At Metec, we prioritise workforce safety and top product quality. In 2024, we invested £100,000 in bespoke fettling booths and a cutting-edge welding extraction system. This investment meets our workshop’s evolving needs, protects staff, and boosts efficiency. Here’s how these systems support our health, safety, and environmental goals while ensuring product excellence.

Fettling Booths: Ensuring Quality and Safety

Fettling is a critical process in the production of our cast aluminium anodes. The open-cast process can leave rough edges and dross areas on the anodes, which must be removed for both safety and performance. Metec specifically designed the new fettling booths to handle this task efficiently and safely.

These bespoke booths feature a water wash backdrop that captures small aluminium dust particles during the fettling process. The water effectively neutralises the dust, ensuring it can be safely disposed of through the correct waste stream. Additionally, an ATEX-certified vacuum system is in place to collect any debris that falls to the floor, ensuring a clean and safe working environment.

To optimise the booths for safety, Metec engaged specialist air quality monitoring and extraction companies to test the particles and materials released during fettling. They then custom-designed the booths to maximise particle capture and protect our workforce. This system significantly improves air quality, ensuring our staff avoid exposure to hazardous dust while maintaining compliance with health and safety regulations.

Welding Extraction System: Meeting the Demands of Offshore and Port Projects

Metec has been at the forefront of supporting offshore wind projects, ports, and harbours for over eight years. As our projects have grown in scale, so have the requirements for our welding operations. With anodes now measuring up to 4.5 metres in length, it became clear that our existing welding extraction systems, though effective, were no longer sufficient.

To meet these new demands, Metec invested in an advanced 8-arm welding extraction system. The system was designed with flexibility in mind, capable of handling larger anodes while ensuring full compliance with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulations. While we previously relied on portable units and on-tool extraction, these solutions weren’t enough to deal with the larger scale of welding required for big offshore wind projects and port works.

Specialist consultants were brought in to measure fumes and design a bespoke solution tailored to our needs. The result is an efficient welding extraction system that captures fumes at the source, ensuring cleaner air in the workshop. Each of the eight arms has a state-of-the-art capture hood with a protection factor of ten. Combined with welding respirators (RPE), it reduces fumes by at least tenfold. The system extracts 14-16m/s of air per arm, optimising performance, preventing pressure losses, and ensuring a safe, comfortable workspace.

The Impact: Improved Safety and Comfort for All

Connor Martin, Metec’s Fabrication and Welding Supervisor, praised the new system:

“The standard of the system Metec has invested in is fantastic and works brilliantly. While we all wore the correct RPE and used on-tool extraction, this new system immediately eliminates fumes, creating a safer, more comfortable environment to work in. It not only protects welding staff but ensures the safety of all staff throughout the factory.“

This feedback highlights the true value of our investment in terms of both safety and comfort. By eliminating harmful fumes at source, we’ve created a cleaner and more breathable working environment for our team, significantly improving workplace wellbeing.

Future-Proofing Health and Safety at Metec

Metec’s £100,000 investment in fettling booths and a welding extraction system is more than an upgrade—it’s a commitment to a safer, healthier workplace. As our offshore wind and port projects grow, investing in technology that meets regulatory standards while improving workforce comfort and safety is essential.

We believe this investment sets a new benchmark in operational excellence. By improving safety protocols and increasing product quality, we continue to lead the industry in both innovation and worker wellbeing.

At Metec, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this important investment, ensuring that our staff are protected and our products remain of the highest quality. As we look to the future, we are excited to continue to invest in technologies that will drive further improvements in safety, efficiency, and overall operational performance.