Domestic gas users to benefit from enhanced safety equipment
Following a decision of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior and in conjunction with the Civil Defence, Dubai, domestic gas users will have new cylinder valves with enhanced safety features in place of the old ones.
This is part of an industry-wide initiative born out of extensive research conducted by Emirates Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of ENOC, along with Emarat Gas Distribution. The complete valve changeover, in the interest of public safety will be executed with immediate effect in Dubai by Emirates Gas in partnership with Emarat.
Emirates Gas has invested in two years of research and consumer trials to design the new flat top compact valve, which offers distinct advantages in terms of safety and convenience against the hand wheel screw type valve currently in use. The advanced design was created specifically for LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) consumers in the Middle East where the gas is widely used for cooking, heating and barbecuing.
The most striking feature of the new valve is its safeguard against all possible kinds of leakages. The short, one-piece valve is made of high quality material capable of withstanding high impact and a new regulator, which can be easily pushed on the cylinder valve outlet.
Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi Director General of Dubai Civil Defence and Head of the Executive Committee responsible for laying a structure to enforce the decision, stressed on the importance of all bottling and distribution companies' commitment to the clauses under the Ministry's decision, which requires them to abide by the following procedures: - Use an authenticated regulator from the civil defence.
- Stop the use of spiral regulator in a time frame and action plan that is decided by the committee responsible for that purpose.
- All empty cylinders that are filled up and used by bottling companies should carry the company's name and logo - Not to fill up valves that don?t have the company's name and logo printed on them - Every company should not transport its own cylinders that don't have its name and logo printed on them, whether the cylinder is full or empty. This means that any company that holds such a cylinder in possession will be considered a violation - Fix the cutter and the gas detector to alert in case of gas leakage - Ensure that all maintenance operations are done periodically on gas tools and equipment.
- Efficient monitoring by civil defence to enable each company to inspect its cylinders and perform hydrostatic check on a periodic basis and before bottling and exchange it after its validity expires.
- Civil Defence should implement the appropriate mechanism to ensure the use of the new approved regulators, and initiate an awareness programme to inform nationals and residents to use the authenticated and approved valves and regulators. They should also fix the gas leakage detectors and monitor the connections to check its safety and validity.
- Perform regular checks on restaurants and other public places that use gas for any purpose during appropriate times from time to time to ensure they are using the authenticated and approved regulators and valves and perform a check on the validity of the connections for the smooth flow of the gas.
Al Matroushi added: "This cooperation between the Civil Defence, the bottling companies and companies supplying the cylinders to the general public is crucial in achieving our joint goal of providing safety to the society." "The absence of flat fibre or cork washers also minimises chances of leakage. The washers used in old valves to attach the regulator wears out over time, leading to leakage. It also happens that out of carelessness or distributors oversight, distributors may not replace the washers while changing cylinders and thus the leak may not be fixed in time. The new valves need no washers, thread or spanners, which means the margin of manual error is almost nil," said Hesham Ali Mustafa, General Manager of Emirates Gas.
In addition, the flat top valve has an automatic cut-off mechanism activated in the event of a major leak or snap off in the rubber hose as well as a fusible spindle, which melts to seal off the valve in case of a fire.
Mustafa added that the new valves will also help save precious energy.
"The old adjustable regulators for screw top valves may release up to 1 bar of gas pressure whereas the maximum output required for domestic use is around 30 millibars. The new valves are set to output only 29 millibars as this is the ideal vapour pressure normally required in household appliances. Considering that Dubai alone has 300,000-400,000 domestic gas cylinders in use, the environmental and safety advantages of the new valves is tremendous." Cylinders equipped with the flat top valves can be operated only by a regulator supplied by Emirates Gas or Emarat. Customers will be provided with the new, easy-to-fix, tamper-proof valves when empty cylinders are replaced. It is estimated that, about 1,000 cylinders with new valves will be changed per day by distributors of Emirates Gas and Emarat. These new valves and automatic regulators will have both ENOC and Emarat?s names and logos printed on them.
Saeed Abdullah Khoory, Group Chief Executive, ENOC, congratulated Emirates Gas for designing the new valve and ensuring that the safety of its customers is not compromised in anyway.
"ENOC strives to be the Energy Partner of Choice and this new valve and regulators are an example of our pursuit of quality and excellence, adding value and safety to our customers. This new initiative pioneered by Emirates Gas is a reaffirmation of our commitment to customers and the community," Khoory said.
Jamal Abdul Rehman Al Madfah, Acting General Manager of Emarat said: "The main objective of this initiative is to increase customer safety and protect property. As a socially responsible corporation, Emarat strong believes in community relations and the health and safety of individuals. Therefore our commitment to best quality practices in all our activities and programmes is a top priority for us." WAM
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This is part of an industry-wide initiative born out of extensive research conducted by Emirates Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of ENOC, along with Emarat Gas Distribution. The complete valve changeover, in the interest of public safety will be executed with immediate effect in Dubai by Emirates Gas in partnership with Emarat.
Emirates Gas has invested in two years of research and consumer trials to design the new flat top compact valve, which offers distinct advantages in terms of safety and convenience against the hand wheel screw type valve currently in use. The advanced design was created specifically for LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) consumers in the Middle East where the gas is widely used for cooking, heating and barbecuing.
The most striking feature of the new valve is its safeguard against all possible kinds of leakages. The short, one-piece valve is made of high quality material capable of withstanding high impact and a new regulator, which can be easily pushed on the cylinder valve outlet.
Major General Rashid Thani Al Matroushi Director General of Dubai Civil Defence and Head of the Executive Committee responsible for laying a structure to enforce the decision, stressed on the importance of all bottling and distribution companies' commitment to the clauses under the Ministry's decision, which requires them to abide by the following procedures: - Use an authenticated regulator from the civil defence.
- Stop the use of spiral regulator in a time frame and action plan that is decided by the committee responsible for that purpose.
- All empty cylinders that are filled up and used by bottling companies should carry the company's name and logo - Not to fill up valves that don?t have the company's name and logo printed on them - Every company should not transport its own cylinders that don't have its name and logo printed on them, whether the cylinder is full or empty. This means that any company that holds such a cylinder in possession will be considered a violation - Fix the cutter and the gas detector to alert in case of gas leakage - Ensure that all maintenance operations are done periodically on gas tools and equipment.
- Efficient monitoring by civil defence to enable each company to inspect its cylinders and perform hydrostatic check on a periodic basis and before bottling and exchange it after its validity expires.
- Civil Defence should implement the appropriate mechanism to ensure the use of the new approved regulators, and initiate an awareness programme to inform nationals and residents to use the authenticated and approved valves and regulators. They should also fix the gas leakage detectors and monitor the connections to check its safety and validity.
- Perform regular checks on restaurants and other public places that use gas for any purpose during appropriate times from time to time to ensure they are using the authenticated and approved regulators and valves and perform a check on the validity of the connections for the smooth flow of the gas.
Al Matroushi added: "This cooperation between the Civil Defence, the bottling companies and companies supplying the cylinders to the general public is crucial in achieving our joint goal of providing safety to the society." "The absence of flat fibre or cork washers also minimises chances of leakage. The washers used in old valves to attach the regulator wears out over time, leading to leakage. It also happens that out of carelessness or distributors oversight, distributors may not replace the washers while changing cylinders and thus the leak may not be fixed in time. The new valves need no washers, thread or spanners, which means the margin of manual error is almost nil," said Hesham Ali Mustafa, General Manager of Emirates Gas.
In addition, the flat top valve has an automatic cut-off mechanism activated in the event of a major leak or snap off in the rubber hose as well as a fusible spindle, which melts to seal off the valve in case of a fire.
Mustafa added that the new valves will also help save precious energy.
"The old adjustable regulators for screw top valves may release up to 1 bar of gas pressure whereas the maximum output required for domestic use is around 30 millibars. The new valves are set to output only 29 millibars as this is the ideal vapour pressure normally required in household appliances. Considering that Dubai alone has 300,000-400,000 domestic gas cylinders in use, the environmental and safety advantages of the new valves is tremendous." Cylinders equipped with the flat top valves can be operated only by a regulator supplied by Emirates Gas or Emarat. Customers will be provided with the new, easy-to-fix, tamper-proof valves when empty cylinders are replaced. It is estimated that, about 1,000 cylinders with new valves will be changed per day by distributors of Emirates Gas and Emarat. These new valves and automatic regulators will have both ENOC and Emarat?s names and logos printed on them.
Saeed Abdullah Khoory, Group Chief Executive, ENOC, congratulated Emirates Gas for designing the new valve and ensuring that the safety of its customers is not compromised in anyway.
"ENOC strives to be the Energy Partner of Choice and this new valve and regulators are an example of our pursuit of quality and excellence, adding value and safety to our customers. This new initiative pioneered by Emirates Gas is a reaffirmation of our commitment to customers and the community," Khoory said.
Jamal Abdul Rehman Al Madfah, Acting General Manager of Emarat said: "The main objective of this initiative is to increase customer safety and protect property. As a socially responsible corporation, Emarat strong believes in community relations and the health and safety of individuals. Therefore our commitment to best quality practices in all our activities and programmes is a top priority for us." WAM
