In industry and in other operations, progress is rapid and changes are constantly ongoing. In a workplace, human, technology and organization interact. This interaction creates the work environment and needs to be taken into account in the event of changes.

In order to handle change processes from a holistic perspective where humans, technology and organization (HTO) are included, a systematic approach to analysis, evaluation, solution and actions is required. What can be seen as beneficial from an efficiency or operational perspective can become inefficient and unprofitable in the long term if employees risk their health. Often, risks arise in the interaction between humans, technology and organization. By broadening the perspective on change, one avoids getting caught up in only a single cause or solution to the consequences, risks and problems that may arise. 

According to the regulations on “Systematic work environment work” (AFS 2001: 1), an impact assessment with risk assessment is required for all types of changes in the business that may affect the work environment. We offer an approach in four stages to work from an HTO perspective on planned changes in operations. The approach is based on various research and development projects and experiences. The method includes a description of important work environment factors to take into account at the task and work content level as well as overall working conditions.

We offer workshops with mapping, analysis and guidance from an HTO perspective in your business. Content and scope are based on your needs.

Dialogue between employers and trade unions should have taken place in a safety committee or equivalent grouping before conducting a workshop, including decisions on who should participate. It is an advantage if a defined production section or business part is selected as a pilot for the workshop.

AFS 2001:1, Systematic Work Enivronment Management

The products must be able to withstand a fully developed fire and prevent the fire from spreading between, for example, an apartment and a staircase.

Testing is performed according to EN 1634-1 which describes a method for determining the fire resistance of doors, openable windows, gates, and shutters which are mounted in vertical constructions. The standard must be read together with EN 1363-1. To get the most out of tests, RISE is happy to help you choose what to test to reach as wide field of application as possible. By studying extended field of application standards such as EN 15269-2 for steel doors and EN 15269-3 for wooden doors, we can cover a range of doors with as few tests as possible.

The test specimen is mounted in a supporting construction which is selected based on the door construction and how the door is to be used in practice. For doors that must meet the requirements for insulation, thermocouples are mounted on the non-fire-exposed side of the door. For doors where the temperature on the non-fire side can exceed 300 °C, the radiation can also be measured.

The door with the supporting construction is placed on a vertical furnace which is then heated according to the standard fire source curve which is described in EN 1363-1. The test then lasts as long as you wish to get it approved for. You can also extend the test time slightly and then get better conditions for subsequent assessments of similar constructions. During testing, the following requirements for the product are investigated:

E = Integrity (tightness) i.e. flames, openings and hot gases

I₁ and I₂ = Thermal insulation

W = Radiation

Testing takes place in Borås or Trondheim.

After testing, a test report with the results is delivered in Swedish/Norwegian or English. The report can be used as a basis for a classification according to EN 13501-2, which in turn can be used in declaring fire performance in connection with CE-marking or a Swedish type approval. Read more about CE-marking of doors here.

The classification standard EN 13501-2 defines the classes that can be used in Europe and the classes in the table below can be applied to doors, openable windows, gates, and shutters. National authorities in the member states can choose not to use all classes, which is why it is important to check which classes are of interest before testing.

EN 1363-1

EN 1363-2

EN 1634-1 

EN 13501-2

EN 15269-1

EN 15269-2

EN 15269-3

EN 15269-5

EN 15269-7

EN 15269-10

EN 15269-11

EN 16034

We offer an multidisciplinary capacity to secure the working environment in connection to cleaning processes in food industry and other industries

This is a service provided by the RISE test bed Cleaning Innovation.

How is the indoor environment effected when the cleaningprocess is modified? How are the workers conditions affected before, after and during the cleaning?

Eco-labelling and safe cleaning - the effect on the workers conditions and the environment?

Evaluation of the working environment, greening the cleaning method and documentation of the effect on the process and products used. Cleaning Innovation can support with measurements, limit the use of hazardous chemicals and document chemical exposure of workers as well ass assesing the environmentalimpact of a process.

Examples of services in environment and cleaning:

• preparation of instruction manuals and protocols to minimize exposure and secure working environment
• measurements to asses workers environment
• evaluation of exposure routes and risk assesment
• controlling off and setting requirements for protective equipment

Results and conclusions are compiled in a report that is presented at a meeting.

Delivery time depends on the complexity of the project.

Jewelry can be made from a mixture of materials and may contain harmful substances such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd).

Both lead and cadmium are substances that are unhealthy and harmful to the environment. To ensure that jewelry does not contain these harmful substances, an analysis with an X-ray instrument (XRF) can be performed.

Each part of the jewelery is analyzed and thus the jewelery may be taken apart depending on how it looks.

XRF

Results are delivered in the form of a report.

About 10 working days

The test can be destructive depending on the size and shape of the product.

Tents intended for 150 people and more must be inspected and approved in accordance with the order act for use at public gatherings (e.g. religious practice, theatre, circus) and public events (e.g. sports, dance, carnivals, markets).

RISE performs such inspections as an accredited inspection body. Approved tents receive a certificate of approval that is unique to each holder and tent or tent type.

Fire test

For tents made of type-approved tent cloth, no testing is required during the first five years after manufacture.

For tents that are made of non-approved tent cloth or where the cloth is older than 5 years, fire testing is required.

The inspection is conducted within the framework of Swedac's accreditation and is confirmed by a certificate of approval. The regulations contain requirements on the fire-technical properties of the canvas, evacuation safety, carrying capacity, safety against fire origin and spread and electrical safety.

Marking

Each tent for the approved gathering tent shall be marked as follows:

Type-approved tent cloth where type-approval can be invoked:

• approval number
• production
• cloth manufacturer
• cloth designation

Non-type-approved canvas or canvas whose type-approval can no longer be claimed:

• SP logo

Reference to fire test report

• date of marking

System Tents (Tents manufactured in series of similar designs):

• canvas manufacturer
• canvas designation
• year of production
• tent holder or approval certificate number

The work include both accredited and non-accredited testing methods. The scope of accreditation is available upon request – please feel free to contact us for more information.

Tents that are inspected and approved receive a certificate of approval. The certificate of approval is valid for 3 years (tents used frequently, e.g. circus tents), for 7 years (tents used only 1 - 2 weeks per year eg meeting tent) or for 5 years (others).

Delivery time information is provided by contact persons listed below.

Thermal runaway is a stage of rapid self-heating of the battery cell that in the worst case can result in a fire or explosion. Abuse testing of batteries causes thermal runaway and is tested for product development purposes or product approvals in an open or closed reactor.

Our unique pressure vessel offers a cost efficient and quick method to evaluate temperatures, pressure, flow, particles, elemental analysis, total hydrocarbons (THC) and gases released by batteries. It allows battery cells and battery assemblies to be safely tested to gather information needed to assess thermal propagation.

If requested, our vessel can be utilized to obtain UL 9540a approval for your product. This method was designed by UL to evaluate the fire characteristics of a battery energy storage system that undergoes thermal runaway. More information about this test standard can be found on UL's website.

The method for determining the total volume of battery gas produced and the composition of those gases. Maximum pressure in the vessel is recorded as well as temperature and voltage for the tested object. 

The sample is placed inside the reactor and then abused until it goes into thermal runaway. Typically, a heating pad or nail penetration device is used. 

Gas volume

In the closed reactor the maximum pressure and temperature can be used to measure the total volume of gas released by the battery.

For the open reactor a calibrated flow tube with a differential pressure meter and thermocouples are used to calculate the total volume and the mass flow of gas produced by the battery. 

Gas composition

The gas samples are analyzed by FID to measure the THC and Gas Chromatography (GC) to analyze O₂, CO, CO₂, H₂, CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₆, C₃H₈.

Particle size distribution

Particle size distribution can be used for both open and closed reactor by differential low-pressure impactor (DLPI) and measure particles in the range of 0.03 to 15 µm. 

For the open reactor DLPI is attached after the flow tube and the particles in the flow are caught. For the closed reactor ashes are collected from the reactor after the test and blown through a pipe with a constant flow to simulate a ventilation of a battery. The DLPI is attached to the pipe to analyze the particles.

Elemental analysis

The particles from the DLPI and ashes can be analyzed with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Induction coupled plasma for elemental analysis and ion chromatography (IC) can be used to analyze the total fluoride content in particles. 

If you have any questions or want more information about the battery abuse tests in a reactor, please contact us by reaching out to our contact person below or fill in the application. 

Raw data for the measurements.

A test report presenting the outcomes of the offered tests, including results from the chemical analysis of gas sampling.

Product approval by UL (optional).

Normally 2-3 weeks after delivery of the test object.

The following information should be prepared:

• Purpose of the tests, e.g. product development or approval in accordance with UL 9540a.
• Description of the device under test (DUT)
• Chemistry of the DUT, e.g. NMC or LFP
• Capacity of the DUT, i.e. voltage and electric charge (Ah)
• Dimensions or technical drawing of the test object
• If and how the DUT should be charged.

Custom tests for product development purposes.

UL 9540a