Fans are such a big part of our indoor environments that most of the time we hardly ever know they are there. Yet without fans to cool, ventilate and circulate fresh air and remove odors, many of the spaces where we live and work would be uninhabitable due to a buildup of noxious pollutants and … Read more
Using cave-in protective equipment when working in trenches deeper than five feet isn’t just a good idea. It’s the law. That’s what the owners of A. Lamp Concrete Contractors — a construction company in Morton Grove, Illinois — found out the hard way last week when they were fined $69,300 by the US Occupational Safety and … Read more
A first-of-its-kind panoramic camera for heavy duty trucks that may one day become standard equipment on heavy duty vehicles has been successfully tested in the UK. The Brigade Backeye 360 Elite System will enable truck drivers to see cyclists, pedestrians, other vehicles and other potential collision dangers while maneuvering dense urban streets. It uses four … Read more
The average price per gallon of diesel fuel fell 7 cents to $3.535 last week, the steepest drop since the week of October 29, 2012. And the average price per gallon was at its lowest level since the week of February 14, 20111, when it was at $3.534/gallon, according to the US Department of Energy’s … Read more
The BNSF railroad will spend nearly $500 million next year expanding its operations in the Northern region, the company announced. The railroad — which is the second largest freight railway system in the US after the Union Pacific — currently is experiencing its fastest growth in the North, where it services the agriculture, coal, crude … Read more
A total of 108 older forklifts have been exchanged for newer ones as part of a Texas program that seeks to replace older diesel, gasoline and propane forklifts with newer, cleaner propane- and natural gas-fueled vehicles. The Railroad Commission of Texas authorized incentive payments averaging $10,703 per replacement to about 38 companies doing business in … Read more
KersTech — a drive train technology firm based in Beaverton, Oregon — is developing a new type of forklift engine that is better suited to the vehicle’s frequent starts and stops. The TwinTorq engine combines electric and hydraulic torque technologies to extend operational run time. It improves battery energy efficiently and significantly extends a forklift’s … Read more
Here’s a special sneak preview of some of the articles you will find this week on the Bahrns blog: The BNSF railway will make a huge investment in infrastructure and new capital next year … to the tune of $6 billion. We’ll tell you what they will spend it on and how it could especially … Read more
Mozambique — the relatively small East African nation of about 25 million people — is mostly known in the US and around the world for the bloody civil war that crippled the country for nearly two decades. But that conflict ended 20 years ago. Today, after a return to peace and political stability, Mozambique is … Read more
At the end of this month, when FedEx and UPS begin charging delivery fees based on package dimensions, delivery costs for companies that use these carriers could increase up to 30%. Since the 1930s, most carriers calculated shipping rates based on a carton’s weight vs. the distance it was being shipped. But FedEx, UPS and … Read more
