded in the site’s method statement.

While this might include limiting access to the machinery to only those individuals with a legitimate reason to use it, motion control can also ensure that nobody – including authorised users – is able to extend the crane beyond its safe and assessed operating range.

Safety shock absorbers are one option for crane machinery, including overhead cranes, to bring the mobile components to a stop safely and quickly in an emergency.

The TC range of Tubus dampers provides a particularly good level of protection for crane equipment, with structural changes within the damper converting the frictional force of deceleration into heat.

Rotary dampers are a compact yet effective option for motion control in small and confined spaces.

Usually silicone filled, rotary dampers work by forcing the high-viscosity fluid through a groove or orifice.-

Continuous rotary dampers deliver motion control with a constant damping force, while limited rotary dampers work over a set and adjustable operating angle.

Whichever you choose, you can use these low-maintenance components in some of the smallest areas imaginable.

For example, you can often find a rotary damper inside a CD or DVD drive, helping to dampen the motion of the drive insert.

Return valv

es, copiers and even some items of furniture also make use of components from this family of motion control.

Depending on the specific application, you can choose a damper that works only clockwise, only anticlockwise, or in both directions.

Specify upfront if you need a zero-maintenance device, and we can provide plastic or metal-coated rotary dampers that are fully self-contained.

We can also supply plastic racks for your rotary dampers, if required, while those fitted with gears are available with four standard modules to suit your needs.

Hydraulic dashpots have been around for a long time – longer than modern, controlled linear deceleration dampers.

Modern motion dampers can, in many cases, be thought of as the successors to dashpots, able to slow moving parts with high levels of control and relatively low peak forces exerted.

However, there are still some applications for which hydraulic dashpots may be used.

For instance, one of the advantages of some dashpots is their ability to create resistance acting in only one direction.

This means, for example, that doors can be opened quickly with little force required, but then close slowly under the resistance of the dashpot.

Where motion control is needed at all costs, the high force exerted by dashpots under load might also be a desirable feature.

Dashpots typically exert the greatest force early in their action, after which the peak quickly falls away.

This has the obvious advantage of achieving rapid deceleration of a mass as soon as the dashpot is engaged.

For more carefully controlled deceleration, meanwhile, we can provide linear motion dampers that exert less of a force, but can halt motion entirely in a faster time.