Univar operations managers gathered at Pyroban's headquarters in the UK for training on the new pan-European safety practice.

European chemical specialist Univar is standardising its explosion-proof forklift fleet using Pyroban technology.

For the first time, Univar operations managers from all over Europe gathered at Pyroban's headquarters in the UK for bespoke training on the new pan-European safety practice.

"We don't do the bare minimum on health and safety. We exceed legal requirements and do what is ethically correct for all concerned," says Martyn Bapty, Univar's European operations project manager.

Univar distributes industrial and specialty chemicals via 170 distribution centres in North America, Europe and China. It has about 250 forklifts in its European facilities, with about 20% used in zone 1 or zone 2 potentially explosive atmospheres.

"Handling flammable solvents using forklifts has always been a focal point for site safety policy because of their potential to cause an ignition through energy or heat," Bapty explains.

Univar wants to standardise its forklift safety approach in line with its Europe-wide management system, "U+", which requires each site to "continually improve their safety, health, environmental and quality performance".

During a factory tour, Univar operations managers witnessed a fleet of seven Jungheinrich DFG425s being converted for zone 2 operation in their Nordic operation.

"Our basic truck is a 2.5 tonne diesel machine and we selected two German brands after involving operators in trials," Bapty says. Both forklift suppliers use a turbo-charged VW engine, which allows higher operating temperatures.

Bapty says Pyroban is the only company with expertise to convert both forklift brands to ATEX. (ATEX is the legal framework for controlling explosive atmospheres and standards of equipment and protective systems used in them.)

"The demonstrations at Pyroban showed how we can achieve the protection levels we need and keep the original controls and ergonomic benefits offered by a premium truck," Bapty adds.

The Pyroban solution for zone 1 is passive, while for zone 2, it provides an active approach through gas/vapour detection, shutdown and component modification. For the "safe areas" outside of the zones, Pyroban's Gascheka gas detection and shut down system will be used on most of the standard forklifts.