Opinion
New UK Global Tariff gets positive response
The UK government has marked a key step on the road to an independent UK international trade policy, by announcing the UK’s new MFN tariff regime, the UK Global Tariff (UKGT) on 19 May.
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Industry body sees transition as the solution
The leading representative body for the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry, OGUK, has called for the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions to be at the heart of its recovery plan after a stark warning that up to 30,000 industry jobs could be lost.
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UKIFDA support for E10 fuel proposals
UKIFDA has submitted its views on the Government’s consultation on the introduction of E10 petrol at filling stations across the UK which closed on 3 May and called for views from industry on the best way to introduce E10 petrol as the standard grade of petrol at forecourts from 2021.
“We have expressed our full support for the Government’s proposals to replace the 95 E5 Premium grade petrol with E10 petrol, and think a direct replacement is the right way to ensure successful implementation and take-up by consumers,” says Guy Pulham, UKIFDA chief executive.
“The introduction of E10 petrol would drastically reduce emissions from petrol vehicles – according to the Government, it could lead to a CO2 saving of 750,000 tonnes, which is equivalent in emissions reductions to taking up to 350,000 cars off the road every year.
“We agree that increasing the bioethanol percentage from up to 5% in current E5 petrol to up to 10% in E10 petrol can only be a good thing. The E10 blend is already in use in other countries across Europe including France, Germany, Belgium and Finland, and its introduction in the UK is very welcome – where the majority of petrol cars could use E10 petrol from its introduction.”
Since 2011, all modern petrol cars have been designed to use E10 effectively, and most petrol cars since 2000 have also been certified to use the proposed blend. However, there is still a small number of older and classic cars not able to use E10, which is why the Government is proposing the ongoing availability of E5 petrol.
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Rix Petroleum supports the local community
As a fifth-generation family business that has been operating in East Yorkshire for more than 140 years, J.R. Rix & Sons has always believed in supporting the local community.
That’s why during the coronavirus outbreak, the company has gone out of its way to provide help and resources to local businesses and organisations hit by the pandemic, and those fighting to contain it.
In one such move, J.R. Rix & Sons donated £10,000 to entrepreneur Alex Youden who designed a face mask and respirator that protects frontline medical staff against COVID-19.
Alex makes the masks on this 3D printer and the donation enabled him to buy raw materials. J.R. Rix & Sons also provided furloughed volunteers to help distribute the PPE.
The family business has also dug deep within its own stores to donate products to help protect people and to carry on with daily life.
Rix-owned businesses Rix Petroleum, Victory Leisure Homes and Jordans Cars donated spare PPE to frontline workers at Hull City Council, and the business gave a number of used laptops to underprivileged children at a primary school, enabling them to continue their education at home.
Victory Leisure Homes, the group’s holiday home and lodge manufacturing business, is also making an isolation unit for a local care home, so elderly residents can receive visits from family members.
Rory Clarke, managing director of J.R. Rix & Sons, said everyone had to pull together during the crisis and the company was delighted to do what it could.
He said: “We’ve said from the start of the outbreak that it is the duty of everyone who can help to do so.
“As a fifth-generation family company with deep ties to our local community, we’ve tried to do that in as many was as we can.”
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Standard approval to counter skills shortage
FTA, the business organisation representing the logistics sector, has learned this month that the long-awaited LGD Driver Apprenticeship Standard for Cat C+E licences, is to be published this summer.
As Mags Simpson, policy manager at FTA, explains, the standard cannot come quickly enough for an industry which has been plagued with skills shortages in recent years; “The news that the C+E apprenticeship standard has finally been approved for roll out is great news for our sector,” she says.
“It is testament to the hard work of the Apprenticeships Trailblazer group, co-chaired by Jim French and Gary Austin, which we have been in constant contact with. This new standard will give operators from across logistics the opportunity to draw down from the Apprenticeship Levy fund and start to develop the logistics stars of tomorrow – an opportunity previously denied to the industry due to the lack of appropriate standards against which to train staff.
“To date, the logistics sector has paid over £410 million into the Apprenticeship Levy pot, but only 10% of these funds have so far been drawn down, due, to a large extent, to the fact that no appropriate standard was available for businesses to utilise. Now that the sector has an apprenticeship standard relevant to its recruitment needs, we will be able to train candidates towards achieving a full LGV licence, and this in turn will ensure that those individuals will not be prohibited in the type of work they go on to do across the industry.”
In further good news for the sector, Ms Simpson has reasserted FTA’s commitment to ensuring that further apprenticeship standards are developed and accepted for other employment opportunities.
“We continue to work with the Trailblazer group to ensure that the sector will have access to the skilled workforce it needs moving forwards. Our next priority is to gain accreditation for the Urban Delivery standard, as well as progressing the Transport and Warehouse Supervisor L3 apprenticeship, which is already under way. We all know how much variety and enjoyment can be gained from a role in logistics and we look forward as an industry to welcoming the skilled workforce of tomorrow once these standards are approved.”
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Hand sanitiser spark risk warning
With many companies reconfiguring production lines, or starting up new ones, to increase the supply of hand sanitiser in response to the current pandemic, companies are being urged to consider the incendiary risk.
Industry groups like the Solvents Industry Association are concerned with reports of inappropriate packaging of solvents and an incident of a static discharge igniting vapours present on an operator’s hand after the application of hand sanitiser.
Mike O’Brien, managing director of Newson Gale, considers the approaches that can be taken in terms of managing the risk of solvents (including alcohols) being ignited by uncontrolled discharges of electrostatic sparks in a recently released guidance note.
The importance of grounding people
Managers of facilities where operators have exposure to potentially flammable or combustible atmospheres need to ensure the operators are grounded. This is because people isolated from a ground source (e.g. flooring capable of dissipating static charge to earth) can accumulate large electrical potentials beyond 20,000 volts without even realising it until they discharge a spark.
In addition, if operators are regularly applying hand sanitisers, either inside or outside a designated hazardous area, it is important to ensure that they do not have the potential to accumulate electrostatic charge on their bodies.
Ignition of vapours emanating from the hand can occur if the person approaches or touches a grounded object such as a door handle or stair railing, resulting in a static spark discharge with enough energy to ignite the vapour.
The most effective means of grounding personnel is safety footwear that meets the required static dissipative criteria and testing all footwear prior to entry into the facility is recommended. Easy to use footwear testers can be installed at designated entry points to hazardous areas in the facility.
Such testers utilise a simple plate on which an individual stands, with their safety shoes on, and presses a button with their index finger. If the resistance threshold of the shoes is below the required level, the test will indicate a positive output with a green LED indicator which
provides the operator with a “GOOD-TO-GO” message to enter the hazardous area.
If the shoes fail the test the indicator will stay red and the tester’s buzzer alarm will activate. At this point the operator should not enter the hazardous area and should report the failed shoe test.
Containers used in production and transportation
In relation to the use of containers, they should, ideally, be of an all metal construction so that when they are grounded, electrostatic charge cannot accumulate on the surface of the container. If the supply or use of fully metal IBCs is not possible, then the metal cages that contain the plastic container should be grounded. Splash filling should be avoided as this increases the rate of charge generation.
If electrostatic charge is permitted to accumulate the voltage of the IBC will rise very rapidly and result in this energy being discharged in the form of an electrostatic spark onto a grounded object like an operator. If the spark energy is sufficiently high, it will ignite the surrounding vapours with little effort.
It is not possible to cover every potential process involving the use of solvents. A more comprehensive summary can be viewed on the European Solvents Industry Group website.
https://www.esig.org/solvents-and-static-electricity/
Opinion
Solving the industry recruitment challenge
Industries across the world are experiencing a coronavirus paralysis. Even the oil industry, which for many has been able to continue in relatively normal terms
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Key annual industry event cancelled for 2020
Organiser of UKIFDA EXPO 2020, the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) has taken the decision to cancel the 2020 exhibition due to take place on 18 & 19 August at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool.
Guy Pulham CEO of UKIFDA says; “Following the publication of the Government’s Plan To Rebuild Strategy, UKIFDA has been working with Exhibition Centre Liverpool (ECL) on ways in which the 2020 EXPO could be safely organised and hosted. As you know, we have worked hard to try and keep the 2020 event in the calendar as a positive marker of lives returning to some sort of normality.
“In the end, and with great reluctance, we have concluded that it is just not possible to safely run the event that our members, exhibitors and delegates would want – namely a large-scale, high quality event where business gets done. The lack of clarity in the government plan from July onwards (unavoidable given that future stages depends on how the early stages progress) means that we do not know if
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Total commits support to carbon neutrality target
Becoming the fourth oil major to commit to ‘net zero’, Total has announced its target of net zero emissions in Europe by 2050. The company has also committed to becoming carbon-neutral across its worldwide operations by 2050 or sooner and confirmed its target of a renewable generation gross capacity of 25GW in 2025.
Patrick Pouyanné, chairman of Total’s board, declared; “Energy markets are changing, driven by climate change, technology and societal expectations. Total is committed to helping solve the dual challenge of providing more energy with fewer emissions. The Board believes that Total’s global roadmap, strategy and actions set out a path that is consistent with goals of the Paris agreement.
Emphasising the role the company has to play in the future energy transition, Patrick continued; “Only by remaining a world-class investment can we most effectively play our part in advancing a low carbon future. This is the reason why our people are already in action across Total, seeking opportunities to reduce our emissions, improve our products and develop new low-carbon businesses.”
This ambition is supported by the strategy to develop Total as a broad-energy company, with oil and gas, low-carbon electricity, and carbon-neutrality solutions as integrated parts of its business.
Total says the new climate strategy is already in action as the firm has already achieved a 6% reduction of its average indirect carbon intensity since 2015.
Active support of the energy transition
Regarding the commitment to become a net-zero energy business in Europe, Patrick commented; “As the EU has set the target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and thereby lead the way for other regions to become carbon neutral over time, Total takes that commitment to become neutral for all its businesses in Europe. Total wants to be an exemplary European corporate Citizen and offers its active support for the EU to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Total will work together with other businesses to enable decarbonization of energy use.”
Total confirms its target of a renewable generation gross capacity of 25 GW in 2025 and will continue to expand its business to become a leading international player in renewable energies. Total currently allocates more than 10% of its Capex to low carbon electricity, the highest level among the oil majors. To actively contribute to the energy transition, Total will further increase its allocation of Capex in favour of low carbon electricity to 20% by 2030 or sooner.
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Certas Energy launches support platform
Certas Energy is supporting forecourt retailers with the launch of a new online resource that offers free access to personal wellbeing tools, learning courses and discounts from leading brands.
Certas Energy Dealer Rewards provides tailored wellbeing programmes that can help forecourt retailers and their employees to improve their personal wellbeing and navigate these challenging times.
The platform’s online learning resources offer hundreds of courses to support professional growth, with categories including Business & Management, Health & Psychology, Technology and many more.
Richard Billington, retail director at Certas Energy, commented; “Our team is working non-stop to find creative solutions to support our dealers and their workforce throughout and beyond this national emergency. What’s been difficult for many people is finding new ways to spend the additional hours we’re all at home – whether it’s business as usual or not.
“That’s why I’m delighted to launch Certas Energy Dealer Rewards to help our retail network and their teams get the best from this extra time at home. With its wide range of learning and wellbeing tools, we hope our colleagues will find the platform to be a useful resource for personal and professional development as we prepare for the time when we can all return to normality.”
Certas Energy Dealer Rewards is available to all Gulf and Pace dealer employees at no additional cost.