What difference can a new ring main make to your business’ productivity?

Unless you work in healthcare (and perhaps even if you do) you probably don’t spend a great deal of time thinking about the sheer volume of equipment that needs providing to hospital beds.

It’s not just medical equipment. Patient entertainment and medical gases outlets. The nurse call patient handset, patient lighting and control. The medical rails holding patient information and clinical equipment. Someone has to manufacture all of that together with the bespoke medical trunking that houses all of the medical gas pipework, cables and associated services.

In Sheffield, that someone is Mediplan Limited.

Getting more from Mediplan’s ring main

Compressed air plays a significant role in Mediplan’s Sheffield manufacturing facility, with numerous workstations demanding it. The facility had a ring main of sorts, using a braided hose that ran everywhere.

It wasn’t the most efficient way of doing things. As the hose sagged or coiled in certain areas, the pressure would drop and the compressor would have to work extra hard to push it round the system.

That was costing Mediplan in terms of energy, productivity and, eventually, in wear to its compressor.

So we stepped in to create a new ring main and new branch lines.

What’s the point of a ring main?

If you’re running a single tool or workstation from your air compressor, there isn’t one. The compressor creates the air power. The tool at the end of the air feed uses it. Simple. But imagine you have several stations that all need air power, and they’re all fed from a single straight-line system.

If you’re the unlucky person at the end of that straight-line system and everyone needs to draw air at the same time, you’ll find you’re constantly battling pressure drops.

A ring main resolves that and lots of other issues too:

•   It helps keep pressure constant
•   It’s more efficient (in terms of energy use and the load you place on your compressor), which ultimately reduces costs
•   It’s easier to add new branch lines to a ring main

“We are extremely impressed with Algar Air’s highly professional service”

Take a look at the photos on this page and the first thing to note is that it’s not always easy to pick out the ring main – which is the idea. It’s the stainless-steel piping that circles the room, and does its job quietly and without fuss.

Look a little closer and you’ll see the ring main uses lots of long, straight sections, with connections well-spaced to avoid pinch points that reduce flow. Shut-off valves at the end of every branch line ensure no air is wasted when stations aren’t in use.

Mediplan were extremely pleased with the difference their new ring main has made Alan Dent (Operations Manager) said. “The transformation has greatly assisted production and we are extremely impressed with Algar Air’s highly professional service.”

To discover the difference a new ring main could make to your business, contact us or call 0114 243 2347