Where’s the meat? Employers and governments should have seen this supply crisis coming, and done something

The low temperatures and low humidity of food-processing facilities increase viral transmission, while the poor air quality increases the prevalence of respiratory disorders, which means workers are more susceptible to illness if infected. The rate of asthmatic symptoms among chicken-processing workers, for example, has been estimated as being four times that of all adults. These risks are heightened by working in close proximity to others on production lines where the work is physically demanding and the pace hectic.

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Fortescue to acquire Williams Advanced Engineering

Fortescue Future Industries has entered into an agreement to buy F1 racing-related Williams Advanced Engineering. FFI said today the purchase would set the pace for ground-breaking innovation in the green energy space, bringing together leading thinkers and engineers in areas such as high performance battery systems and electrification. WAE, an offshoot of the Williams F1…

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Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Hazer’s commercial demonstration plant strikes trouble with imported reactor vessel Perth’s Hazer Group’s plans to build a demonstration plant to produce hydrogen from biogas has stuck yet more trouble with news that a defect has been identified in the main reactor vessel being manufactured in China. The project at the Western Australian Water Board’s Woodman…

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Australian hydrogen company makes finals of SXSW Innovation Awards

Hydrogen energy company Star Scientific has made the finals of the South by Southwest festival’s Innovation Awards, which will be held at the long-running Austin, Texas festival next month. Star Scientific was nominated for its HERO (hydrogen energy release optimiser) product, which it is currently commercialising, and which uses a “non-polluting catalyst” to create zero-emission…

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