Striking Train Drivers Want Extra Pay For Using Tablets
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
These four paragraphs explain the impasse.
Striking train drivers are demanding extra pay for using tablet devices at work.
The tablets, which are similar to iPads, are designed to send announcements to drivers and notify them of temporary speed limits on routes.
However, union chiefs are demanding so-called “technology payments” for members expected to use such devices.
Train companies usually have to rely on noticeboards to communicate with drivers. Messages, including safety instructions, are still placed at the end of platforms for drivers to see from their cabs.
Mark Harper, the transport secretary, i quoted as saying: “Aslef continues to stand in the way of vital reforms needed to safeguard the future of the railways.”
Are we in the 21st or the 19th centuries?
But the article leaves the best to last.
It has previously been reported that rail workers were given paid time off if they had to use a microwave at work. The rule from 1980 states:
All staff working with microwave ovens shall be permitted to take time off from work, with pay, for a medical check of any effects on them from the microwave ovens. Such checks shall be made at not less than six monthly intervals on request.
Does your partner demand similar rewards for putting your ready meal in the microwave?
There is also this comment from a reader.
I did 19 years as a driver, mainly with Southern. I remember when we were issued with mobile phones and later iPads there was a few dinosaurs who refused to charge them at home. Pathetic really. The iPad was great but only got 1 GB of mobile data. I destroyed that watching Tour du France when ‘spare’ and didn’t have any work allocated.
The worst Spanish practices mainly revolve around the facility time ASLEF reps get, and routinely abuse. At my depot 2 reps were released all day to scrutinise bank holiday diagrams. There were 7 diagrams to check. These diagrams are produced by software to make sure comply with regulations but need reps to sign off. No more than 5 minutes work but off all day. That’s 2 drivers, 8 or 9 times a year. These are the T&Cs changes that ASLEF won’t accept, under RDG offer diagram scrutiny would be taken away from reps.
Priceless! And all passengers and taxpayers are paying.
World’s First Semi-Submersible Floating Offshore Wind Farm Smashes Predictions
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
WindFloat Atlantic, the world’s first semi-submersible floating offshore wind farm, has completed its third year in operation, closing in 2023 with an electricity production of 80 GWh.
These four paragraphs outline the performance of the wind farm.
Connected to the grid by the end of 2019 and fully commissioned in 2020, the floating offshore wind farm was developed by the Windplus consortium formed by Ocean Winds, a 50:50 joint venture between EDPR and ENGIE, Repsol, and Principle Power.
The pioneer wind farm consists of three platforms, each supporting one 8.4-MW Vestas turbine, which are anchored with chains to the seabed and connected to the onshore substation in the Portuguese municipality of Viana do Castelo through a 20-kilometre cable.
According to the project’s owners and operators, the 25 MW WindFloat Atlantic also closed in 2023 breaking more records with Storm Ciaran posing challenges with waves reaching a maximum height of 20 metres and wind gusts up to 139 kilometres per hour.
These conditions far surpassed the project’s previous records, demonstrating the readiness and robustness of the floating technology, even in extreme offshore conditions.
It would appear that this and the previous post; France’s First And Only Operational Floating Wind Turbine Gets Lifetime Extension, are not only indicating that floating wind power works, but that it works well in all types of conditions.
France’s First And Only Operational Floating Wind Turbine Gets Lifetime Extension
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Floatgen, the demonstration floating wind turbine installed at the SEM-REV offshore test site in France, has completed its planned five-year run but will operate for another five years as the demo project was decided to get a lifetime extension.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The floater, which consists of a 2 MW Vestas V80 wind turbine mounted on BW Ideol’s Damping Pool foundation, reached electricity production milestones several times since going into full operation in September 2018.
According to BW Ideol, Floatgen’s cumulated production has now surpassed 30 GWh, which the company ascribes to “the hydrodynamic properties and excellent sea-keeping capabilities” of its floating foundation.
Floatgen’s availability averaged 92.18 per cent between January 2021 and January 2024, with December 2023 standing out with a monthly production record of 922.026 MWh and a 61.96 per cent capacity factor, BW Ideol says.
Note.
- A three-year availability average of 92.18 % is surely very good.
- A 61.96 % capacity factor is better than most other floating wind farms, which are generally in the fifties.
With those figures, I suspect BW Ideol will be expecting, some orders soon.
This video shows a Floatgen being constructed.
The Anonymous Widower 