Weatherite Group of Companies Coronavirus Risk Assessment
Issue date 12/05/20
Weatherite intends to operate as safely as possible during the coronavirus pandemic, minimising the risk to our workforce and others whilst still providing an efficient and quality service to our customers.
We have carried out a formal risk assessment to assess the risks of COVID-19 with the view to doing everything practicable to minimise these risks. Our findings and approach have been extracted from the formal risk assessment and summarised below:
What is Weatherite Group doing to create a safe working environment for you?
- We will prevent the spread of the disease by adhering to current government guidelines
- We will keep management informed of any changes to government guidelines and instruct accordingly
- We will carry out only necessary work during the pandemic
- We will keep workers fully informed of any measures put in place, with appropriate signage displayed as applicable
- We have instructed employees that anyone who has symptoms or lives with someone who has symptoms should not attend work.
- We will have anyone who displays symptoms at work leave the premises
- We have increased cleaning regimes in both the offices and the Shop floor.
- Office staff have been instructed to work from home where possible.
What can Weatherite Group employees do to maintain a safe workplace?
- We remind employees frequently what the symptoms are and suggest that they take their temperature before leaving home
- We have instructed employees to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or more, or use hand sanitiser, before they leave and at the beginning and end of every break
- Workers have been reminded that they should cover mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when they cough or sneeze, put used tissues in the bin as soon as possible and wash hands afterwards (if a bin is not available the tissue should be put in a pocket or bag until it can be placed in a bin). Bins are emptied frequently.
- Where the sharing of tools and equipment is unavoidable, the risk has been reduced by individuals practising good hand hygiene, wiping over tools and equipment frequently with anti-viral wipes.
- Individuals are instructed that they must use the hand sanitiser product supplied on entering reception or offices.
What about communal areas?
- There are ample hand washing facilities and several hand sanitising stations have been set up.
- Breaks have been staggered to minimise the amount of personnel in one area, e.g. canteen, restrooms, and smoking areas.
Social distancing in the workplace
- Individuals have been instructed to maintain a 2 metres distance where possible. Where this is not possible, employees have been allocated to the same ‘team’ wherever possible to limit social interaction. Employees try to work side by side or facing away from each other rather than face to face.
Visitors
- No visitors are admitted unless their visit has been pre-arranged
- Visitors to reception, shop floor deliveries etc are instructed to use the provided hand sanitiser immediately upon entry to the premises.
- Visitors are expected to follow the company's social distancing measures and good hygiene practices. They are informed of these by signage instruction, verbal instruction, employee example and/or induction. Any visitor failing to do so are asked to leave. A Perspex screen has been erected in reception.
Government Covid-19 Lockdown- Weatherite Group’s response
To All Our Clients and Business Partners
Concerning: UK Government Lockdown Announcement-23 March 2020
On 23rd March 2020 the UK Government announced that all non-essential premises must close with immediate effect.
The UK Government then released further guidance, following the initial announcement concerning those businesses which were deemed ‘non-essential’ and those that were deemed ‘essential’.
Manufacturers were on the essential list and due to the critical role our businesses play in supporting key UK infrastructure (such as data centres, healthcare, telecommunications, food retail and pharmaceuticals), it has been determined that the Weatherite Group must continue to operate during this national emergency, albeit at a slightly reduced capacity.
We are still receiving enquiries, receiving orders, manufacturing products, making deliveries, fielding requests for re-active problems and attending emergency call-out situations as well as spare parts and technical support activities, from industries that must continue to operate during this critical time.
Until further notice the Weatherite Group will continue to manufacture and deliver key support services, whilst fully complying with the Government guidelines on social distancing-ensuring the safety of all our people. We have also taken steps to ensure that, wherever possible, members of our workforce work from home and we have implemented a number of measures to ensure continuity of services throughout this difficult time. We understand the importance of keeping all our people safe and healthy and the measures we have and are taking are aimed at keeping all our workforce safe including our valued skilled workforce who remain at work.
Weatherite Group intends to fully scale up operations as soon as the Government restrictions are lifted. Orders for component parts are still in place and our order book is continuing to be managed day-by-day, with the aim of being back up to full speed as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible.
Given the severity and fluidity of the situation, we are monitoring all our operations very closely and will keep our valued clients, supply chain partners and workforce duly updated on any development as they arise.
The Weatherite Group appreciates your patience, understanding and loyalty during this difficult time and we look forward to getting back to normality as soon as it is possible.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this news, please speak to your usual Weatherite contact and we will endeavor to assist. Alternately, call our main reception number on +44 (0) 121 665 2266 and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Weatherite ruffles feathers with innovative heat recovery system at Malawi chicken farm
Weatherite Air Conditioning Ltd has won a contract with EmTech Hatchery Systems to supply a package AHU for a chicken hatchery in Malawi, Africa.
The contract includes the design, supply and manufacture of specialist hybrid units which have recently been installed and further increased Weatherite’s reputation for efficiency and reliability.
The systems have been fitted with an economic heat reclaim system and built into an innovative hybrid construction, typical of the company’s innovative design capability.
Michael Boyles, pictured, said: “In a hatchery, adequate climate control is crucial for good hatchability, chick quality and bio-security. Embryos and chicks need sufficient fresh air, the right environmental temperature and an adjusted humidity level.
“Each hatchery has different prevailing air conditions depending on country and location and therefore systems often need to be custom-made.
“Providing the correct air management flow within these hatcheries can also be costly for a number of reasons, especially with regard to energy usage and the cost implications associated with running such systems. Weatherite’s hybrid solution provides a more economical solution; rather than having two boxes to transport and connect pipework on-site, which would almost double costs, we developed this solution where pipework and interconnecting services are connected internally in one box and shipped in a single container. Connecting the system on-site is easier and far less expensive, and also ensures that all our factory quality control procedures are adhered to.”
The unit has a 100KW gas boiler system installed within the plantroom side of the unit to generate hot water and supplies the LPHW coil within the AHU via run & standby pump sets. The hot water can also be used within the hatchery incubation system and the returning water from the incubators is then used to feed the heat recovery coil within the AHU. This set up offers the customer full flexibility and energy efficiency diverting the LPHW feed to wherever the demand is required and then recovered for heating the process air.
The chilled water coil is linked to run and standby circulating pumps within the plantroom and has external flanged connections for easy site connection to the existing water chillers.
The unit also offers some redundancy by having twin supply fans with EC motor technology. If one fan happens to fail, then the other fan will ramp up to compensate some of the loss and still offer 75% of design airflow.
Weatherite delivered the units just six weeks after order and have since received further orders from EmTech for systems to be designed and manufactured at Hatcheries in Dalton, Yorkshire and the Aviagen Hatchery in Stratford. The company is in talks with securing further new business in Islamabad and Poland.
Picture Caption: Weatherite’s Senior Sales & Applications Engineer, Michael Boyles
Production Administration Assistant
This position will provide administration support to the Production Manager.
Duties Include:
- to assist in production planning processes using the MRP system
- progress chasing, with liaison between various departments
- co-ordination of shopfloor orders
- time & attendance and operations bookings
- data input
- general office duties
The successful applicant will:
- have experience working in an office environment, preferably within a production planning function.
- ideally have MRP systems experience
- have excellent communication skills
- be IT literate, specifically in Excel.
- have excellent attention to detail and organisational skills, being able to prioritise and work under pressure
WEATHERITE WARMS TO GLOBAL LEARNING
Birmingham University proudly claims to be "the global university at the heart of an ambitious city" and - as befits one of the "Top 100" universities in the world - is in the midst of a 10 year campus investment plan costing £1 billion. The current phase, to be completed in 2021, will see the opening of facilities worth £365 million and the University has now announced Phase 2 of its capital masterplan, which outlines new projects between 2022 - 2026.
That makes the recent work that Weatherite Air Conditioning Limited has undertaken for the University even more significant: The design, manufacture, supply and installation of a new plantroom on their current project was a great order in itself but it will also hopefully open the door for many more projects in the future.
Birmingham - based Manstal Limited, a building services company specialising in electrical and mechanical installations, approached WACL when another supplier had failed to provide the proactive service that Manstal were looking for: By comparison, they visited Weatherite and were impressed by our "can do" attitude, innovative approach and ability to design and build a bespoke plantroom in two sections and join them on-site.
As ever, offering the best solution at the right price and ensuring that we hit tight deadlines was also critical, but were proud to say that after a tough examination, Weatherite passed with flying colours!
CADCAM Engineer
Working within the Drawing Office, this position will involve inputting CNC program data for the production of CNC programs for machine shop setting using Radan software and Amada TBZ software and AutoCad (2d) software
This may suit an intermediate level candidate.
Although training will be given for both Radan, TBZ & AutoCad software, applicants should:
- have an engineering background or relevant qualification
- have an understanding of engineering drawings
- be IT literate, CAD knowledge being ideal
- ideally have experience within a machine shop environment, with experience in air conditioning manufacture being a definite advantage
- be willing to undertake training
- be a team player
- have excellent communication skills
- be able to work with minimum supervision and under their own initiative and motivation
Operations Manager
To Manage the Contracts Dept in conjunction with the Contracts Manager ensuring all Engineers handle projects in accordance with our ISO 9001 / 14001 procedures and current Health & Safety Legislation from receipt of order through to completion.
To include:
- Tight control of key client accounts
- Client face to face meetings
- Fast response to client issues
- Production of project Trackers
- Day to day management of personnel
- To produce estimates/quotations for variation work & replacement components
- Attending site meetings as necessary
- Support the project during the warranty period from site completion up to final handover
- Promote team working with other departments
The successful candidate should:
- have experience in managing personnel, ideally in a similar role
- have experience in managing multiple projects
- have experience of dealing with internal staff, sub-contractors, suppliers and clients
- be proactive with a positive attitude
- be able to work under pressure and able to meet deadlines
- have a very high degree of Customer focus
- have excellent communication skills
- have experience in the industry, with at least 10 years being ideal.
NEW INVESTMENT BONDS WEATHERITE'S MANUFACTURING WITH LATEST GLUE MACHINE
Weatherite Air Conditioning Ltd has invested a further £100K into a new adhesive machine at its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in West Bromwich, West Midlands.
This comes just months after a £250K investment to extend its factory facility to cater for an upturn in sales.
The new adhesive machine (pictured) is an integral part of the company’s manufacturing process and helps form the rigid, strong casing for all the company’s products. Weatherite produces thousands of air handling units every year for its extensive blue-chip customers including M&S, Tesco, Virgin, EE and JLP.
Group Chairman, John Whitehouse, said: “We are always looking at improvements, whether via investments into machinery, or processes for people. Being competitive is imperative to our future and the manufacturing facility is the heart of the business. If that isn’t running smoothly, the business will inevitably suffer.
“The new machine works by forming an unbreakable bond between the insulating sheet and the inner and outer panels of all our kit. If it fails, it stops production which could be detrimental to the business, especially given our production process is extremely tight. The old machine wasn’t performing as it should, and given that we had zero aftersales support, we decided to buy a better-quality machine that was supported by a reputable service and repair team.
“We’ve opted for a run and standby policy which means if one machine fails, we have another on standby, thus our production lines remain extremely efficient.”
Following a significant growth in the Telecommunications sector, the new machine and extension to the factory facility, will ensure turnaround times are quicker and the business can allow for growth.
Picture caption: The new adhesive machine at Weatherite’s manufacturing plant
EMA CROWNS WEATHERITE TELECOMS COOLING SYSTEM “ENERGY PRODUCT OF THE YEAR”
Weatherite Air Conditioning Ltd is celebrating after winning the “EMA Energy Product of the Year 2019”.
The West Midlands-based air conditioning specialists won the award for its new range of 'Direct Adiabatic' cooling units, which deliver considerable energy savings and dramatically reduces CO2 emissions.
The impressive accolade was presented to Weatherite by Lord Redesdale, the CEO of the Energy Managers Association (EMA), at an awards ceremony held at the EMEX Energy Management Exhibition at EXCEL, London.
Lord Rosendale said: “Weatherite’s highly efficient energy-reducing cooling system delivers substantial savings across a number of key areas. In terms of capital and operational costs and environmental sustainability, Weatherite is a worthy winner of the EMA Energy Product of the Year Award.”
Weatherite’s innovative, low-energy cooling system was commissioned by a leading telecommunications company, which has an extensive estate of telco exchanges, datacentres and comms rooms located across the UK. It was looking for an energy saving, refrigerant free, cooling solution that could be used to replace the existing cooling equipment housed within these large establishments thereby substantially reducing its energy usage per annum.
As a result of extensive research and development activity, Weatherite designed, tested and manufactured the cooling system which uses water and outside air as the cooling mediums, resulting in exceptional energy savings eliminating any GWP and ODP impact from refrigerant usage.
To date, Weatherite has manufactured and installed over 800 direct adiabatic cooling units and is currently involved in installing many more.
Weatherite Group Director, Tim Whitehouse, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win this award and to be recognised as energy-saving cooling pioneers is a great achievement.
“IT mission critical infrastructures such as telecommunication exchanges, data centres, communications rooms and switchrooms, generate vast amounts of heat-24 hours a day. The consequences of a breakdown in a critical IT system could be catastrophic, and costly, and so it is a hugely important that they are maintained at optimum conditions – 365 days a year.
“We have worked tirelessly alongside our client, and continue to do so, to ensure we meet their energy-saving objectives, and significantly reduce their consumption costs.”
Costs of cooling these valuable assets can account for up to 30 per cent of the annual energy usage. The advantages of using Weatherite’s Direct Adiabatic cooling solution which uses free outside air and water as the refrigerant (natural) provides substantial savings concerning environmental sustainability.
Mr Whitehouse added: “I’d like to thank our talented telecoms team who’ve worked extremely hard on developing this system and subsequently winning the award. The technical aspect is highly impressive and we’re over the moon it’s recognised by the EMA.”
The EMA Awards, which is now in its fifth year, include nine categories, with winners that represent the best of the exceptional talent and inspiration in the energy management industry.
Picture caption: Weatherite Group Commercial Director, Robert Boswell and Lord Redesdale, the CEO of the Energy Managers Association (EMA)
Electrical / Mechanical Fitter
Midlands based but working nationwide
The role includes:
- Installing Weatherite adiabatic units
- Installing ductwork and cable tray
- Installing plastic water pipework and valve components
- Site commissioning of adiabatic units
- Electrical cabling, wiring and interconnecting.
The candidate should:
- Be mechanically minded, with mechanical experience of fitting ductwork/cable tray hanging / unistrut
- Have some experience of sitework, ideally in a similar sector.
Although not a necessity:
- pipefitting or plumbing experience would be beneficial
- as would air conditioning knowledge and electrical knowledge/experience
- knowledge of ductwork design would also be very helpful.
Although a company vehicle is not provided with this role as you will accompany colleagues, it does involve extensive travel, therefore a full driving licence is required. It will also involve occasional overnight stays.