Safety Workbench BERNER Claire nominated for the Federal Ecodesign Award 2014

Green innovations continue to advance – under this motto, the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUB) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) are awarding the Federal Ecodesign Award for the third time.

From the multitude of entries in the categories of products, services, and concepts, the jury of design and environmental experts has nominated a total of 29 entries.

Among the nominated products is the safety workbench Claire from Berner International. The safety workbench is used in laboratories with particularly high safety requirements. Protection at the highest level, intuitive operation, low energy consumption, and a detection system for air disturbance flows make this safety workbench (SWB) even more efficient and safer. In combination with light strips that indicate the operational status, the shield design provides protection, facilitates use, and visualizes technological progress.

In the field of environmental protection, the Claire safety workbench sets new standards. Claire meets the demand for as low an environmental impact as possible in various ways. This begins during manufacturing, continues in operation, and ends with its end of life. Since the safety workbench is a safety-critical device that is sometimes operated 365 days a year and 24 hours a day, electricity costs are a significant factor. Power consumption has been reduced from 500W to 85W. Many individual aspects have been optimized for this: among other things, the HEPA cartridge filters have been aerodynamically optimized, lighting has been switched from fluorescent tubes to energy-saving LED technology, and state-of-the-art, energy-efficient EC fans are used in conjunction with intelligent control and regulation technology. As a true innovation in this product segment, Berner has implemented presence sensors in the Claire that independently detect whether a user is working at the safety workbench. If not, the SWB automatically switches to a power-saving mode. The construction also avoided plastic parts, and the modular and largely automated, efficient manufacturing process is particularly resource-conserving. Additionally, the new design incorporates a direct connection to the SealSafe® waste sealing device for the first time. Its integration ensures that no biological or chemical hazardous substances escape from the safety workbench into the environment but are directly sealed into a dense film tube.

On November 14th, the winners will be announced at the award ceremony at the Federal Ministry for the Environment in Berlin. All nominees can be viewed in an online exhibition of the Federal Ecodesign Award.