The Maclellan Rubber Blog

I was a bit shocked (pardon the pun) to find out that the Electical Rubber Safety Matting standard for BS921 was being considered for withdrawal. I have spent many miserable hours discussing what actually constitutes an acceptable quality; appropriate thickness; correct branding; and more importantly correct ‘inline’ testing methods with a whole host of our industry luminaries. Many of whom I can talk about with impunity since they are retired.
What surprised me even more was the fact that no one from the Rubber Industry sits on the Oversight Committee and anyone who did know appears not to have wanted to share the information, and whilst I am not going to dwell on this too much, though of course I will, it seems a desperate state of affairs when we are not fighting our corner as an Industry and working to support each other. Agenda point for the next GCA meeting I suspect.

That’s my rant over.

The bright side of it is that of course it’s not RIP for BS921 .
As a product it is part of the fabric of ours and other industries and many of our customers have significant investments in supplying this product to end users, equipment manufacturers, Marine and Utility business’s. How many tens of thousands of square metres of product are in use today, and how many thousands of people are relying on it for their safety at this minute?

Having tried for many years to persuade people to use IEC 61111 product I was invariably met with a firm look and the statement that they, the user wanted ‘something substantial under their feet’ and not some flimsy bit of ‘toy-town matting’, and who are we to argue?

Times and opinions are changing and Health & Safety demands move on with higher insulation standard required than BS921 can offer, and ever tighter limits on the weights individuals can move without expensive equipment, but for the vast majority of applications it still offers something that a 3mm or 4.5mm product can’t. It offers peace of mind. BS921 is dead, long live BS921

Apparently we are all doomed, so no doubt we will all be doing a lot of standing around staring into the distance, wistfully thinking of those halcyon days when life was easier, summer meant sunshine for more than four days at a time; you could drive and park in London without having to have pay a congestion charge or make way for Olympic pseudo dignitaries (don’t know if I am allowed to use the word Olympic, is it copyright protected?); and keeping fit meant walking to the pub for a few pints.

Not to worry though, because standing around although not ideal, is getting a whole lot more comfortable with the ever increasing range of Rubber Matting and PVC Matting products we are bringing to the market.

MacLellan Rubber has always offered Electrical Insulation Rubber Matting from BS921and IEC61111 to the more exotic ASTM D178 and MIL-R- , all of which you would want to be standing on if you are hoping to survive an electrical discharge up to 50,000 volts. We have also always maintained stocks of the standard Fine Flute Rubber Matting and Broad Ribbed Rubber Matting despite the desperately low prices it now trades for.

What is getting us excited is not the fact that we continue to increase our sales for these core products, but with the onset of increased demands for Health & Safety compliance and the market pressures placed on service and equipment suppliers to innovate and differentiate, MacLellan Rubber are able to meet these needs and are working hard to be at the forefront of changes too.

We have steadily increased the core range of Rubber Matting products to include Checker Plate and Penny Matting, and whilst it would appear that Black is in fact the new, old and probably future Black, we are increasingly asked for Red, Blue, Green and Grey all of which are now stocked to varying degrees.

The Modular Matting introduced earlier this year has already found its way into a venue in east London which I daren’t mention again for fear of being locked up in the Tower of London (is that another copyright phrase?) by angry pseudo dignitaries, and is finding interest in offshore applications (again daren’t mention the company but you find them laying on the seashore, not pebbles!), and increasingly in Anti-Fatigue and Health & Safety applications.

So what’s next you are no doubt all pleading to be told? How can Rubber Matting possibly be even more exciting you ask? Well there’s no need to stand around looking wistful, worrying about the strain it’s causing your back and legs; double checking if there is a trip hazard and potential claim initiated by a dubious no win no fee service provider, the next phase in MacLellan Rubber Matting products is just around the corner and it ticks all of the boxes.

We are working to deliver a comprehensive range of Rubber Matting products for use in Industrial, Pharmaceutical, Technology and Commercial environments. Anti-Fatigue; Cushion Backed; Oil Resistant; ESD; Anti-bacterial; Chemical Resistant; Fire Resistant; Ergonomic; does anyone feel a song coming on? No?
Keep a look out for the e-shot announcements; updates on the website and more importantly next blog.

Interesting article in April’s issue of Works Management regarding stock holding of raw materials and where in the supply chain it should be held.
With so many theories such as Just in Time and Lean Manufacturing exported from the Automotive Industry now so prevalent in many manufacturing business the answer should be obvious.

However many businesses have found that moving the stock holding responsibility down the supply chain is a train crash waiting to happen particularly in such a volatile environment where customers upstream are unwilling or simply unable to give accurate forecasts for future demand. Add to this the supplier’s challenges of dealing with long manufacturing or restocking times, accommodating quality issues that may arise and the cost of committing significant levels of cash to a higher inventory and the whole process becomes less attractive for all parties involved.

There is evidence that manufacturers who have imposed a system because they don’t want the immediate cost of stockholding have experience increased costs in others areas such as quality control and line stoppage as supplier’s loose interest in their business due to the increased costs of doing business and the resultant lower margins.

The message has to be that collaboration throughout the supply chain is essential if any of this is to work efficiently and everyone is going to be happy and making money.

MacLellan Rubber has considerable experience in working supply chain solutions with its customers. With over 1000 tonnes of Rubber Sheeting and Rubber Matting either in stock, manufacture or in transit from our production plants, we service customers by projecting demand 12 – 16 weeks forward and provide both onsite and consigned stock holding to customers where appropriate. Stocks are also available to meet the immediate day to day changes that always seem to occur.

If you would like to discuss how MacLellan Rubber can work with you in delivering real cost benefits against your Rubber Sheeting and Rubber Matting products supply, contact your Account Manager or our office.
For the full article click here

Lower Limb Disorders (LLD`s)



The Health & Safety Executive has excellent information on Lower Limb Disorders @ Link to HSE Article

It mentions that using Anti-Fatigue Mattings find a balance between reducing the risk of Lower Limb Disorders without increasing the risk of Slips and Trips

MacLellans modular Anti-Fatigue Mattings Solution is about inter-locking Tiles that fit together to create Anti-Fatigue Solutions for Single Operators at machines or much larger areas. They also include Taperred Edging Stips & Corner Pieces that Inter-Lock onto the outside of the area to reduce the Slips, Trips & Falls Risk.

MacLellans Solution can be found at the by following the link below:-

Modular Anti-Fatigue Matting Solution