The Importance of Lightning Protection

Lightning strikes are one of the most common occurrences on Earth and they happen everywhere on the planet and often are sudden and severe.

Lightning Protection is a consideration for all business owners, but it is something that often gets overlooked. Insurance is often the first place many business owners turn, but it may not be the best option instead the best option is to try and prevent damage/loss from occurring in the first place and lightning strikes are one of the most preventable disasters. Lightning can destroy entire neighborhoods, one strike can quickly turn a building into an inferno if the conditions are right, beyond fire damage lightning can cause electrical problems which can be very expensive to repair and cost businesses lost production time.

One of the easiest ways to remove the destructive force of a lightning strike is to channel the energy somewhere safe, if the lightning is directed into the earth without passing through non-conducting materials, like wood, brick, or concrete, damage will often be minimal or completely avoided. When this path is created, it is called earthing, Earthing is easily the most effective way to protect a building but it can't completely protect the electrical systems contained within a building.

Electrical components in a lightning struck building are vulnerable to damage even when a building is well grounded. If electrical items such as computers are damaged it can have a significant cost to a business. One way to prevent damage to electrical systems is via the installation of a Faraday Cage, a network/grid system that is designed to protect every part of a building and direct any strike through to earth. A second way to prevent damage to electrical systems during a lightning strike is to fit surge protection. Surge protectors are useful for dealing with extra electricity that can occur after a lightning strike. Surge protectors divert excess electricity before it can damage occurs within an electrical system contained within a building, surge protection is reliable and very cost-effective.

With lightning being one of the most common natural occurrences on the planet, it could be considered foolish to allow your business to remain unprotected.

The Advantages Of Earthing Systems

In the United Kingdom, an earthing system identifies the electrical potential of the conductors relative to the conductive surface of the Earth. The world is a conductor rated at reference (zero) potential, referred to as earth in the UK. People are in direct contact with earth, so when something within a person’s reach becomes charged to a different voltage from earth a shock hazard occurs. The earthing process connects all parts which could become charged to the mass of earth to provide a path for fault currents which are a shock hazard. Earthing prevents a potential difference between earth and earthed parts, while allowing the flow of a fault current which will cause the operation of the protective system in place designed specifically to simply reduce the incidence of a shock hazard and provide protection in the case of lightning strike.

In the past, earthing was considered a black art, a practice with no scientific value, but regarded as necessary due to lore or tradition. Currently proper earthing processes are established through scientific methods to best predict electrical current dissipation under fault conditions and the consequent voltages possible. To design adequate earthing system specific information is gathered and evaluated: 1) expected fault current and its characteristics, 2) fault current duration, and 3) soil resistivity. The analysis of this information, best practice engineering, and utilization of industry standards create a dependable solution to reduce the hazard of electrical shock.

In the UK, the following technical standards are utilized to create earthing systems:
1. BS 7430: 1999 – British Standard Code of Practice for “Earthing”
2. IEEE 80 – Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding
3. Electricity Association Technical Specification (EA TS) 41-24
4. Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
5. Electricity Supply Regulations 1988

The services of a reputable lightning protection and earthing systems contractor should provide services including design, supply, installation, commissioning, test and inspection, plus maintenance of the systems after installation. Such specialists devoted to providing a comprehensive service for lightning protection and earthing systems in the UK can be found at Churchill Specialist Contracting Ltd. These specialists include engineers and installation teams with vast knowledge and experience and the sectors most comprehensively qualified and certificated operatives both on site and managerial level. All projects undertaken by CSC Ltd are completed in accordance with UK Codes of Practice and the new European standard BS EN 62305: 2006 “Protection Against Lightning and BS 7430 “Earthing.”

How to be a Rope Access Technician?

Rope access is typically used on projects that are difficult or costly to access with traditional scaffolding, cranes, or other types of mobile platforms. The modern twin rope access techniques used today see each rope having a separate anchoring point and fail safe descent mechanism. There are usually two rope access technicians working together so they can assist each other in the event of an emergency or alternatively self rescue, workers are generally very well experienced in the use of ropes and would have passed rigorous testing that they must regularly update proving their ability and understanding of safe systems of work. The equipment used is inspected regularly and kept in top condition.

When inspection or repair work is required on a tall structure that cannot be accessed by another method, modern rope access technicians are used for this type of work, today many off shore oil platforms maintain full time rope access workers for inspection, maintenance repair and construction requirements.
The techniques and applications for the use of rope access lends itself very well to the steeplejack and lightning protection industry, the recent surge in the use of modern twin rope access has seen a requirement for more steeplejacks and lightning protection engineers to familiarise themselves with what is considered a more user friendly system when comparing twin rope access to the more traditional heavy duty bosun seat method of rope access historically employed by steeplejacks

Lightning Protection Systems

Many children have a natural fear of thunder; let’s face it, it can be quite scary. As we get older we learn about the cause of thunder and how destructive lightning really can be. Lessons that the people at the lightning protection system team at Churchill Specialist Contracting Ltd know all about. The harm that lightning can cause to people is very well known, we have all heard the horror stories; organ failure, blindness, deafness, neural damage, it even causes death in one third of cases. Builds and other structures are not immune to similar damage, and as in the case of human beings it can be prevented.

As health and safety issues become increasingly common in the work place, it is only right that companies follow OHSAS guidelines to ensure not only the well being of their employees, but also take a vested interest in the well being of their property and assets. Lightning can not only cause massive damage to the exterior of a build, it can wreak havoc with internal electrical systems. Computers and data storage devices can be destroyed, losing weeks, months or even years of important records and information which in itself can cost millions to replace.

It is important to understand the magnitude of the energy unleashed by lightning, often exceeding 100 million volts and 40’000 amperes. This power can create huge amounts of heat in water saturated, porous materials used in the construction of buildings, causing them to explode as the water content is flash boiled. The solution: to provide a low-resistance path for the lightning circuit. Churchill Specialist Contracting Ltd is staffed by time served and experienced engineers who are highly skilled in lightning protection and earthing systems, from design and testing to installation. They also offer an alternative to the conventional Faraday cage type installation, the Helita “Pulsar” ESE system of lightning protection that conforms to the requirements of a European code, the French code of practice NFC17-102. 1995.

Whether you have a contractual requirement to gain certification to OHSAS 18001, or one of the growing numbers of organisations looking to reduce the overall risks to the organisation and demonstrate good governance, there are a number of key benefits with implementing a certified OHS management system. These include:

• a structured approach to hazard identification and risk management which can contribute to the provision of a healthier and safer working environment and the avoidance of a high proportion of accidents and occupational health problems – this should help reduce lost time through employee illness and injury
• the management of health and safety becoming more transparent and effective by translating the outputs of risk assessment, audits, inspections, legal reviews and incident investigations into action plans to minimise the risk of accidents
• improved staff morale, potential reductions in liability claims and lower insurance premiums
• increased credibility from having an OHS management system independently assessed

In the world of contracting employing an organisation accredited to OHSAS 18001 provide unrivalled confidence that a business not only has safe systems of work in place it also takes very seriously it’s role and responsibilities in protecting the well being of it’s own employees together with those who have a potential to be affected by it’s undertakings.

In a world demanding a requirement for accreditations and compliance it is very easy for the value of OHSAS 18001 to be lost amongst a plethora of more easily available and less stringent and demanding alternatives, OHSAS 18001 has always been and will remain the pinnacle for all organisations serious about their health & safety & occupational health obligations.

As more organisations wake up to the value of OHSAS 18001 more emphasis will be placed on a requirement by blue chips to seek to employ accredited companies, as this spreads only then can the construction world benefit from reducing injury and fatalities which blights the sector.

Why compromise, employ an OHSAS 18001 accredited contractor and discover the future of contracting......

Summer Lightning Protection

The summer can bring with it a plethora of thunder and lightning storms, which can cause costly damages to businesses. If a business is hit by lightning it can cause a lot of damage and expense that some business owners simply cannot afford.

Businesses protect themselves from the risks of lightning damages by installing a Lightning Protection and Specialist Earthing system. This involves employing a team of highly trained engineers and certified (Passport of Safety) professionals who provide a range of services including design, supply, installation and commissioning. The engineers at Churchill Steeplejack will assess the site requirements and conditions, as well as test and maintain the lightning protection systems to ensure they operate safely and reliably throughout their lifetime.

The different systems that can be installed include a Faraday Cage or the ESE Pulsar 'Early Streamer Emission'. The systems work by delivering a gain in efficiency. The ESE Pulsar is able to capture the lightning stroke and push it downwards into the ground, which will prevent damage. Compared to other systems, the ESE Pulsar requires very few conductors leaving less of an impact on the structure of the building and a much shorter installation time period. It is also one of the most cost effective protection systems against lightning. Churchill Steeplejack recommends this system for structures that have a single air terminal. The radius of protection will extend to at least 100 meters. Large sites can often benefit from this type of lightning structure. Buildings that are set in urban areas with a small amount of space should use the Helita Pulsar system.

Another option for a lightning protection system is the BS 7430 "Earthing". This system is very safe and is installed by experienced engineers. The engineer will carefully look over the site and examine the conditions before the installation process. This is to make sure that the systems are reliable and safe. One of the factors examined is the soil resistivity. This is usually determined by using a tool called a "Wenner".

It is important for business owners to protect their structures against lightning as the damages could be very severe. Lightning protection systems not only prevent costly damages but more importantly they protect the safety of employees and people in the surrounding area of the structure.

The Impact of Lightning Strikes on Businesses

Lightning is said to strike the ground around 8 million times a day and the impact that this can have on businesses can be very severe.

According to a survey carried out by a German insurance company, lightning accounts for 27.4% of damages to electronic equipment. Studies carried out by French insurance company AXA have also concluded that after a fire, one out of every two businesses ends up having to cease trading within five years. This is due to the damages it causes to real estate and IT Equipment etc., which prevent the company from continuing with their business.

Furthermore due to the impact of global warming and the change in climate, scientists have predicted that this is likely to increase the risk of extreme weather conditions, with as many as double or triple the amount of lightning strikes by 2050. Moreover the increased use of silicon-based, micro-controlled devices across our society are making businesses more and more at risk to the threats of lightning.

Insurance companies do not as yet encourage Lightning protection measures to be adopted as standard practice. To protect a business from the damage that could potentially be caused by lightning strikes, Lightning protection systems can be put in place. This system works by diverting the flow of electricity away from the structure and passing it through into the ground.

It is of vital importance that companies are properly protected against the risks of lightning destruction, as it has the potential to seriously affect a business. A disciplined and systematic approach to lightning protection should be adopted as this will reduce the risk, ultimately reducing the costs to a business.