Of the 1,500 tonnes of metal processed by EMR Birmingham each day, some inevitably spills over from the fragmentiser's conveyors. Aside from retrieving this overflow, operatives also need to clean dirt from rollers and check that bearings are properly greased.

These maintenance tasks previously entailed locking off the relevant isolator with a padlock before removing head and tail guards covering the conveyor concerned. Once maintenance had been carried out, the guards had to be replaced, the padlock removed and the isolator finally re-energised.

Castell's safety system has enabled EMR to completely do away with both the head and tail guards and the padlocks. Operatives need now simply remove the key from the relevant disconnector unit to isolate power to the conveyor requiring maintenance, and insert this key into one of the exchange boxes. This action releases a number of keys, each one relating to a specific interlock on one of the access gates; operatives can then choose the key that they need.

Depot Manager at EMR, Mark Broadhurst says he's pleased with the Castell system: "It's much easier and safer for us to carry out maintenance than it used to be."