The blahblah of the forum

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psquithy
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by psquithy »

rigger wrote:Power cut at work this morning at about 05:10.
The entire warehouse went black (I work at a UPS depot) and the only lights we could see were the ones on the laser-scanners attached to our wrists and the receiving units we wear on our belts (like a tri-corder on Star Trek).
We all cheered, as you do in these situations if you're British, and then we realised this was a proper cut. A couple of the supervisors called us together in the meeting area near the entrance of the building and we all trooped carefully round there, using mobile phones like ushers in a cinema.
It affected the entire area surrounding the building - about four or five blocks of streets - and power wasn't restored until gone half past six.

It meant all the drivers had to help us load as we'd lost over an hour.
It wasn't as bad as it could've been I guess, but still made their day that bit harder as they'll all have left later than usual. I'm glad it was a Monday - the lightest day of the week - as the rest of the week shouldn't be affected.

First time I think we've had a power cut in this part of town for about ten years, I think ..
You should have emergency lighting that cuts in.
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Selby White
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by Selby White »

psquithy wrote:
rigger wrote:Power cut at work this morning at about 05:10.
The entire warehouse went black (I work at a UPS depot) and the only lights we could see were the ones on the laser-scanners attached to our wrists and the receiving units we wear on our belts (like a tri-corder on Star Trek).
We all cheered, as you do in these situations if you're British, and then we realised this was a proper cut. A couple of the supervisors called us together in the meeting area near the entrance of the building and we all trooped carefully round there, using mobile phones like ushers in a cinema.
It affected the entire area surrounding the building - about four or five blocks of streets - and power wasn't restored until gone half past six.

It meant all the drivers had to help us load as we'd lost over an hour.
It wasn't as bad as it could've been I guess, but still made their day that bit harder as they'll all have left later than usual. I'm glad it was a Monday - the lightest day of the week - as the rest of the week shouldn't be affected.

First time I think we've had a power cut in this part of town for about ten years, I think ..
You should have emergency lighting that cuts in.
That is correct, not sure what the latest regulations say but when I was working as an electrical engineer emergency lights needed to come on for a minimum of one hour (before the batteries go flat) and should at least light up exit routes. The systems should be periodically be tested and the company keep records.
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.
Deleted User 728

Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by Deleted User 728 »

Yeah, we thought that too.
There was one light high up on a gantry that was still illuminated.
After about an hour, a couple of the supervisors opened up a wall-mounted box with loads of trip switches in and they managed to get what appeared to be back-up (ie minimal for safety) lighting back on.

I think we probably do have an emergency backup but it's probably manual given what happened.
Training isn't always great at this company - but then nor is the choice of supervisor either, with most of them being in the job just because they're still there, not because they're particularly suited to it. They tend to concentrate on having safety drills every week, presumably so they can't be sued that easily if someone injures themselves - which has happened a couple of times a year since I've been there.

But as you suggested, backup lights should switch in immediately, right ?

I don't know what happened - perhaps they didn't feed the hamster and he was just slumped on his wheel asleep ?
Maybe I'll find out in the next couple of days ..
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Selby White
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by Selby White »

rigger wrote: But as you suggested, backup lights should switch in immediately, right ?
Absolutely they are a safety feature, they are battery powered but connected to the mains lighting feed which feeds a permanent trickle charger to keep the batteries healthy.
Once the power fails for the lighting circuit a relay (switch) cuts out the charger and the battery kicks in lighting the emergencies.

Often in bigger places warehouses, factories, etc it will be a central larger battery system that operates all the emergencies. Problem with this system is if it fails none of the lights work so the reason it should be maintained on a regular basis.

Alternately you could have lots of individual emergency lights all with their own little battery & charger, more expensive for a big system but the type used in smaller establishments such as shops & restaurants where 3 or 4 are required. The advantage is if one fails the others still work.

As I worked in a industry (factory) we used both systems depending on which department and its size.
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.
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johnh
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by johnh »

Arrange for the power cuts to be a bit later, when it's daylight. :lolno:
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BrighouseWhite
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by BrighouseWhite »

Selby White wrote:
rigger wrote: But as you suggested, backup lights should switch in immediately, right ?
Absolutely they are a safety feature, they are battery powered but connected to the mains lighting feed which feeds a permanent trickle charger to keep the batteries healthy.
Once the power fails for the lighting circuit a relay (switch) cuts out the charger and the battery kicks in lighting the emergencies.

Often in bigger places warehouses, factories, etc it will be a central larger battery system that operates all the emergencies. Problem with this system is if it fails none of the lights work so the reason it should be maintained on a regular basis.

Alternately you could have lots of individual emergency lights all with their own little battery & charger, more expensive for a big system but the type used in smaller establishments such as shops & restaurants where 3 or 4 are required. The advantage is if one fails the others still work.

As I worked in a industry (factory) we used both systems depending on which department and its size.
There should be by law emergency lights with their own batteries (self contained units) above every exit and others spaced out enough to show a clear route to the exit door. If you look closely you should be able to see a small green light in the unit to show that it's a self contained unit and is charging from the mains supply. I used to work for Kirklees Council many years ago and one of our jobs was to take turns going round schools, libraries etc and doing a monthly maintenance on the batteries for the emergency lighting and fire alarm systems
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Selby White
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by Selby White »

BrighouseWhite wrote:
Selby White wrote:
rigger wrote: But as you suggested, backup lights should switch in immediately, right ?
Absolutely they are a safety feature, they are battery powered but connected to the mains lighting feed which feeds a permanent trickle charger to keep the batteries healthy.
Once the power fails for the lighting circuit a relay (switch) cuts out the charger and the battery kicks in lighting the emergencies.

Often in bigger places warehouses, factories, etc it will be a central larger battery system that operates all the emergencies. Problem with this system is if it fails none of the lights work so the reason it should be maintained on a regular basis.

Alternately you could have lots of individual emergency lights all with their own little battery & charger, more expensive for a big system but the type used in smaller establishments such as shops & restaurants where 3 or 4 are required. The advantage is if one fails the others still work.

As I worked in a industry (factory) we used both systems depending on which department and its size.
There should be by law emergency lights with their own batteries (self contained units) above every exit and others spaced out enough to show a clear route to the exit door. If you look closely you should be able to see a small green light in the unit to show that it's a self contained unit and is charging from the mains supply. I used to work for Kirklees Council many years ago and one of our jobs was to take turns going round schools, libraries etc and doing a monthly maintenance on the batteries for the emergency lighting and fire alarm systems
Not sure if it's changed but we had some systems controlled from a central control box, basically car batteries feeding 50 to 100 lights.
It maybe a difference between public places and places covered by the factory act. Riggers system does sound like its a central control.
Quite a lot of electrical regulations vary in industry against commercial & domestic installations. Although its over 10 years ago I worked in the electrical field and regs I know change all the time.
Still the principles are the same and testing as you say was once per month with a flick on test. Then once per year was a full test (leave on for one hour).
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.
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BrighouseWhite
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by BrighouseWhite »

Hidden away somewhere in the building there was a big cabinet with anything from 5 or 6 batteries up to 40+ depending on the size of the building. If I remember correctly a monthly check was more of a visual inspection for any obvious defects and a big service every 6 months when we had to separate all the batteries, clean them, then check the specific gravity with a hydrometer, and the voltage of each one. A boring job, especially on the larger systems.
There's light at the end of the tunnel and the future's looking very bright indeed.
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Selby White
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by Selby White »

BrighouseWhite wrote:Hidden away somewhere in the building there was a big cabinet with anything from 5 or 6 batteries up to 40+ depending on the size of the building. If I remember correctly a monthly check was more of a visual inspection for any obvious defects and a big service every 6 months when we had to separate all the batteries, clean them, then check the specific gravity with a hydrometer, and the voltage of each one. A boring job, especially on the larger systems.
Sounds very similar, we were a 24hr site and was part of routine duties that the duty shift electrician did.
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.
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Re: The blabla of the forum

Post by Deleted User 728 »

Well, on the legal side of things I know we're supposed to have appraisals at least once a year and I have NEVER had one and it's four years now :o

They're absolute toilet at HR stuff though and they hammer the staff with a good work ethic while the lazy ones get away with light duties.
There's no KPIs or targets but you still get a bollocking if you have too many misloads over a certain time period (about a month) - misload is when you put a parcel on the wrong van so it ends up being delivered usually a day late.
It's so arbitrary though : my supervisor knows my vans are heavy and my load is sometimes twice what others are loading in terms of the number of packages so he cuts me some slack, but even I have been "disciplined" about it (ie I've had a talking to).
We don't see our records so I don't know how long that stuff stays on there - I'm pretty sure that's against employment law too.
If push ever came to shove - which it won't because despite the threats they need good staff and only ever sack people for fighting - then I think I could hold my own with the centre manager and argue the toss about all this stuff. Certainly in a tribunal I think it would be pretty easy to win a case against them.

That said I like the job - it's a great workout.
The hours suit - I'm done by half eight in the morning.
The pay is okay and we get paid 20 hours (4 hr shifts, Mon-Fri) even if we finish early every day.
We were given a bonus for Covid (£150 at Xmas) and two extra days holiday this year.
They bought us all bacon sandwiches one morning last week as we'd been so busy :)

It's fine, but it's poorly managed.
But then the reason I do the job is for the exercise and the fact it's not me worrying about all that stuff anymore.
I clock in, I work, I clock out, I forget about it :)
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