Regulate Indoor Temperatures With Air Curtians
Challenge
A whopping 50% of the total energy produced in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar is used to air condition the country’s interior spaces.With a subtropical climate, very low rainfall, and average summer temperatures of 107°F that frequently rise to 122°F, a powerful and consistent response is required to keep the outdoors from working its way inside. High winds in the springtime are also known to create legendary dust storms. The need to manage cavernous structures such as the Doha International Airport (which spans over 22 square kilometers) and the Al Wakra Hospital (over 130,000 square meters) gave rise to environmental control challenges that were difficult for even the world’s richest country to manage on their own.
The Solution
Mars Air Systems has been the consistent solution of choice for several Qatar landmarks and institutions when a no-fail response was required to address persistent climatic incursions.For the Al Wakra Hospital, the largest hospital complex in the country, Mars was the leading solution to help hospital officials manage their interiors. Constructed to the highest international standards in 2012, a total of 198 Mars air curtains watch over every hospital entryway to uphold the non-negotiable indoor air quality standards of a modern healthcare facility. In a separate effort, Mars installed air curtains over facility entrances and baggage handling areas at the Doha International Airport that once handled over 29 million passengers annually. Dust storms and temperatures may not always be predictable in this desert oasis, but service from the Mars air curtain has been both durable and certain.
STUDIES REVEAL A 6%-9% POSITIVE EFFECT ON WORK PERFORMANCE BASED ON IMPROVED AIR QUALITY AND TEMPERATURE. (WYON 2004)
PRODUCING NON-TRADITIONAL SOLUTIONS
For high-value product manufacturers, controlling the plant environment and atmosphere within a narrow degree of variability means saving tens of thousands of dollars by eliminating defects.Both Subaru of America and TW Fitting NA, LLC, a BMW-contractor, used the Mars Air Systems air curtain to deliver a superior non-traditional solution for their manufacturing challenges. The Mars Engineering team’s solution helped prepare the tires that TW Fitting NA prepares for BMW vehicles by suspending electrically-heated air curtains over the tire conveyor belt. The curtains heated the tires just enough to create a more pliable rubber and eliminate the splitting, beading, and rim damage which had occurred with the colder rubber. The Mars solution also helped to lower energy costs by eliminating the need for an energy-gulping and unwieldy liquid-propane solution. Similarly, when Subaru needed near-pristine atmospheric conditions for their paint booths, Mars air curtains were installed in the hallway paint room entryway to act as a five-stage “air shower” for workers. Using the sequence of units, the Mars team was able to virtually eliminate dust and hair from the worker’s clothing so particles could no longer mar the painted finish.
KEEPING IT FRESH ENOUGH FOR A BABY’S BOTTOM
P&G's Cairo plant, the third largest diaper plant in the world, responsible for exporting 60 percent of its production to Europe, Asia and the Mid- East, often leads as one of Egypt’s top American business success stories.Set in an area known for legendary dust storms that transfer accumulated debris from the far reaches of the Saharan Desert, air quality measurements routinely record dangerously high levels of suspended particulate matter. Mars Air Systems to the rescue. With the installation of over 100 Mars air curtain units in a plant hosting over 1200 workers, the result was an effective embargo on bad air and dust from blowing in at doorways and entryways. By deploying the Mars comprehensive facility-wide approach to controlling both loading dock entries and doorways with a directed stream of air, facility managers were assured that unpredictable climatic conditions would surrender to the power of the Mars air curtain and their invisible shield of protection.
CONTROLLING HUMIDITY TO MANAGE DEFECTS
Uncontrolled relative humidity levels in manufacturing can damage products during production and strike a blow to the top line.Illinois-based Schrock Cabinetry's 1M sq. ft laminated cabinet plant, dozens of expansive loading dock doors and entry doors gave rise to an unwinnable cat-and-mouse game as plant operators tried to keep plant temperature and humidity stable so the laminated finish didn’t crack. Knowing Mars has repeatedly provided the right answer when large industrial operators need no-fail solutions to vexing humidity, condensation, or pooling water, the Schrock team installed a series of air curtains of their own. The units now stand guard and help create consistent climate conditions so production teams can focus on making the semi-custom cabinets that have given them a national reputation.
LOCKING OUT THE UNWANTED
Manufacturing is at its best when the environment is highly controlled.In a precision operation, regulating the environment must include normalizing temperature and blocking dust and debris. As one of the industry leaders in home safety, credited with pioneering the tubular lock design, and hosts to multiple US-based manufacturing facilities, Kwikset knew the value of controlling the atmosphere in their plants and cranking up the heat for worker comfort. The Kwikset team turned to Mars Air Systems to produce the heated air curtains they knew would be essential to ride herd over their shipping and receiving dock doors at their California facility. Now, comfort stays in and dust and debris – and the chill – stay out.