November/ December 2021

25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FOCUS 46 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS November/December 2021 www.hpmag.co.uk education and health and safety matters surrounding fluid power and acknowledge that the world has become more technology focused. I recognise that through education in schools and in the workplace, we can raise awareness about the career opportunities fluid power has to offer.” Farmer adds: “We all know the challenge of sourcing the right staff, but with innovation and the adoption of new technology we will create fresh and exciting jobs – jobs that will attract a new generation of young people wanting to be involved in leading-edge fluid power initiatives. I am confident that the BFPA and its members will embrace these new trends, and together with a renewed flexible approach to management will ultimately lead to a happier, more productive workforce and in turn, a more prosperous, successful business and industry.” In terms of training and education, Crowther considers that our current government is generally supportive of industry in this country on a national and local level. “Our local Kirklees Council certainly encourages apprenticeships,” he says. “Back in the days when Tony Blair was PM, there was the mindset that if you wanted to get on in life you needed to go to university. This is all well and good for young people with more academic leanings and ambitions, but what about the young people who need the right support and encouragement to become tradespeople – joiners, builders, electricians and engineers at all levels. We need these people for the UK to continue to thrive in these types of practical disciplines and continue to be world class.” Ranger explains that a key focus for BCAS is ensuring the Society’s members have access to the right level of training. “We now offer face-to-face blended learning courses as well as online courses – everything from Understanding ISO8573 – The Air Quality Standard; Understanding Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR 2000 S.I.128); and Compressed Air Systems’ Testing and Examinations; through to a course leading to a Diploma in Compressed Air Management (DipCAM),” he explains. “Of course, an important part of our role is to ensure that standards are upheld and to promote the safe and efficient use of compressed air and vacuum products and systems. With this in mind, we are constantly looking to introduce new courses and guidance documents as well as update and refine existing ones for companies across our whole membership.” Energy and the environment As regards greater energy efficiency and environmental awareness, Wright believes this is a subject that is certainly taken seriously by end users at a board level, but not so much at an operational level. “We undertake quite a few energy audits and historically people used to focus on energy efficiency in the compressor house,” he explains. “Now, it’s also being more focused on in the plantroom on the machinery side. However, getting end users to make the changes required to save air can in some instances be quite hard work. A lot of the time it comes down to changing a few basic work practices. We offer equipment such as cut-off valves for whole machines, but they have been around for a number of years. It’s really about getting engineering personnel at the operations level to buy more into the energy efficiency ethos than the management. In this regard, I feel we should send this message out more within our industry. Of course, the British Compressed Air Society and the British Fluid Power Association regularly get this message across, but it can be a challenge to push this all the way through user organisations. We can show what’s needed, but, ultimately, it’s the end users that have got to deploy things such as frequency inverters and variable speed drives for compressors as well as monitoring applications and checking for and remedying air leaks on a regular basis.” Middleton-Duff makes the point that for cost-saving and environmental reasons, energy efficiency is of course now more important than ever in the compressed air industry as well as all other industries. “For example, our Frecon Plus Series of oil-injected rotary screw compressors can save users up to 35% in energy usage with the compressor’s variable speed and directly coupled drive system. It responds to all requirements between 5.5 kW and 315 kW.” Better filtration Helping customers reduce their environmental footprint is where Keep sees the biggest challenges for the industry and the most important opportunities for growth. “For the future, it’s more important that our industry uses much less oil, and one of the ways to accomplish this to ensure clean hydraulic systems, which really means much better filtration combined with particle counters to ensure longer oil waste and leakage,” he says. Galley also thinks because younger people are particularly committed to seeing industry adopt more environmentally responsible methodologies this is another reason why we need to make equipment more efficient in order to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. “Some positive things came out of COP26, with many global leaders committing to a host of environmental objectives, and within the construction and mining industries diesel engines for equipment such as excavators will be phased out, with more electronic and hydrogen-related alternative power sources coming to the fore. However, this is a direction that needs to be embraced by industry as a whole, including the hydraulics hose sector. We need to think more about how to ensure, for example, how to ensure more of the materials used to make a hose are recyclable.” Decarbonisation agenda Farmer makes the point that the upcoming generation is far more aware of the decarbonisation agenda and now actively seeks out companies with a clear Environmental Social Responsibility (ESR) strategy. “To ignore this trend will not only be a drag on the UK economy but will also preclude companies from access to some of the brightest and upcoming talent in the market,” he says. The foundations of Custom Fittings were formed in the days of the Scottish oil and gas boom back in the 1980s. “However, the offshore business we now see in the UK and Norway is more to supply and maintain rather than build,” Crowther points out. “There is still service work taking place for repair and maintenance, but environmental concerns, electric vehicles and moves to remove the use of plastics from many of our everyday products will inevitably have an impact on the oil industry.” John Farmer, president, the BFPA. Mark Ranger, president. BCAS.