"Introducing the MyGas platform means solid progress"
10/10/2022
Luc Valkeneers, Technical Director
Luc Valkeneers is Technical Director at the Provincial Secondary School in Bilzen, or PSSB. The school, nestling in mostly green surroundings, is rather small-scale and consists of a handful of low buildings, making it an attractive and peaceful place.
PSSB is a technical school, with a focus on mechanics and welding, at both TSO (technical secondary) and BSO (vocational secondary) level. To facilitate its practical welding classes, the school naturally needs welding gases.
For this, the PSSB uses Air Liquide's Arcal Prime (100% argon) and Arcal Speed (92% argon, 8% CO2) gases, among others. "We use Arcal Prime for TIG welding and for semi-automatic aluminium welding,” Luc clarifies. “We use Arcal Speed for semi-automatic steel welding. We also use oxygen and acetylene for cutting."
Luc's duties are quite broad, ranging from supervising the cleaning and maintenance staff to looking after the materials needed by the technical instructors (and students) for practical classes. As far as gases are concerned, this has not always gone smoothly...
Greater safety, fewer risks
"Before we joined forces with Las Center and Air Liquide, we were working with separate cylinders placed inside the welding stations. That’s not problematic in itself, but this approach brings bigger risks, compared with the gas cylinders being outside the building, with the gas piped in."
There are several reasons for this. For instance, it’s common for gas cylinders to be secured incorrectly, so there’s a chance they fall over. Moving cylinders to and from the welding stations is also not entirely without risk. In any case, the risk of material and physical damage in the event of an accident is higher when the gases are stored indoors. An intriguing solution for this is the Advanced Multiple Cylinder Box.
Cylinder bundles
"When we updated our welding workshops — partly on Air Liquide’s recommendation — we provided a central storage area for gases in a secure area outside the building. A gas distribution system — installed by Las Center, using materials from Air Liquide — pipes the gases safely into the welding stations."
The school now uses cylinder bundles instead of individual cylinders. "This is not only safer — because the gases are now stored outside the building — it also stops us losing track and not being able to find bottles. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen anymore."
MyGas
"For me, and for the school, introducing the MyGas platform has been a solid step forward," says an enthusiastic Luc Valkeneers. "We use the portal to place orders, check our stocks, request quotes, and follow up on invoicing."
"MyGas is particularly good because it’s such an accessible and user-friendly tool. All the product information is on it and it’s easy to find the right product number. Previously, mistakes sometimes happened because we ordered cylinders with the wrong cylinder head. I would then have to send a digital photo of the cylinder I had meant to order, hoping it would all turn out all right. We’re now rid of all that hassle.”
“The MyGas platform also saves time. I used to have to send an e-mail to request a quote, and it didn't always end up with the same person. Now it all happens much faster. "
Discover more about the myGAS platform: