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April 7, 2015 by UniAdmin

Dangers of Heat Illness

HEAT ILLNESS CAN BE DEADLY. When employees are exposed to hot temperatures, maintaining a safe work environment can be more challenging than you think. As summertime temperatures continue to rise, it becomes increasingly important for employers to focus on providing workplace conditions that are safe from the excessive heat.

OSHA Heat Illness Fatalities

Heat Fatalities 2008-2014

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), thousands of workers become sick and even die as a result of exposure to heat each year. In the United States, an average of 400 deaths per year are directly related to heat, and an estimated 1,800 die from illnesses made worse by heat.

Many industries face challenges when it comes to providing a cool working environment, particularly in heat-susceptible areas such as industrial plants, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities. When surface temperatures on pipe and equipment routinely exceed 140° F (60° C), measures should be taken to improve the working environment. Without adequate cooling or precautions, workers are put in danger while equipment and manufactured products are at an increased risk of failure, which can impact worker safety and productivity, and certainly, a company’s bottom-line.

So how can you protect your employees from heat exposure while also ensuring that the work is accomplished on time?

According to OSHA, “The best way to prevent heat-related illness is to make the work environment cooler”. However, the dilemma now becomes how to efficiently and economically cool large, open areas where high ambient outdoor temperatures and heat-generating machinery are factors.

OSHA Touch Safe, Ambient Air temperature

The radiating heat of a running barrel affects the ambient temperature.

Fortunately, the use of industrial insulation on process equipment and piping not only saves money and energy, but also reduces the potential for heat- related illnesses. As insulation is added to systems, the surface temperature of these systems is dramatically reduced. This provides a cooler work environment that yields higher productivity, as workers do not require as many breaks and are less concerned with the potential for burns from hot surfaces. Furthermore, insulation helps reduce the amount of work your machine has to do by decreasing the amount of energy used without sacrificing quality or performance. Learn more about the energy saving benefits of insulation.

The use of UniTherm’s UniVest® and ISOCOVERS Insulation Systems product lines provide easy and efficient ways to save energy and money while creating a cooler and safer work environment. Additionally, these product lines can be purchased online because they now are available in standard “off-the-shelf” sizes, which drastically reduces the time and costs often associated with custom insulation jobs. For all of our heat prevention products, view our online shopping cart here.

UNI-ISO

For additional tips on how to keep your facility cooler and your workforce happy and motivated, click here for more information about preventing heat-related illness.

Share your stories about dangers of heat illness and let us know how you are preparing for the coming summer months on our social media pages:
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Manufacturing, Plastics Industry, Safety Tagged With: energy efficiency, Heat Illness, ISOCOVERS Insulation Systems, lean manufacturing, Personnel Protection, piping, plastics, plastics industry, protect, safety, save energy, thermal insulation, UniVest® Insulation Systems

January 21, 2015 by UniAdmin

4 Common Misconceptions About Industrial Insulation

We come across many people who have the wrong idea about industrial insulation and think what we offer is not right for them. We ask them a few questions, and usually they are left wondering why they haven’t insulated their equipment sooner. We throw them a UniVest and they rush out the door to install it (cause it’s really that simple).

So we don’t have to go through the same spiel every time, we’ve compiled the most common misconceptions people have when it comes to industrial insulation.

1. Insulation is for my home, not my machines 

This is the most common one we come across and it’s pretty obvious why. The first thing people think about when you say insulation is their home and what’s inside their walls. That’s a perfect analogy because UniVests work the same way. Properly insulating your home saves you hundreds of dollars a year on home heating and cooling costs. It protects outside temperatures from affecting the temperatures you want inside. The easier it is for your home to maintain its temperature, the less you spend at the end of the month. UniVests are no different, except we deal with higher inside temperatures. Take a second and think, if you save hundreds by properly insulating your home, imagine how much could be saved when insulating your machine. We’ll give you a hint…its much greater!UniVest-3-Strap-On-Off-W-Background-Color

2. No Budget for Insulation

We all have budgets. Yeah, and we know they can be small and hard to deal with. Trust us, Windows 98 is getting really old at the office. Making new purchases on things that you are already operating without can seem like a luxury purchase. Little known fact is that with proper insulation, a company can see ROI (Return on Investment) in under 12 months. In the right conditions, a single set of UniVests or ISOCOVERS can last 5+ years after installed. That’s 5+ years of return. In 12 months or less, most companies make back the purchase price of a UniVest from energy savings alone.

3. My machines are working fine now without insulation

We’re sure they do, but wouldn’t you like for them to work better? Insulation minimizes the downtime of the machines they are on and relieves stresses from a hard working machine. This even increases the lifespan of the equipment. Wouldn’t we all like to work a little easier? Your machines would too.

4. Who Needs Protection AnywayIMG_8583

The biggest thing that people don’t realize is that insulation also improves workplace safety. As seen in a few of our videos on Youtube, a heated barrel with a UniVest on it can be touched and worked around without any special protective gear. More Safety = Less downtime and less liability. Insulation can also decrease surrounding ambient air temperature. Decreasing work fatigue due to high temperature and more comfortable work areas. 

Here’s typically the point where some people are kicking themselves for not already having insulation installed. If you didn’t make it this far, we completely understand. Our insulation systems are much more than the sum of their parts and offer a lot more usability than most people realize. If you’ve finally come to the conclusion that insulation could benefit you, take a look around our online shopping cart at www.shop.unitherm.com. For some help finding the product, measuring, or just want some more insulation entertainment like this blog, visit our youtube page: www.Youtube.com/UniThermInsulations

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Freeze Protection, From the Marketing Team, Manufacturing, Plastics Industry, Safety, Uncategorized Tagged With: cooling, education, energy, energy conservation, energy costs, energy efficiency, energy efficiency projects, energy management, environment, heating, industrial applications, industrial insulation, innovation, insulation, lean manufacturing, manufacturing, manufacturing industry, plastics, safety, thermal insulation, UniTherm, unitherm international

September 24, 2014 by UniAdmin

New Shop Experience

We’ve just released our latest version of our new shop and we are excited for our customers to start using it. Shop.Unitherm.com is a little different and is much easier to use than our old shop. What we wanted most from our new store is ease of use for the customer and usability, and we think we’ve achieved that. On the store front, you can see our running specials and featured products, along with all of our product categories, and helpful links.

Ease of Use

The main goal of our new shop was to make the shopping experience easy and accessible to the customer. On our old shop, we found many customers would get lost or not know how to find what they are looking for. Now we have multiple avenues to search for what you need. Every page can be found with a couple of simple clicks. Whether you have a question or need to check out, you can get there from every page.

New Shop FeaturesNew shop store front

Crucial to our design was adding a few new features to aid the customer. Some are more subtle than others, but here are a few of my favorite.

What we consider to be best new feature of the site is how easily you can find the right product for you. Each product is set into specific categories based on your needs, applications, or industry. Within each category you can set custom search perimeters to find the right size product you need. By selecting:

  1. Diameter or Circumference
  2. Width

You can have the exact fitting UniVest ordered in seconds. This makes our selection process even easier.

New Shop Compare Page
You can now also compare multiple products to be certain which is perfect for you. Selecting up to 5 items, and clicking the “compare” button will bring up a screen that will list all of the products benefits and features side-by-side for your viewing. From here you can add to cart or click an individual item for a closer look. 

My Account adds the ability to return to your personal preferences and shopping history. From the My Account tab you can track your orders, change your preferences, and manage all of your information. This gives our customer the benefit of a personalized shopping experience.

My personal favorite feature is the new Wish List. The Wish List is your own personal shopping cart that you can come back to at anytime. Unsure about a product, not ready to check out, or are just making a dream Christmas List, the Wish List makes it simple to keep track of your items. Inside the Wish List page you can view products, compare, and add to cart normally. This list is saved to your customer account so it will be there next time you choose to visit. 

Checking Out

Lastly (and probably most important), we felt that our check out process was a little overcomplicated and some customers had issues submitting their order. We condensed the order process down to 3 easy steps and can be completed in the matter of seconds. The checkout process becomes even easier and faster when My Account is used with the new checkout process. 

Let’s Go Shopping

Enough talking about the new shop, take it for a spin, and see all our new changes for yourself. Let us know what you think and what your favorite new feature is on our Facebook & Twitter pages. Stay tuned for more exciting content soon.  

New Shop Page: Shop.Unitherm.com

Facebook: facebook.com/UniTherm

Twitter: twitter.com/UniTherm

Filed Under: From the Marketing Team, UniTherm News Tagged With: cart, features, heat process, industrial insulation, manufacturing, new shop, online shopping, plastics, UniTherm, update, usability

March 17, 2014 by UniAdmin

Check Out Our New Website!!!

UniTherm Insulation Systems, manufacturer of insulation blankets for high temperature applications, is excited to announce the launch of its redesigned website this week at: www.unitherm.com.

The design, e-commerce software platform and infrastructure of UniTherm.com have been completely reengineered. The goal is to provide a more personalized and simplified user experience on the website and e-commerce site. The revamped site also boasts ad units and integrations that are larger, more effective, and newly optimized for mobile users. Visitors of the site can now enjoy a seamless experience across all screens — desktop, mobile and tablet.

With the launch of the e-commerce website, the company’s President, Dan Sherrill, explains that, “In today’s market the launch of a new website may not be seen as groundbreaking, but within our niche, we recognized a need for and developed an e-commerce site that provides clear-cut, detailed information (such as delivery, product care, common FAQ’s, technical specifications etc.) on every product or part we sell.”

The new website includes a clean design, with brand new content that enables customers to easily search for new products and services. It is fully integrated with the company’s social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and its blog, and has an integral customer relationship management system to ensure that UniTherm’s sales and after-service professionals are fully informed of its customers’ needs.

Furthermore, the new web site showcases UniTherm’s pioneering efforts in offering a standardized product line –including product specifications for a broad range of available sizes and levels of performance– to make it easy for customers to order our products. This product line, along with the instant quoting, has eliminated the need for each project to receive a custom estimate and allows all orders to be instantly placed and processed.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with our new website. It’s well-designed, streamlined, and easy to use – just like our products,” according to Sherrill. “Our goal was to create a website that meets the needs of both our customers, who need easy access to our information, and the UniTherm staff, who need to be able to update the content easily to keep our customers informed. What we ended up with is a web site that looks great, is loaded with features, and has the ability to grow.”

Filed Under: From the Marketing Team, UniTherm News Tagged With: manufacturing, plastics, plastics industry, UniTherm

June 4, 2013 by Kendal White

Plastics & The Human Body (Infographic)

plastics-in-medical-field

 

 

  • Plastic Cast: heat-moldable plastic is shaped around a patient’s limb using rivets.
  • Plastic Foam: polyurethane foam could stabilize trauma patients.  Foam expands inside the body to prevent blood loss, and conform to the shape of injured tissue.
  • 3-D Body Part Printing: 3-D printed implants are being created from living cells and polyester plastic; example is an ear.
  • 3-D Printed Plastic Splint: a 3-D printed tracheal splint was implanted into a baby made from polycaprolactone, a medical plastic.
  • Artificial Cornea: these silicone corneas treat eye injuries or chronic inflammations.  They can restore vision and are similar to a natural cornea.
  • Hearing Aids: a new implant directly stimulates the auditory nerve: microphone, microcomputer, stimulator, and an electrode carrier.
  • Spinal Implants: a cervical interbody fusion system made of machined polyetheretherketone (PEEK) rods has been approved by the U.S. FDA.
  • Absorbable Heart Stent: blood flow to the heart can be restored with a plastic heart stent, which can later dissolve into the body.
  • Vaccination patches: a skin patch containing plastic “micro needles” could possibly deliver vaccinations painlessly, replacing injections.
  • Plastic Heart: plastic tubes mimic heart valves to let blood in and out of plastic ventricles in an artificial heart.
  • Artificial Blood Vessels: these are made by coating a biodegradable, plastic mesh tube with human or animal muscle cells.
  • Plastic Knee Replacements: a new ceramic and plastic knee implant is to last 20 to 30 years longer than traditional knee replacements.
  • Hip Replacements: metal-on-metal hip replacements are declining due to new technologies and materials: ceramic polyethylene (a medial-grade plastic).
  • Self-healing Prosthetics: this plastic skin recognizes injury and is self healing.  It has the sensitivity and flexibility of human skin and can restore its electrical and mechanical properties.
  • Prosthesis: plastic orthopedic devices align, correct, and support deformities, and can improve the function of movable body parts.
  • Plastics in Medical Implants: ethylene vinyl acetate, Proniva self-reinforced polyphenylene (SRP), Veriva polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), Zeniva (PEEK)
  • Bacteria-Resistant Plastics: these nonstick plastics can help ward off disease and contamination.
  • Polycarbonate Medical Devices: transparent medical tools are being manufactured from polycarbonate.

Filed Under: From the Marketing Team Tagged With: human body, medical, medical devices, plastics, plastics industry

April 29, 2013 by Kendal White

[Infographic] Reasons To Go Green

recycling-graphic

Top 10 Cleanest Countries

  1. Iceland
  2. Switzerland
  3. Costa Rica
  4. Sweden
  5. Norway
  6. Mauritius
  7. France
  8. Austria
  9. Cuba
  10. Columbia

 Types ofMost Recyclable Plastics 

  • PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate)
  • HDPE (high-density polyethylene)
  • PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
  • LDPE (low-density polyethylene)
  • PP (polypropylene)
  • PS (polystyrene)
  • Others

 

How to Recycle Plastic

  • Curbside Collection: some communities offer curbside collection of plastics for recycling
  • Bottle Banks: you can exchange plastic bottles for money in some states
  • Recycling Centers: take plastic items to be recycled

 

Recycling reduces the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills, decreases the amount of natural resources used to make plastic, and saves energy.

 

4 Reasons to Go Green

  • Endangered Animals: as many as 247 animals are on the critically endangered list as of 2008.
  • Deforestation: 8% drop in the amount of earth covered by rain forests.  Many experts suggest the rain forest will be entirely eliminated by 2050.
  • Global Warming: an increase in carbon dioxide that has led to global warming.
  • Growing Landfills: filled with trash that could take millions of years to decompose

 

Top 10 Polluting Countries 

  1. China
  2. United States
  3. Russia
  4. India 
  5. Japan
  6. Germany
  7. Canada 
  8. United Kingdom
  9. South Korea
  10. Iran

 

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Uncategorized Tagged With: 10 Cleanest Countries, 10 Most Polluting Countries, Deforestation, Endangered Animals, environment, green, plastics, Recycle

May 11, 2012 by Kendal White

Manufacturing Matters: 5/11 Weekly Wrap Up

The New York Times reports that manufacturing is “one of the few bright spot of the recovery, restoring 489,000 jobs since the beginning of 2010.” The article also describes geographic distinctions in growth, with half of the most manufacturing-specialized metropolitans now located in the Midwest.

Plastics News reports that in California a controversial pro-plastics lesson has been removed from a new statewide curriculum on the environment. After the EPA looked over the proposed curriculum, the section titled “Advantages of Plastic Shopping Bags” was replaced with recycling statistics in an 11th grade textbook.

image from flickr


ICIS
News announces that researchers at technology company Siemens have developed an alternative to ABS plastic. The new material—made with 70% renewable content—is the result of a three-year project funded by the German Research Ministry and was successfully used to make a vacuum cleaner cover.

image from icis.com


GreenBiz
examines the Sustainability Leadership List, which recognizes environmentally-conscious companies each year. But because some criticize the results, they also discuss plans for the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings that would develop a standardized method of measuring and ranking sustainability performance.

Plastics Today recognizes Dignity Health, the founding sponsor of the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, as one of the first hospital groups in the country to start using pigment-free patient plastics. This California-based healthcare organization is a leader in sustainability efforts to reduce hospitals’ impact on the environment by adopting innovative alternatives.

 

Filed Under: Manufacturing, Plastics Industry Tagged With: energy efficiency, manufacturing, plastics, plastics industry

May 4, 2012 by Kendal White

Manufacturing Matters: 5/4 Weekly Wrap Up

Another great week ripe with industry news. Here are the highlights:

Plastics News reports that the shortage of nylon 12 has led the auto industry to seek alternatives resins to use in fuel lines, connectors, tubes, and other key components. Molders and resin makers have offered a variety of possible alternatives, and automakers have established a system to begin testing.

The Huffington Post addresses the current the job market as US Congressional Candidate Stacey Lawson proposes a plan for creating jobs and rebuilding our middle class. Lawson stresses that we can by reclaim the American dream by “restoring the high-wage jobs that are the foundation of a sustainable economic recovery,” and she lays out 7 priorities to help us get there.

Clean Technica overviews the Department of Energy’s voluntary energy savings specifications designed to help building owners, operators, and manufacturers develop minimum performance requirements. The DOE recently released new specifications for lighting troffers and parking lot lighting, which could reduce energy use by 40%.

fluorescent-lights

image from cleantechnica.com

Industry Intelligence announces a new compostable bioplastic film that extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by up to five days. The new film, developed by Sira-Flex Resolve, creates an ideal atmosphere to better preserve stored food.

fruits and vegetables in produce isle

image from flickr, courtesy of I-5 Design & Manufacture

And in a free webinar, Design World discusses how Design for Manufacturability (DDM) eliminates many restraints associated with conventional manufacturing. The webinar examines how DDM can create plastic parts, layer-by-layer without machining, molding, or casting.

If you like the Weekly Wrap Up, follow our blog to receive more updates and industry news every Friday.

Filed Under: Manufacturing, Plastics Industry Tagged With: auto industry, efficiency, energy costs, energy efficiency, energy efficiency projects, energy management, engineering, manufacturing, plastics

April 27, 2012 by Kendal White

Manufacturing Matters: 4/23 Weekly Wrap Up

It seems there is always so much exciting industry news, so we welcome you to our first of many weekly wrap ups.

The Economist says we have entered a third industrial revolution. With the advent of additive manufacturing and the refinement ofrobots, we can glimpse the future of factories. As manufacturing goes digital, we see new processes emerging that are vastly different from the 20thcentury assembly lines.

The third industrial revolution

image from economist.com


MIT
discusses whether increasing complexity in engineered systems warrants a new approach to safety and testing. MIT professor Nancy Leveson claims that our modern, ever-evolving systems are more vulnerable to accidents, and she advocates a holistic, sum-of-its-parts approach over traditional safety engineering practices.

Engineering a Safer World

available at amazon.com


The Huffington Post
poses the question, is Obama getting serious about manufacturing? Huff Post says that if the government acknowledges manufacturing as a stable and productive industry—a “uniquely important sector”—that support can benefit the broader economy and build a stronger country.

GE discusses the “robust renaissance” of manufacturing “fueled by new technologies, software, innovation, and lower energy costs” and posts a great infographic highlighting industry growth and the power of insourcing.

Envision Plastics announces the partnership between Alpha Packaging and Arla Foods, a partnership aiming to eliminate landfill waste with a zero-carbon facility. To launch the sustainability strategy, Alpha Packaging will produce milk bottles with 50% recycled material. Arla Foods recruited Alpha to mold and handle the bottles on site with two goals in mind: consuming the lowest amount of energy possible and creating the most environmentally advanced dairy in the world.

milk bottles

image from envisionplastics.com


Metal Architecture
says that reducing factory footprints is not only environmentally friendly, but economically smart as well. Building owners who focus on decreasing carbon emissions and reaching LEED standards enjoy numerous benefits: improved image and marketability, greater employee engagement, higher renter rates, and more incentives.

We hope you enjoyed our first edition! Keep checking in for more industry updates from the top news sources.

Filed Under: Manufacturing, Plastics Industry Tagged With: architecture, industry news, manufacturing, plastics, recycling

February 21, 2012 by Kendal White

The Best Ways for Manufacturers to Save Energy: Surveying the Site

Who doesn’t want to save energy? Now more than ever, we are all looking for ways to cut back—we turn down the lights and turn off the thermostat, we run the dishwasher less and take shorter showers—hoping to save some money on the monthly energy bill.

But when you run a large manufacturing plant, the task of saving energy may be a bit more daunting. Before you can start conserving energy, you have to know where the most energy is being consumed and what the best opportunities are for reducing high-energy output.

Knowledge is power, so we’ve put together a simple site survey checklist to help managers get well acquainted with their plant’s energy output. According to the Energy in Plastics Good Practice Guide, you should carry out an initial survey immediately because “if energy is being wasted, it is costing money.” A 20% cut in energy costs can equal the same bottom line benefit as a 5% increase in sales.

It’s also a good idea to take an unannounced walk around the site at about mid-shift to see how things are running during normal working hours.

What to look for during an initial walk through
Keep a close eye on the machines. Machines consume about 60% of energy costs. Yikes. But think of it this way—here lies your greatest opportunity for energy savings.

As you survey the site, keep these questions in mind:

  • Which areas have the largest energy load? Look for the largest machines; they will have the largest motors and consume the most energy.
  • Which motors are running? Would smaller motors be more efficient? Could they be turned off during non-peak hours?
  • Are machines well insulated? Is the insulation in good condition?
  • Are hot and cold pipes insulated? Is the insulation in good condition?
  • Which cooling water pumps and vacuum pumps are running?
  • Does compressed air pressure need to be so high, or the vacuum so low? Can you hear steam and compressed air leaks?
  • Are lights and machine heaters left on? What is running during lunch breaks and and after working hours?

With a better understanding of where unnecessary energy output occurs, you can now take productive steps to decrease it. Don’t wait—conduct your site survey today to start saving energy and increase that bottom line!

*Statistics from European Best Practice Guide.

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Manufacturing, Plastics Industry Tagged With: checklist, conserving energy, energy, energy audit, energy bill, energy conservation, energy costs, energy policy, green building, manufacturers, plastics, save energy, saving energy, site survey, surveying, surveys, thermal insulation

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UniTherm Insulation Systems

711 Jones St.
Lewisville, TX 75057
Toll Free: 800.657.9542
Phone: 972.436.1401
Fax: 972.436.0112
info@unitherm.com

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