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Author: Anders Jytzler

Gold Winner at Global Tank Storage Awards!

We are super proud to announce that Real Safety won the Gold Award in the Safety Technology Category this week at the prestigious Global Tank Storage Awards in Rotterdam. The Award dinner took place on Wednesday night and run alongside StocExpo. StocExpo is the leading global annual event for the tank storage and future fuels industry.

At the Awards, we were up against four other amazing finalists in a category that awards a product, technology or service that adds an additional layer of safety to the terminal and reduces risk to employees and the surrounding area. All the finalists and winners are listed here

Torben Farup, Real Safety’s CEO, who was on hand to receive the award at the event – along with Sales Manager Ed Visser, states: “Winning the Safety Technology Category Award at such a prestigious global event is absolutely fantastic! We were up against some very stiff competition, but the case we submitted, based on a really exciting project we recently did for BPGIC in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, was strong enough and a true testament to our core focus on Safety Technology. I really couldn’t be more proud of everyone at Real Safety for driving safety and innovation in the global tank storage industry! Finally, I would also like to extend a huge thank you to Tank Storage Magazine, who hosted the event – what an amazing evening it has been!”.


Fall Prevention – top 5 tips

Did you know that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide?

Globally, falls are a major public health problem. Each year an estimated 684,000¹ individuals die from falls. Accidents in the workplace account for a sizeable proportion of this number.

Risk factors contributing to workplace accidents:

  • loss of grip between the shoe and the floor
  • when there is a contaminant between the shoe and the floor
  • when a foot hits a low obstacle in its path – causing a loss of balance

According to Injury Facts², falls, slips and trips were the 3rd most prevalent causes of injury and illnesses involving days away from work in 2020 in the US. In the UK alone, slipping and tripping cost employers over £500m per year³ – in compensation and lost time. Accidents are expensive!

Most accidents are preventable

The simplest way of preventing work-related injuries in your workplace, is to develop a risk management plan which can identify, assess, control and monitor safety hazards and risks.

Prevent Slips, Trips and Falls – Top 5 tips

  1. Identify the potential causes – To reduce the risks of an accident occuring, identify the causes. Typically, they include: uneven floor surfaces, wet floors, poor lighting and other tripping hazards.
  2. Implement good housekeeping – Good housekeeping procedures are critical for all kinds of businesses. If your property´s housekeeping habits are substandard, the result might be a higher number of employee injuries and accidents. Three simple steps to developing a good housekeeping strategy are: plan ahead, assign responsibilities and implement an effective housekeeping program.
  3. Deal with wet surfaces quickly – Walking on slippery and wet surfaces can be particularly dangerous, especially on low-friction materials such as metal, steel and wood. Areas exposed to mud, oil, chemicals, water, grease etc. are all at risk – including exposed walkways, stairs and floors.
  4. Avoid creating obstacles in aisles and walkways – Maintaining clearly defined spaces for employee movement is essential when it comes to preventing accidents from occuring, particularly with regards to tripping. Implement clean-up procedures to ensure that walkways are always kept uncluttered. Best practice strategies include: keeping work areas, storage rooms and passages clear; avoiding stringing cables across walkways and conducting regular inspections for potential hazards.
  5. Maintain proper lighting – Poor lighting in the workplace is an extremely common issue that contributes to the number of accidents. Make sure that you: Use proper lighting in walkways, staircases, and other commonly accessed areas; keep all work areas well lit: deal with ineffective or broken lighting as soon as possible and keep light switches easily accesbile and within easy reach.

Securing your worksite, using appropriate safety measures to prevent accidents, is essential. To know more about safety solutions and accident prevention in your work environment, please contact us.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/falls
https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/work-overview/top-work-related-injury-causes/
https://www.hse.gov.uk/slips/costs.htm


Real Safety Newsletter – winter 2022

Newsletter Issue 1

Welcome to our first Safety Newsletter since our re-branding.

In this issue, you will be able to read about:

End of the year CEO Update

There is no doubt that this year has been remarkable for Real Safety. We have delivered on some major initiatives and made tremendous progress on the goals we set out at the beginning of the year. Read more

Solution Focus: REAL Safe Escape Markers

Read Newsletter pdf

The marking of escape routes on industrial and off-shore facilities has one purpose only: Rapid evacuation to a safe area! The markers must adhere to strict protocols and be easy to see and follow. Read more

Customer Spotlight: ESVAGT A/S

ESVAGT A/S support the offshore wind and oil and gas industries with a wide range of specialised services. We asked them if a recent safety upgrade had made a difference and improved safety on board. See the full interview here.

Non-Metallic / GRP Composite Construction Materials – what are the benefits?

An increasing number of architects, engineers and builders are now using FRP for a variety of building, infrastructure and refurb projects all over the world. Why is FRP such a great cost-saving alternative to for example steel? Read more

Real Safety has been ISO Certified

Real Safety supply safety solutions to international clients on an ever-increasing scale. Being certified to the highest level with quality management systems is necessary. Read more

If you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.

Read Newsletter pdf

Solution Focus: REAL Safe Escape Markers

The marking of escape routes on industrial and off-shore facilities has one purpose only: Rapid evacuation to a safe area!

Emergency evacuation plans must be in place to prepare workers for emergencies – but also to keep organisations compliant with OSHA regulations. Training and having clear, visible escape routes can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency that requires an evacuation.

Our award-winning solution for effective marking of Escape Routes comes with clear guidance of direction to muster points. It is a cost efficient, tried and tested solution for the off-shore, industrial, and maritime sectors.

A few years ago, one of our biggest clients; Maersk Oil (now TotalEnergies), approached us with a challenge. The authorities had issued them with an injunction regarding unclear, painted escape routes. Together with the client, we developed our REAL Safe Escape Markers. Our Markers have replaced the very unsafe procedure of painting escape routes onto gratings and walkways; a practice that has been going on for decades.

In fact, we solved the task so well, that our Real Safe Escape Marker solution has been stipulated as the Best Practice method used by TotalEnergies for marking escape routes on their offshore facilities.

Real Safety has worked with TotalEnergies on supplying Real Safe Escape Markers for the Tyra Redevelopment project over a number of years. Check out Tyra Redevelopment project case study.

Award winning solution

Don’t just take our word for it. In 2017, among 1.800 companies worldwide, Real Safe Escape Markers were selected as the award winner in the Offshore category of Scale-Up Denmark’s Next Step Challenge. It won for being the most innovative safety solution for the industry, as it cuts costs by almost 70% and enhances safety due to its clear visible escape directions and anti-slip features.

Real Safe Escape Markers Benefits:

  • Visible, durable, anti-slip and cost-efficient solution
  • Custom-made sizes, optional colours – with or without arrows
  • We have encapsulated sharp silicon carbide stones into the surface of the glass fibre to provide optimum friction
  • Quick and easy to install – even in harsh environments
  • Each standard anti-slip strip profile measures 1200 x 100 x 3,5 mm.
  • Guaranteed to guide and protect for at least 10 years
Real Safe Escape advantages

Benefits of using GRP Composite materials

The role of GRP Composites in construction

The Construction sector is one of the biggest markets for Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) globally. It’s also known as Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP). An increasing number of architects, engineers and builders are now using GRP for a variety of building, infrastructure and for refurb projects and the trend is accelerating. Project range from refurbing existing structures to full-scale use for new projects – I.e. as reinforcement in concrete, bridge decks, modular structures, formwork, and external reinforcement for strengthening and seismic upgrades.

What makes GRP unique?

GRP Structural pultruded profiles are manufactured by combining a resin matrix with a fibre reinforcement. This is formed and cured in a continuous process creating a product of extraordinary strength and resilience.

Key advantages of GRP vs Steel:

Strength

  • Compared to steel, GRP Composites has equal or better strength simply because it has higher impact resistance than steel.
  • It is gram for gram stronger than steel and aluminum with compressive and flexural strength.
  • It is up to 3,3 times more rigid than timber.

Cost

  • In harsh environments steel has a short life span due to corrosion etc.
  • High installation costs due to material weight, galvanization and manpower is also associated with steel.
  • GRP, on the other hand, is lightweight, requires only basic tooling and can be assembled on site at no additional cost.
  • GRP has a much longer service life – requiring less maintenance and replacement.
    • Overall cost benefits exceed steel equivalents
    • Lower installation cost: up to 57%
    • Low maintanance cost – FRP Year 1-5 : 0% Steel Year 1-4 3% & Year 5: 10%
    • Significant reduction in manpower / hours needed – up to 20% less

Safety

  • Construction sites are high risk environments. With GRP you don’t have to worry about structural integrity, durability, shock hazards or corrosion.
  • GRP/FRP has low thermal conductivity and zero electrical conduction – and therefore safe to handle and able to retain reliability and performance properties in varying environmental conditions.

Durability and sustainability

  • GRP Composites do not corrode and therefore, it has a longer service life than steel.
  • It can handle direct exposure to acids, brines, oils, and many other common corrosives.
  • GRP is also resistant to a broad range of chemicals and unaffected by water.
  • It has been proven that GRP composite recycling is more environmentally friendly compared to steel in terms of energy consumption, making them a more sustainable substitute.

All our pultruded construction materials are also manufactured in accordance with CTI 137 Standard

FRP/GRP Composites case study: Water Desalination Project

In 2019, we successfully supplied a range of profile materials for a project in Saudi Arabia. In this project, several of our non-metallic GRP solutions were chosen for 8 plants in the KSA West Coast Desalination Plants project. Check our case study here.

If you have a construction project coming up or have questions about the possible application of FRP/GRP products, and how we might help, get in touch.

FRP Table

End of the year CEO update

So what’s new?

There is no doubt that this year has been remarkable for Real Safety. We have delivered on some major initiatives and made tremendous progress on the goals we set out at the beginning of the year.

We have re-branded!  

We launched our new website in April: www.realsap.com. In August, we followed up with the launch of our Danish website: www.realsafety.dk. Developing our new website and brand is all part of our Digital Strategy for 2022 – and beyond.

Our new logo, websites and online presence are all important aspects of our digital marketing strategy – giving us the opportunity to showcase our brand and vision both locally and internationally.

ISO 9001 Certification

Earlier this year, we achieved our ISO 9001 Quality Certification. It’s a tremendous achievement for Real Safety. Read more about our ISO process in our article.

We’ve expanded our Team

People are pivotal to developing the right client solutions in the industries we serve – and to ensure that we can deliver on our aspirations and growth plans, we have opened two new offices in UAE and KSA and have welcomed 7 team members to Real Safety over the last 12 months.

In UAE, we have welcomed Stakeholder and Executive Vice President, Lehan Koekemoer. He has international experience and operates alongside an assistant out of UAE. Furthermore, we have welcomed Adam Majzoub as Director of Business Development – based in our KSA office. Both are crucial appointments for Real Safety to ensure that we have a strong local presence in our key markets.

In Denmark, we have strengthened our HQ team and have welcomed Puk Svensson as our new Marketing Manager, Ann Le as our QHSE and Project Manager. They are joined by Marketing Coordinator Rosie Durias. Welcome to the team!

Exhibitions

We are actively positioning ourselves in our target markets. Throughout the year, Real Safety has participated in exhibitions both locally and internationally. Here are some of the conferences where we attended and exhibited in 2022:

Attending and exhibiting is a great opportunity to build networks, partnerships and meet up with clients worldwide. It’s also the perfect opportunity to showcase our solutions and services. Stay tuned for upcoming exhibitions in 2023 – where we hope to catch up with you.

Looking forward

Despite the difficult challenges caused by the pandemic, war in Ukraine, and recent economic pressures, I am very optimistic about the future. In 2022, we have secured key strategic Partnerships with global players in our market – boosting both our supply chain and presence in key markets. We have a solid pipeline of projects and together with our expanded team, we are now in a perfect position to deliver on our plans for 2023 and beyond.

In 2023, some of our strategic goals include:

  • Establishment of two major distribution agreements
  • Step 2 in localizing further and manufacturing in UAE & KSA
  • “Go Greener”. We want to continue our efforts of developing sustainable products, reducing waste and trace product origins.

Thank you for your ongoing trust and support. We look forward to working closely with you in 2023 and beyond.


ESVAGT A/S Interview

Getting feedback from clients after safety upgrade projects is extremely important – and we recently spoke to Jesper Møhring Madsen, Master of ESVAGT Heidi.

We wanted to ask Jesper what the real impact of the safety upgrade had been for the crew and the vessel. You can view the full interview video here.

ESVAGT was founded in 1981 and has a fleet of more than 40 vessels – supporting the offshore wind, oil and gas industries with a wide range of specialised services.

Real Safety has supplied safety solutions to ESVAGT for many years, and on ESVAGT Heidi and ESVAGT Leah, a requested safety upgrade on staircases and ladders of various sizes was delivered, along with anti-slip walkway covers for the top landing areas, and increased visibility and anti-slip safety on existing steel gratings of differing levels.

View the full ESVAGT Case Study HERE


Welcome to Adam Majzoub

We are thrilled to welcome Adam Majzoub, who officially joined Real Safety earlier in the year as our local partner – working out of Khobar in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Adam has over 10 years’ on-the-ground experience working as a chemical engineer, specialising in technical sales and business development for the oil & gas and construction industry in both Saudi Arabia and Canada. Adam’s work background has seen him working for Zedan Group for several years, and he recently started a new position at Amana Arabia in May 2022 as Director of Business Development.

Adam Majzoub

With a background in chemical engineering, Adam is an expert in driving system and process improvements, optimising performance and productivity whilst achieving full compliance with safety, quality, and environmental regulations – all to ensure effective project delivery for clients.

Real Safety has worked with Adam for several years but is pleased that he is officially part of our team as our local partner. Speaking of his new appointment, Adam says: “I am really pleased to be part of the Real Safety team here in Saudi Arabia. The opportunities to develop the market for safety products are huge, and I’m looking forward to working with the team to help our local clients and maximise the opportunities which are sure to lie ahead.”

CEO of Real Safety, Torben Farup, welcomed Adam to the team, saying: “We are delighted to have Adam officially onboard. Adam is a real asset to our team and has already made a big difference – supporting our local clients and identifying new opportunities for us. His experience and knowledge is essential for us to execute our business development strategy for the area.”


Real Safety successfully achieves ISO 9001:2015 Certification!

Real Safety, experts in anti-slip safety solutions and non-metallic construction materials, have been ISO 9001 Certified.

Increased customer and legal requirements have created a need for improving quality management across organisations. The most effective way to achieve these standards – and to demonstrate ongoing improvement, is by using a quality management system, certified to the internationally renowned ISO 9001:2015 standard.

Owner and CEO of Real Safety Torben Farup explains: “We are absolutely thrilled with our new certification – working with Bureau Veritas during the process. We have always had a huge focus on both customers and suppliers to ensure that their experience with us is top quality, and products are delivered on time. All our processes will now be ISO 9001 certified; that guarantees a systematic approach to how we handle business strategies and processes – ensuring clients are satisfied”.

Prior to launching the certification process, project and quality manager Ann Le was brought onboard to oversee the project. She undertook a thorough analysis of Real Safety’s old processes, from top to bottom, to identify and evaluate the quality system. Ann Le reveals: “Even though Real Safety already implemented and followed a long list of processes; we were missing out on an external approval and certification. Furthermore, being certified, we are required to review our processes continuously and improve where necessary. It is a constant reminder to stay sharp”.

Real Safety supply safety solutions to international clients on an ever-increasing scale and therefore, being certified to the highest level with quality management systems is necessary. Torben Farup adds: “By achieving ISO 9001, we ensure that our commitment to improving our quality systems and processes is real and measurable. It’s important to our clients – and frankly, often a requirement. Finally, it’s a massive boost for our staff, knowing that our processes and management systems have been externally recognised and certified”.