Industrial Cleaning Case Study:
Furnace and Forehearth Firebreak Cleaning
Verallia UK | Leeds & Knottingley
Organisation Profile
Verallia are a European leader in the manufacturer of glass packaging for beverages and food products. They have UK sites in Leeds, Knottingley and Castleford. We are very proud to work with such an impressive, industry-leading blue chip company, to provide them with quality cleaning services that can hold up to the quality of their products.
The Issues
We work with several glass manufacturing sites across the UK, and from this experience we know that manufacturing areas of glass factories can become extremely dirty. Roofing panels, girders, machinery and infrastructure can easily become covered in oil, dust, grime and combustible materials. This accumulation can severely increase the risk of fires if areas aren’t cleaned regularly and effectively.
Objectives
Deep Clean of Client Infrastructure and Machinery
To remove all dirt, grime and contaminants from ceilings, girders, infrastructure and relevant machinery from the furnace level area. It was an imperative condition for the client that no debris dropped through the gantry gratings, as this would contaminate the production lines below. Bespoke methods including industrial vacuums and sky vac poles were developed for this purpose.
Creation of Firebreak for Fire Prevention
To create a firebreak across the furnace level areas of the facility, by removing all oil, dust and contaminants to 2 metres above floor level. Firebreak painting of girders and other infrastructure aimed to slow the progress of fires occurring as a result of the production manufacturing process beneath.
Development of Bespoke Methods
Our teams utilise top of the line industrial vacuum equipment as well as bespoke specialised tools to prevent debris, oil and other contaminants from dropping onto production areas below.
Specialist and flame retardant PPE is used so that our operative team can work safely in this heated environment; for those unfamiliar with the glass industry, forehearth areas above manufacturing I.S. Machines can be extremely hot.
Here at Kingfisher, we are proud of our reputation as being a leading specialist industrial cleaning company which develops and innovates bespoke solutions to best suit our customers’ requirements. This innovation extends to our Furnace Firebreak Cleaning process which is continually developed to ensure the highest possible results for our clients.
Results Delivered
Successful Initial Deep Cleaning
Successful removal of significant accumulations of oil, dust and debris. Our specialised method ensured that no contaminants fell onto productions lines below.
Ongoing Maintenance
Thanks to our successful turnaround of initial cleans, our clients have continually requested that we return for ongoing cleans, in order to maintain the excellent standard that we have established.
Prevention of Fire Spreading
After our initial deep cleans, our clients reported back to us that a small fire, which began on the machinery at ground level, was prevented from spreading to the upper furnace levels as a result of our firebreak implementations.
