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Based on the Taiwan high-tech sector, there were some surveys carried out in different time periods. Examinations were done on the impact of employee benefits on firm productivity. Employee benefits in this research were treated as a moderator instead of independent variable. Several important control variables were also considered in analytical models. The examinations reveal that employee benefits have a significant moderating effect on firm productivity whether samples were analysed by industry or by firm size and that moderating effect of employee benefits on labor productivity in small enterprises was greater than that of large ones.

Two important implications for industry managers arose from the findings. Firstly, the investment in employee benefits at high-tech firms represents not only costs but also profits. A lot of studies suggest that employee benefits are a useful tool in attracting and retaining employees with critical skills. Skilled employees have been viewed as a strategic input for a firm to strengthen its core competency. Hence, firms can use employee benefits to enhance their competition through better quality of labor. Secondly, using employee benefits to achieve competitive advantage for small enterprises seems to be more important than large companies. However, attractiveness of a top-quality work force at small enterprises is low due to lower stability. Since benefit awareness moderates the effect of benefit attractiveness in recruiting and retaining qualified employees, managers at small enterprises should pay more attention to communicating information about benefit packages offered.

There were some major limitations to the research carried out. One limitation is that benefit programs consisted of different employee benefit types, such as health-care benefits, security benefits, employee services and premium pay but these types of employee benefits were treated as a package in this study. In essence, such treatment primarily came from a lack of data as the surveys did not distinguish categories of benefits. As a consequence, the study cannot provide individual effect of different benefit types on firm productivity. Next, except for the financial part, employee compensation also includes non-financials, such as work-place flexibility and flextime. Since this research confines the examination to financial compensation, the results cannot be generalised to non-financial compensation. Furthermore, although the analysis shows the moderating effects of employee benefits on relationships between labor input and value added, the estimations failed to reveal how such impacts were actually realised.

In summary, despite the growing cost of employee benefits, little is really known about effects of benefit level on firm performance. We can still say that, in a way, employee benefits offer advantage in terms of firm productivity through improvement of labour efficiency.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

- Thanaseelan, click on www.worthofwordplay.blogspot.com to view his main blog. Don’t forget to check out the categories on his blog.

There are 8 carefully planned steps which are bound to boost an organisation. Develop a situation to act upon, form a dynamic guiding coalition, create a vision, communicate the vision, empower people to act on the vision, plan and create short-term wins, find improvements to change and finally, utilise the new approaches. These are the steps the management team should consider in elevating the company to the next level.

1) Develop a situation to act upon

Study the current market and the realities of the competition. Identify and discuss crises (including potential crises) and major opportunities which can be capitilised on.

2) Form a dynamic guiding coalition

Garner a group with sufficient expertise to bring about the change effort. Encourage the group to work as a team and synergise their efforts.

3) Create a vision

Create a vision to help lead the change effort in the right direction. Come up with strategies on how to go about achieving that vision.

4) Communicate the vision

Use every possible means to communicate the new vision and strategies. Teach new behaviours by using the example of the guiding coalition.

5) Empower people to act on the vision

Move obstacles out of the way in order to change. Change systems or structures that pose hinderance to the vision. Encourage risk taking and unconventional ideas, activities and actions. People must be taught to break away from the norms whenever and wherever appropriate and necessary.

6) Plan and create short-term wins

Plan for visible performance improvements. Create those improvements. Recognise and reward employees involved in the improvements.

7) Find improvements to change

Use increased credibility to change policies, structures and systems that do not fit the vision. Hire and train employees who can implement the vision. Breathe life into the process with new projects, themes and change agents.

Utilise the new approaches

Articulate the connections between the new behaviours and organisational success. Create the means to ensure leadership development and sustainable competitive advantage.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

- Thanaseelan, click on www.worthofwordplay.blogspot.com to view his main blog. Don’t forget to check out the categories on his blog.

5S – Lean Manufacturing Foundation

The 5S system is widely used today in a very large percentage of manufacturing businesses. Many non-manufacturing companies also employ the discipline.

The 5S system is one of the most common lean manufacturing principles, and generally the first one applied during implementation.

The 5S system is a workplace organization and housekeeping system. When applied correctly, the benefits are enormous in terms of productivity, quality, and morale.

The 5S’s are:

Sort
Set In Place
Shine
Standardize
Sustain

There are variations to some of the 5S’s as they were derived from 5 Japanese words beginning with “s”.

Most organizations apply the 5S system in one area at a time rather than across and entire facility at once.

The first “S” is Sort. It is the process of removing all unnecessary items from the workplace area. This first step is crucial to gaining efficiency through workplace design. A common method called the “red tag method” is often utilized, where all items are tagged which aren’t necessary for the specific area. These unnecessary items tagged are then moved to a “hold” area for review and disposition.

The second “S” is Set in Place. This is the process of moving the necessary items into the correct position for use. It is the process of organizing the work area to be perfectly laid out for maximum efficiency through minimizing movement. All materials and items that will be used at the job site are to be positioned and kept closes to the point of use. For example, if a tool is only to be used at the end of a machine, it should be kept there.

A common method used is called “shadow boards”, where the exact dimension of the tool is painted onto the board depicting the spot in which to hang the tool. It becomes obvious where the tool belongs.

The third “S” is Shine. This is the method of deep cleaning a machine or area to put it back into the condition it was when it was purchased. The idea is that quality and efficiency will not suffer if the machine is not allowed to deteriorate over time. Machines that are kept in new condition have less downtime and produce the same quality level as a new machine.

The fourth “S” is Standardize. This is the process of standardizing the entire system, which is often the most difficult. Most companies have conducted the first three S’s many times, only to watch the condition deteriorate over time. This cycle of cleaning up followed by gradual deterioration has been repeated over and over for years. The “Standardize” portion of the system corrects this problem.

The best way to standardize the system is to determine exactly what needs done to maintain the system. It is the “who, what, when, where” of 5S. For example, if a specific portion of a machine needs cleaned daily, there should be a checklist and written instructions detailing who will do it, when it will be done, and methods and materials necessary.

The last “S” is Sustain. Sustaining the system is thought to be one of the most difficult, primarily because experience proved years of cleaning and organization were not maintained. However, if the system is standardized in the fourth S, then sustaining it is much easier.

The best method of sustaining the system is to conduct audits. Care must be exercised so the audit system is not punitive. The 5S system relies on employee involvement and commitment at all levels, and a punitive audit system can destroy the system.

One good way of auditing the system is with a rotating audit crew of peers. This might be the plant workers auditing the system of their co-workers. The results are provided to the employees in the audited area and time given to correct deficiencies.

A good 5S implementation has many benefits. The assets of the company are kept in top condition which keeps the value high. Quality is kept at the level when the asset or machine was first installed. Maintenance costs are reduced as deterioration is immediately apparent. Setup times go down from better organization and reduced movement.

The best benefit is the morale improvement from an improved environment and culture.

Some managers think employees will not sustain a perfectly clean manufacturing environment. Like most systems, management is the reason the system succeeds or fails. Given the chance, employees will implement and sustain the 5S system. Most employees will choose an organized and clean workplace with a continuous improvement culture over a dirty disorganized facility.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

Carl Wright is an industrial engineer, ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt, and Master Black Belt. Carl is involved with the lean manufacturing implementation organization www.1stcourses.com.

Everyone from weekend warriors to full time carpenters and construction workers use hand tools. Nearly all come with manufacturers warranties that will cover any repairs or defects in the tools for a certain amount of time, usually between one and three years. Non–powered hand tools such as the Craftsman line feature lifetime warranties. Knowing the warranties of your power tools and also for industry leaders is important to be familiar with in the event you need to file a warranty claim.

You may be left giving away a great deal of money on Makita, Dewalt, or Bosch on your tools when you could be having the tool fixed with warranty and not spend a dime. Warranties aren’t always coveralls, like if you drop your implement in water or if you really want to have some back-up parts available. In this article, we will explore the warranties of makers of a few of the most dependable types of tools currently on the market: Makita, Bosch and Dewalt.

The Makita website lists warranty information. Every implement they design comes with a 1-year warranty and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. The 30-day satisfaction guarantee promises that if a buyer of a implement is dissatisfied with the implement for any reason, they can bring back or exchange the implement within 30 days of the purchase date. The 1-year warranty covers the implement for defects in the manufacturing of the tool for one year from the purchase date. If your Makita implement is still covered by warranty, you can take it to an authorized repair center or send it in to the factory and Makita will service it.

The really great thing about Makita tools is that if something happens to your tool, they have a full service center where you can send your tools for repair. Often when tools break, people try to diagnose the problem and fix the tool themselves. This can be bad for two reasons: one-being unfamiliar with Makita parts you could break the tool further and two-you could void the warranty. The warranty only covers tools that are not damaged as a result of normal wear and tear, that have not been altered in any way, and that have not been misused or abused. If this is the case and your warranty is no longer valid, you will probably have to purchase the Makita parts on your own in order to repair it.

Information on the Bosch website shows that they offer a very similar warranty and guarantee to that of Makita. New Bosch tools have a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee and a one year warranty on service and Bosch parts. Similar stipulations apply to the Bosch warranty as they do with Makita. The warranty is void if the tool has been: “misused, carelessly handled, or misrepaired by persons other than Seller or Authorized Service Station”. By filing a claim you must return the tool to an authorized service center or to Bosch and they will repair the tool and replace any Bosch parts free of charge. If you void the warranty or the tool is out of warranty you may purchase the Bosch replacement parts and repair the tool yourself or take it to a repair center and pay for the repair and Bosch parts out of pocket.

Dewalt tools generally have longer warranties than Makita and Bosch. Dewalt tools have a three year warranty covering the tool and Dewalt parts from defects in material workmanship. Dewalt products also provides a one year free service warranty that allows Dewalt to maintain tools and replace Dewalt parts that are worn from normal use, during the first year of purchase. This is a important warranty for Dewalt users to find out about because during the first year if anything goes wrong for any reason, Dewalt will replace and install the Dewalt parts without charge. Dewalt also provides free maintenance and repair on Dewalt parts for an entire year. After that, the implement and Dewalt parts are covered from craftsmanship defects for another two years.

No matter what tools you own and use, remember that it’s key to know the warranty you have on your implement. Service and replacement parts can be expensive and it can

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

Jason Luke is a writer for ioVentures,inc. For the best Bosch Parts or Bosch router parts go to ereplacementparts.com.

If you operate any kind of industrial business, the odds are pretty good that you go through a high volume of water on a regular basis. There are several reasons why it is vital that the water used in your processes is treated with the correct balance of chemicals, and in the right stages, when it comes to the after product. These reasons range from the moral to the financial, and we will take a look at a few of them here.

It’s the law. The most important reason for any manager to ensure that his company is using the right combination of chemicals and treatments in its water management is that in the USA and in Canada, provincial and federal laws are in place that regulate the disposal of industrial water. These laws apply in every situation, and as environmental concerns increase in the eyes of the public the laws are bound to become more stringent with more inspections. Fines are guaranteed to be steep enough to put a dent in the budget of any offender, so it is in the best interests of all companies to use the right water treatment chemicals.

Environmental reasons. At this point in the development of the human race, everyone is aware of the kind of impact we have on our surroundings. It’s true that in some cases fear mongering has taken over, but there is no one who contests the immediate impact of waste on the environment, and waste water is included in that category. Ultimately due to the effects of the hydrological cycle any water that we use will end up back in our environment, and even back in our bodies. It’s imperative that any waste water is properly treated before being disposed of so that it is as clean as when it first was used. In fact, because of the strides in understanding, it is possible to dispose of water that is cleaner than when it came into the plant.

The bottom line. Products that are part of the use of water within an industry can become caught in solution. The presence of even minute particles of foreign matter can cause damage to the machinery used in your industry. Chemical treatment of the water as it enters your system can help to coagulate metal particles for easy removal, while ionization can assist in the same process when it comes to removing corrosive chemicals; in either case, the treatment of your water supply can save on costly repairs later.

There are several reasons why water chemical treatment is important for any facility, ranging from the moral to the legal and ultimately the financial. Ensuring that the water used in your industry is properly treated will, in the end, benefit everyone.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

For your boiler, cooling and wastewater systems, a water treatment chemical supplier ensures that your manufacturing and environmental issues are managed.

RIBEIRÃO PRETO, Brazil - Nowadays, plenty of investors want to talk to Cícero Junqueira Franco. Together with two sons and numerous cousins, he controls a great deal of something the world wants: ethanol.

Mr. Junqueira Franco, a founder of Companhia Açucareira Vale do Rosário, a steam-belching mill that crunches sugar cane into sugar and ethanol, has received offers from several suitors. These include a $775 million bid for his company from New York-based commodities giant Bunge Ltd. But Mr. Junqueira Franco, whose family arrived in Brazil in the 1700s and still owns prime tracts of sugar-cane land in São Paulo state, says he’ll never sell.

“Why would I?” asks the 75-year-old Mr. Junqueira Franco, his shirt partly untucked and face flushed after a big lunch with his family.

Thanks to high oil prices and worries over global warming, multinational companies are straining to find ways into Brazil’s booming market for biofuels - renewable fuels made from crops such as corn and sugar cane. The U.S. and other countries hope to substitute as much as 15% of domestic gasoline for ethanol over the next decade. With ample land, low production costs and ethanol-production experience, Brazil is viewed by many as the country best able to sate world demand.

A clutch of potential investors have descended here, including commodities giants, hedge-funds and energy companies. Even the founders of Google Inc. came to have a look. But the global millions are colliding with an earthy reality: families like Mr. Junqueira Franco’s that have controlled Brazil’s sugar-cane wealth for decades, even centuries. Many don’t want to sell; others are asking sky-high prices for operations riddled with problems.

The standoff is preventing some big foreign players from getting into Brazil’s promising ethanol market through acquisitions, forcing them to develop their own projects from scratch. Yet resistance to outsiders could affect how quickly larger amounts of cheap Brazilian ethanol can begin flowing into the world’s auto fleet. Big companies, which have better access to credit and capital, could also help consolidate, modernize and expand Brazil’s ethanol industry.

Frustrated investors are easy to find. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., the largest U.S. ethanol producer, has been shopping here for more than three years. Global sugar traders such as Australia’s CSR Ltd. and Germany’s Südzucker AG have met with high prices and lengthy negotiations. India’s largest sugar and ethanol maker, Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd., announced plans a year ago to spend $500 million to acquire mills. After several months of courting mill owners at their expansive ranchlike fazendas, the company has struck out. “I have been to a lot of nice houses,” says Prem Bajaj, a Bajaj business-development executive.

Many family-owned mills appear to be troubled. The domestic sugar and ethanol industry is informally managed and highly fragmented, making it less than ideal for outside investment. Often, millers don’t have reliable accounting books and are plagued by tax disputes and debt, Mr. Bajaj and other investors say. Such issues can be difficult to resolve in Brazil’s slow-moving legal system.

Pitfalls for Outsiders

Labor and environmental pitfalls also loom for outsiders. Most sugar cane is still cut by hand — grueling work that has enriched mill owners for centuries, but could expose international companies to liabilities. Global bank HSBC Holdings PLC got unwelcome publicity for loans it had made to Pará Pastoril e Agrícola SA, a mill in the state of Pará that was raided by a government antislavery task force earlier this year.

According to Brazil’s Ministry of Labor, officials “rescued” 1,108 workers laboring under “degrading” circumstances that included 13-hour work days and poor sanitary conditions. An HSBC spokesman says the bank “is committed to social responsibility,” but declined to comment on any specific clients. Officials at the mill, known as Pagrisa, have denied wrongdoing both publicly and on their Web site.

Brazil’s millers face some political pressure not to sell. If foreigners or large companies gain leverage, Brazil’s traditional sugar-producing regions stand to reap less from an ethanol boom. Aloizio Mercadante, a powerful senator from São Paulo, recently called the action of millers who’ve sold “incredible and incomprehensible.”

Despite the many hurdles, foreign biofuels companies like ADM believe that getting into Brazil is still a must. U.S. corn ethanol, which is less efficient to make, has been competitive with gasoline due to a 51-cent tax credit on each gallon. And both ADM and competitor Cargill Inc. faced narrowing profit margins in their U.S. ethanol operations last year due to leaping corn prices — a side effect of greater demand for corn from ethanol producers.

By contrast, Brazil’s sugarcane ethanol can comfortably compete with costly oil — even if oil trades in the low-$40-per-barrel range. ADM’s CEO Patricia Woertz says she believes Brazilian ethanol operations would provide “an opportunity for profitable growth” regardless of what happens in the U.S. market. Although a stiff import tariff of more than 50 cents per gallon currently makes Brazilian ethanol costly to import to the U.S., Brazilian ethanol could dominate other markets in Asia or Europe.

Analysts say Brazil needs billions of dollars in investment to expand production and to build the pipelines, ports and other infrastructure it needs to become the world’s ethanol supplier. There are roughly 210 companies running 368 sugar and ethanol mills. The five largest players generated about 17% of the country’s ethanol production last year.

Brazil’s ethanol industry is “very disorganized, and consolidation will help,” says Clayton Hygino de Miranda, president of the sugar and ethanol division of Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA.

In the U.S., where ethanol is made from corn, any company can build a refinery and buy corn on the open market. But because sugar cane’s heft makes it costly to transport, and its sucrose content degrades quickly, crops are always planted close to the mills that process them. That makes it difficult to sidestep people like Mr. Junqueira Franco, who owns 3,200 acres of prime plantation land.

Sugar barons’ control over the ethanol industry could impede Brazil’s effort to create a global market for ethanol. Japan, for instance, has been in talks with Brazil since 2001 to sign a long-term ethanol contract. But the Japanese officials have wavered, expressing concerns as to whether Brazil’s sugar families can furnish steady supplies of ethanol. In the 1980s, local producers chasing high sugar prices created an ethanol shortage that left Brazilian drivers of all-ethanol cars without fuel. Having large companies that are focused on ethanol rather than sugar could help prevent supply shocks in the future.Article Source: http://add-articles.com

More reports by Antonio Regalado WSJ can be found at either of these URL’s. Antonio Regalado Wall Street Journal

Generally, the major uses of fluorochemical compounds fall into three major categories at the turn of the 21st century. The first are the rather stable halocarbon compounds used in medicine such as several types of inhalation anesthetics for anaesthesia. A very major industrial use is in the form of heat tolerant and inert synthetic oils and metalworking lubricants. However, there are many fluorochemicals and halocarbon chemicals that are used extensively, albeit carefully, in organic (meaning carbon containing) chemistry. The unique nature of fluorine, even among other halogen elements, grants halocarbon fluoro compounds unique properties that are indispensable in organic chemical work.

Since the discovery of hydrofluoric acid (HF) from calcium fluoride and sulphuric acid in the 17th century, it has been well known to generations of chemists that certain fluorochemical compounds have very unusual properties. The etching of glass has been performed commercially with HF since the 18th century. Despite being a weak acid, it has an unparalleled ability to corrode silicon and calcium. Much of the pure and quite toxic elemental fluorine (F) is produced from HF by electrolysis.

Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) is another very commonly used halocarbon compound. TFA is a relatively simple organic molecule and is a colorless liquid that is a powerful carboxylic acid in solution. It can be produced by “electro-fluorinating” plain old acetic acid. Though similar to the much more familiar acetic acid (better known as the business end of vinegar), it is a strong acid in this form, stronger than acetic acid by at least 3 orders of magnitude.

On the other hand, Trifluoroacetic Anhydride (TFAA) is a very similar substance that is often used in creating free trifluoro methyl groups in organic reactions. It is a handy relative to TFA that can be stored indefinitely as long as it doesn’t get wet. When it does come in contact with water it reverts back to TFA. It can be made by chemically dehydrating TFA. However, TFAA is also very highly corrosive, and dangerous to work with under anything but the strictest of conditions. Even just inhaling fumes from a TFAA reaction can cause permanent lung injury, as many reactive fluorochemicals do in their gaseous state.

The use of 2,2,2-Trifluoroethanol (TFE), sometimes known by its old school name trifluoroethyl alcohol, in organic chemistry for many years has been to dissolve nylon. A colourless liquid that smells like everyday ethanol, trifluoroethanol is very often used as a solvent since it is more acidic than water given the highly negative nature of the fluorine end of the molecule. This characteristic also makes it possible for useful hydrogen bridging to occur in solution, making it a useful intermediary step in the creation of more stable and non-toxic fluorochemical compounds with heterocycles such as the amino acid pyridine.

More recently, TFE has been used as part of a solvent capable of selectively cleaving bits of folded proteins off their parent molecule. TFE is also notable for being the source of trifluoroacetaldehyde and TFA when oxidized. Though TFE doesn’t reach a gaseous state until temperatures exceed 70C, the liquid has a flash point of only 33C. Controlled lab conditions are absolutely necessary when handling TFE.

Trifluoroacetyl Chloride (or TFAC) is perhaps the most difficult of these to work with. It is a gas at room temperature (down to below the freezing point of water) and one that doesn’t smell very good, at that. TFAC is almost always delivered to labs and vendors in pressurized cylinders that are handled very carefully since the contents are toxic and acidic when released into the air. Contact with the skin is not recommended under any circumstances, since the contents will readily hydrolyze into TFA and hydrochloric acid.

TFAC is highly advantageous when used as an intermediate substance in the synthesis of organic molecules. Pesticides and herbicides also use TFAC in the manufacturing process.

Though fluorochemical compounds are very often dangerous or toxic themselves, they very strongly bond to many organic molecules and provide the properties that make many of the wonders of modern medicine possible. That said, research into testing the stability of the novel halocarbon compounds that are introduced every year continues in the interest of public health.

Any client who wishes to utilize halocarbon chemicals in a lab or manufacturing capacity is advised to make themselves fully aware of the MSDS data sheet for each fluoro-chemical since so many of them are corrosive in their native state and some are even explosive when improperly handled. It is of the highest and utmost importance to use care and consider safety first when using fluorochemicals in any environment.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

About Author:
Craig Elliott is a writer for halocarbon.com. Halocarbon.com is a leading provider of Fluorochemicals | Anesthetics

There are many uses for fluorochemicals and organic halocarbon compounds in industry and commerce. Sometimes fluoro-chemicals are the safer alternative to chemicals that were designed to use chlorine instead. There are many medical applications of halocarbon chemicals, too, such as a wide range of anaesthetic compounds. However, the most directly industrial use is as the wide range of synthetic, inert oils available today.

Perhaps most notably, these oils are entirely synthetic - using no hydrocarbon constituents - these synthetic oils are totally inert and able to be used in applications with pure high pressure oxygen or chlorine. They are also unusually resistant to degradation, even under extreme conditions such as those encountered at a foundry, as in the case of metalworking fluids.

Of course, fluorine is a remarkable and dangerous substance. Utterly toxic in its native form, it tightly bonds with other atoms. Its reactions are intense and unique. In the case of inert oils or lubricants, the hydrogens of a typical petrochemical lubricant are all removed, leaving only fluorine and chlorine tightly in their place.

It is no wonder that the use of fluorochemical lubricants has been so widespread in industry. Possibly, the only thing keeping synthetic oil from being far more widely adopted is the price associated with them. This is a consequence of the danger and complexity inherent with fluorochemical manufacture. Some industries have a choice and prefer to stick with other options, though recycling halocarbon oils can make the cost of their use lower.

However, at the turn of the 21st century, there are plenty of industries and trades where fully synthetic lubricants are absolutely necessary, such as the machining of zirconium, tungsten, tantalum or niobium. These exotic metals have become far more widespread since the widespread adoption of metalworking fluids. At this time, they cannot be reliably fabricated in the same manner without high temperature, inert oils.

Synthetic oils are also used in high temperature and high performance automobile applications, though their major use in transportation is with aerospace. Bearings and gears are especially likely to use inert lubricants because of high temperatures and oxygen. Many such synthetic lubricants have been inspected and approved by NASA, among others.

That said, there are some instances where the usual benefits of using a synthetic lubricant are negated by an unfortunate reaction. As is typical for a fluorochemical compound, when something doesn’t work, it is readily or painfully obvious. There are several metals (sodium and potassium) and other compounds (liquid fluorine and chlorine trifluoride) that don’t play well with these synthetic oils.

Other industrial uses for fluorochemical lubricants involve those with the longest chains - synthetic waxes. These are very often used in conjunction with the metals industry as coatings. While waxes are most often used with finished products, oils are sometimes used to coat the inside of pumps that may be used with highly reactive substances.

Many industries that routinely use dangerous chemicals rely upon inert oils and lubricants. The bleaching of wood pulp for paper and (ironically perhaps) the treatment of water sources with chlorine and are two examples of industries that are dependent upon halocarbon oils to keep safe. Many chemical firms rely upon such inert oils as inert solvents.

There are several “aggressive” substances that require equipment to be coated or lubricated with a substance that will stand up to chemical attack. Fluorochemicals are especially good at resisting chemicals such as full-strength hydrogen peroxide, chlorine and liquid oxygen. Many labs choose to use inert lubricants as high temperature grease to lubricate lab equipment.

Just as synthetic lubricants are suitable for high temperature applications, they are also ideally suited to very low temperature applications because the viscosity can be very finely tailored to the job. As you might expect from the same element that is at the core of non-stick coatings for frying pans, these inert lubricants remain quite slippery even under adverse conditions.

Because fluorinated synthetic lubricants are fully oxygen compatible, they are safe to use in even the most intense applications, such as situations where pure oxygen is kept under high pressure and when other lubricants and sealants would have been oxidized away. Anyone who has ever worked with compressed or liquid oxygen knows that practicing oxygen safety is the first and foremost concern working with such systems. Having inert lubricants you can rely upon is a relief for professionals that didn’t enjoy such a degree of safety in the past.

In addition to its use as a synthetic lubricant, fluorochemical oils and compounds can also be used to repel water and soil and is often used on high traffic fabrics as a repellent.

The use of inert oils as synthetic lubricants and metalworking fluids, suitable for high or low temperature use with some of the most reactive chemicals on Earth make fluorochemical oils a very important part of several important industries.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

About Author:
Craig Elliott is a writer for halocarbon.com. Halocarbon.com is a leading provider of Fluorochemicals | Anesthetics

Fluorine is a remarkable element. In its elemental state, it is highly reactive and toxic. However, when tightly bonded to other molecules and elements, it becomes almost totally non-reactive, taking on remarkable properties that have made the manufacture of almost totally inert lubricants possible. These lubricants not only include high temperature grease and oil but also several types of wax.

Fluorine and hydrogen fluoride have a remarkable affinity for calcium and silicon. This property allows these simple fluoro-acids to do very useful things, such as etch glass (which is made from silicon-based silica) in an industrial setting. It also makes it very dangerous. That very same acid can burn right through your arm and straight to your bones.

Of course, most people don’t handle highly reactive fluorochemicals at any point in their lives. This is reserved for a very small number of researchers and technicians who are well aware of the danger such compounds of fluorine pose to human health.

The fluorine compounds that most people come into contact with are very solidly bonded to other chemicals before most people ever come near. As such, they are mostly inert by definition - something that petroleum-based hydrocarbons certainly cannot claim.
Among the most useful attributes of fluorochemical based oils are their ability to remain non-reactive in even the most critical and potentially reactive situation involving gases such as pure, high-pressure oxygen situations or other cryogenic gases that are commonly used for a wide array of functions.

Anyone familiar with the highly reactive nature of gases under high pressure or stored as super-cold liquids knows that every single surface that such gases come into contact, whether on purpose or accidentally in the case of mechanical failure of the delivery device components, must not be composed of reactive substances.

The gas most commonly used and stored in this way is oxygen. Though perhaps most often found in medical applications, SCUBA divers, mountaineers and high level athletes all use portable liquid oxygen tanks to deliver pure gaseous oxygen. Safety with such devices goes well beyond a smoking ban.

Since mechanical devices are responsible for mixing and delivering oxygen or other reactive gasses under high pressure, an oxygen compatible delivery system requires inert oils such as the completely fluorinated or polychlorotrifluoroethylenes (PCTFE) based oils, lubricants and waxes that keep moving parts from friction while not succumbing to the fierce oxidization and other violent reactions that characterize many such gases.

Life support systems that carry oxygen (and often nitrogen, too) in medical applications must meet the highest standards of oxygen safety. Only totally inert substances are allowed, even inside sealed bearings and the other hardware of an oxygen delivery system. Oxygen compatibility of halocarbon synthetic, inert oils and waxes has been investigated and approved for use by notoriously picky EU investigation bodies. These arbiters of oxygen safety concerned themselves with all types and sizes of oxygen delivery systems.

Oxygen safety, especially in extreme circumstances such as those often encountered by portable oxygen units, depends upon it. Consider how such tanks can be inadvertently knocked around and tossed about while being delivered.

Though the larger bullet shaped tanks are usually not moved about much, the smaller tanks that people with emphysema, asthma or cystic fibrosis often carry around on carts are the ones that have the highest likelihood of suffering damage that could be catastrophic if the correct inert lubricants weren’t used on newly exposed surfaces.

Industrial gas supplies (whether noble or highly reactive gases) are not usually nearly as mobile or prone to shock damage. However, large tanks can go unmaintained for a long time. Along with the use of non-reactive, synthetic lubricants, it is recommended that any gas tank be maintained on a regular schedule, by trained professionals.

It doesn’t matter whether you risk blowing yourself up a little or a lot - such inspections can spot areas that are in actual danger from explosion or springing a leak in a line that’s been compromised at connection points, fittings or bearings. High-pressure oxygen compatible systems usually have authorized service personal that show up on a fixed schedule to care for and maintain the inside, outside and feeder lines, as per oxygen safety guidelines. Those who care for their own portable gear should be very careful not to attempt to tinker with it but instead take the apparatus in for regular inspections or tune-ups.

The use of fluorochemical non-reactive and inert oils in high pressure and high performance gas delivery systems has revolutionized the applications that can safely utilize high pressure gases. The added safety has likely saved scores of lives since inert lubricants became commonplace in industry and hobby equipment.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

About Author:
Craig Elliott is a writer for halocarbon.com. Halocarbon.com is a leading provider of Fluorochemicals | Anesthetics

Fluorinated oil and other chemicals such as polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) are fire resistant oils that are found wherever temperatures are high enough that a conventional hydrocarbon-based lubricant could spontaneously combust.

Such flash points can be as low as 30C for some compounds. High temperature grease and other inert lubricants are absolutely necessary for the safe function of a great many devices, from the wheels in the family car to NASA spacecraft. PCTFE is designed to retard flames even when they are directly applied, no matter the temperature. It can also inhibit spontaneous combustion. It is estimated by industry advocacy groups that thousands of potentially fatal fires have been prevented with the use of these compounds.

Flame retardant chemicals such as PCTFE, of which chlorinated and fluorinated oils are the most important active ingredient, have been applied to countless items in industry.

By the same token, the very high heat applications that could cause other lubricants to ignite in machinery are easily dealt with when using industrial, high-temperature grease and oil. Automobile and aircraft parts are especially likely to employ non-flammable oil in certain lubricating fluids such as the fluorochemical infused fire resistant hydraulic fluid found in many large tractor-trailer type trucks.

The inert nature of fluorinated compounds, having nothing to burn themselves, lends to their use as fire resistant oils in all manner of applications. A major use of the common fluorinated oil compound PCTFE is in mechanical seals, engine oil, mold release and hydraulic systems, since the substance doesn’t deform or melt at normal temperatures, unlike some other types of petrochemical oils, greases and lubricants.

Wherever a reactive substance can cause damage in a mechanical system, there’s a use for fluorinated lubricants. Most Halocarbon, inert lubricant compounds are safe up until 200C. This is well over the operating threshold environment of most moving parts in a device.

There are a few types of somewhat exotic and reactive metals that cannot tolerate contact with fluorochemical compounds because of the inherent nature of fluorine to have very strong affinity for certain elements such as calcium, potassium, sodium and silicon. As such, when these elements are found as part of a major part of a metal alloy or as pure metals themselves, other means must be found to keep the flames at bay.

If your car, truck or boat has a high temperature system that employs one or more of the lubricants that react badly with oxygen, there are special kits you can buy to switch just about any automotive/nautical system to one that is suitable for using high temperature oil or grease such as fire resistant hydraulic fluid if it is not already equipped as such.

Fluorinated lubricants, as they’re used to combat unwanted fires, have been very effective keeping a high temperature mechanical device from breaking into flames. The use of fluorinated lubricants has been more effective than any compounds that were used before (such as hydrocarbon lubricants). You can’t argue with the effectiveness of non-flammable oils.

Article Source: http://add-articles.com

About Author:
Craig Elliott is a writer for halocarbon.com. Halocarbon.com is a leading provider of Fluorochemicals | Anesthetics