Fortress Interlocks has developed a safe access system designed to protect workers when accessing sludge centrifuges that are used in waste water treatment plants to remove excess fluid by spinning at high speed. Voltage switching units and safety key interlocks protect workers by limiting access to the centrifuges until it is absolutely safe to do so.

Fortress’ interlocks guard access covers on sludge centrifuges and are integrated with voltage switching (VS) units that calculate when the machine has run down; each access door has its own corresponding Fortress lock. The VS units monitor the backEMF on the windings of the machine’s motor, in addition to any shorts or open circuits, and only when the centrifuge has come to a complete stop can the interlock keys that open the access points be freed. Workers can then use these keys to unlock the covers and gain access to the centrifuge machinery for operations and maintenance.

The benefit of such an operation is the significant time savings that could be made by reducing machine downtime to an absolute minimum whilst providing maximum safety and efficiency. For more information about VS units and safety interlocking systems, please visit the company website at www.fortressinterlocks.com