Press Release

Russelectric, A Siemens Business, Highlights the External Manual Operator (E.M.O.) on Automatic Transfer Switches

Russelectric, A Siemens Business, manufacturer of power control
systems and automatic transfer switches, is highlighting its External Manual Operator (E.M.O.), a
standard feature of the Russelectric RTS-03 Series and RTS-30 Series of open-transition
automatic transfer switches, the most rugged and complete line of 480 VAC 30-cycle and 3-
cycle UL tested switches available today, the company says. The unique External Manual Operator
feature enables easy, safe and quick manual transfer with the door fully closed, significantly
reducing downtime and the risk of arc flash injuries.
With the External Manual Operator, the manual transfer process is much easier and faster for
both the preferred and the alternative power sources, and no special procedures are required to
ensure the system is de-energized during the transfer operation. That means less downtime
because the cabinet door remains closed.
The External Manual Operator utilizes the same Russelectric transfer mechanism as the
automatic electrical operator, a design proven to provide exceptional safety and durability.
During an open-transition transfer, the contact mechanism is securely locked in position until an
over-center position is reached. Preloaded springs then instantaneously open the closed contacts
(quick-break) and instantaneously close the open contacts (quick-make) with only a momentary
break in between.
This quick-break design along with rapid arc quenching features provide for rapid arc
interruption, under maximum voltage and amperage, reducing contact erosion and overheating to
extend useful life. Russelectric transfer switches have the highest 480 VAC 3-cycle closing and
withstand ratings of any switches available today.
For more information, visit
https://new.siemens.com/us/en/products/energy/russelectric/products/transfer-and-bypass-
switches.html

Press Release

New Requirements for Inbound Air Shipments to the EU

From 1 March 2023, all freight forwarders, air carriers, express couriers, and postal operators transporting goods to or through the European Union (including Norway and Switzerland) will be required to submit advance cargo information in the form of a complete entry summary declaration (ENS), under the second phase of the EU’s new customs pre-arrival security and safety programme – Import Control System 2 (ICS2) Release 2.

Economic operators’ responsibility to comply with ICS2 Release 2 requirements

From 1 March 2023, economic operators involved in handling, sending, shipping and transporting cargo, express or postal consignments to or via the EU by air have to comply with new advance data reporting requirements for pre-loading and pre-arrival customs risk assessments.

By collecting data about all goods entering the EU prior to their loading and arrival, ICS2 supports effective risk-based customs controls while facilitating free flow of legitimate trade across the EU’s external borders. ICS2 will simplify the movement of goods between customs offices at the first point of entry and final destination in the EU. For economic operators, ICS2 will streamline requests for additional information and pre-departure risk screening by customs authorities.

In addition to air carriers’ ENS filing responsibilities under the multiple filing regime of Release 2, freight forwarders, express couriers, and postal operators will also be legally responsible for providing data. They either have to share it with the air carriers, who will then complete the ENS filing requirements, or submit the data directly to ICS2. Postal operators and express couriers, who have previously been declaring partial information regarding inbound shipments (under ICS2 Phase 1), will now also be required to coordinate with their air carrier to submit all required data.

Those in the air transport sector who are currently filing advance cargo information into Import Control System (ICS) will have to gradually start filing this data into ICS2 during the operational roll-out of Release 2.

Preparing for ICS2 Release 2: Conformance Testing

Economic operators are strongly advised to prepare in advance for Release 2, in order to avoid the risk of delays and non-compliance.

To help prepare for the introduction of ICS2 Release 2, the European Commission will make available a conformance testing environment from July 2022 until February 2023, to be able to verify the economic operator’s ability to access and exchange messages with customs authorities through the intended ICS2 trader interface. This conformance testing is mandatory for all economic operators concerned.

Economic operators responsible for filing ENS data to ICS2 should determine whether they have an existing Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number. If not, they should contact the EU customs authority of their choice to get this number and to receive support in preparing for ICS2 Release 2. They should also evaluate their trade operations for the handling of imports into the EU and contact their selected customs authority to connect and take part in the upcoming Release 2 conformance testing.

What is ICS2 Release 2?

The EU Import Control System 2 (ICS2) is a large-scale initiative to enhance customs oversight of the movement of goods prior to their arrival at the EU external borders (air, maritime, land and inland waterways). ICS2 enables customs authorities to identify high-risk consignments that necessitate early intervention, while facilitating legitimate trade into the customs territory of the EU, Norway, and Switzerland.

The system is being implemented in three releases. Having successfully completed Release 1 covering the pre-loading process for postal and express consignments by air on 15 March 2021, Release 2 is the next step in the system’s implementation, and it will go live on 1 March 2023. Release 3 will be implemented from 1 March 2024, requiring operators carrying goods on maritime and inland waterways, roads and railways to comply with the new regulations.

The European Commission is leading the operational delivery of ICS2 in close collaboration with customs authorities in Member States, Norway and Switzerland and industry stakeholders.

Two detailed factsheets are available to guide through the procedures related to ICS2 Release 2:
Factsheet 1: What economic operators who are directly affected by the second release need to do to get their IT systems ready in time.
For further information please visit (link)
Factsheet 2: What the new data reporting requirements are under Release 2 for freight forwarders, EU express couriers, postal operators with facilities outside the EU, and air carriers, irrespective of whether these operators are legally established within or outside of the European Union. For further information please visit (link)

You can also watch this video to learn more: Get ready for the second phase of ICS2! – YouTube

For more information about ICS2 and Release 2, please see the European Commission’s webpage available here.

Press Release

Hydra Energy Lands Second Heavy-duty Fleet Customers and Expands its Hydrogen-as-a-Service Reach to Alberta with the World’s First Hydrogen-converted Armoured Vehicle

On the eve of Earth Day, Hydra Energy, the world’s first Hydrogen-as-a-Service (HaaS) provider for commercial fleets looking to reduce emissions with no up-front investment, is pleased to announce its second heavy-duty truck fleet customer, Veteran Express Secure Logistics (VEXSL). This follows on the heels of its initial milestone customer announcement with Lodgewood Enterprises back in October 2021 and marks the world’s first hydrogen-converted armoured vehicle.

VEXSL is a veteran-owned and operated transportation logistics service that uniquely merges the security of purpose-built armoured vehicles with the high-volume transport nature of the general freight industry dedicated to the movement of climate sensitive, high-risk, and high-value goods across Canada, and soon the U.S. and Europe.

“At VEXSL, we provide purposeful career opportunities to the first responder and military veteran workforce and strive to incorporate the latest technology for safer, more secure supply chains,” said VEXSL CEO, Cole Fouillard. “Retrofitting our trucks to now lessen our impact on the environment is a natural next step in our continued commitment to the communities we serve and to the ESG goals we subscribe to. The best part is Hydra’s hydrogen truck conversions cost us nothing to implement, don’t negatively impact truck performance or warranties, and don’t require us to wait over a year for new trucks as they can retrofit existing ones.”

Hydra’s proprietary hydrogen-diesel, co-combustion injection systems will be installed at no cost to VEXSL. In exchange, VEXSL agrees to a long-term, low-carbon hydrogen fuel contract that includes fuelling infrastructure where trucks will refuel just as quickly as diesel. The contracted hydrogen will be priced at the forecasted diesel equivalent meaning the fleets’ operational costs should not increase. Additionally, each truck will reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 67 tonnes per year with no loss in fuel efficiency, range, power, torque, or payload capacity – even in the cold Canadian winters. This comes as GHG emissions fast approach pre-pandemic levels thanks in large part to increased freight pollution.

“Alberta was a natural next step for our HaaS offering to connect from our Prince George hub further east into Canada along trucking routes,” said Hydra Energy CEO, Jessica Verhagen. “We applaud the Alberta government’s efforts to enable further demonstration of the use of hydrogen in heavy-duty transportation, recognizing that transportation markets have the potential to rapidly scale their decarbonization efforts with Hydra’s commercially available technology once increased refuelling infrastructure is in place.”

“Working with Hydra and VEXSL is just one example of the Alberta Motor Transport Association’s zero-emissions mobility strategy,” added Amanda Mesluk, Manager, Research and Innovation with the AMTA. “We are excited to offer technology and fuel options to our carrier members interested in exploring a hydrogen landscape. We support all our partners in working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta and beyond.”

Hydra and VEXSL will be participating in next week’s Canadian Hydrogen Convention in Edmonton running April 26th-28th where Hydra’s R&D truck already running up to 40% hydrogen will be on display. Through April continuing until May 7th, the AMTA will additionally be supporting Hydra by offering test drives to its members. Initially, Hydra will support fleets in the Edmonton area doing round trips no longer than 1,000 kms.

Press Release

Milton Security Announces Ptolemy:TEMPEST

Milton Security, a provider of Threat Hunting as a Service, XDR & MDR (MxDR) SOC Services, announced the upcoming release of Ptolemy:TEMPEST, a highly curated, time sensitive, zero-hour focused intelligence feed of known and active malicious IPs.

Utilizing Ptolemy, their proprietary threat intelligence engine as the workhorse, Milton Security curates threat intelligence from past, present, and future attacks. The resulting data is a feed of active, malicious IPs which can be used to increase perimeter security in Palo Alto, Cisco, and Sonicwall firewalls. The list is refreshed with highly time sensitive, zero-hour focused intelligence, effectively updating customers security mitigation at the perimeter in near-real time.

“Ptolemy:TEMPEST is a game-changer,” said James McMurry, Milton Security CEO & founder. “The intelligence provided in this first release of Ptolemy:TEMPEST is a focused set of data that we see in real time across the 200 billion plus event messages we ingest and our deep research at 1MC Labs. By offering data that we’ve created and use in our own threat hunting, organizations are now able to use our knowledge to efficiently increase their perimeter security.”

The first stage of rollout begins in January of 2022 and will be available only to Milton Security customers. Beginning in late Q1, automated IP management will be available to the general public.

Press Release

McGuire Appointed as GM Business Development at QinetiQ

QinetiQ announced the appointment of George McGuire, CSC, to the role of general manager Business Development. The role took effect on 23 August 2021.

McGuire’s appointment comes as a result of a strategic restructuring of QinetiQ’s Australian business, as it positions to continue its strong growth journey of the past five years.

“George is ideally placed to lead our Business Development team through our next growth phase, due to his 28 years of frontline experience with the Royal Australian Navy, including two warship sea commands. George’s deep understanding of the modern threat landscape provides our customers with a tactical advantage when it comes to assuring mission-critical capabilities,” said QinetiQ Australia’s managing director, Greg Barsby.

The strategic appointment and restructuring come at a time of increasing geopolitical instability, with QinetiQ moving to establish a more agile, nimble approach to responding to real Defence needs whilst ensuring growth is sustainable.

“After leading our Operations & Delivery team for the past six years, I believe I can bring that same customer focus and informed understanding of their needs to this new role. We are committed to supporting the Commonwealth with robust, Australian-led industrial capability, delivered by people with a deep, real understanding of the challenges facing the ADF,” said QinetiQ Australia’s General Manager Business Development, George McGuire.

“Crucially, as a global leader in Test & Evaluation, we’re further investing to grow and enhance this essential sovereign capability across digital and live environments in all warfare domains in Australia. Our operational T&E solutions provide the ADF with the capability knowledge they depend on to make better informed decisions.”

QinetiQ’s restructure establishes two delivery teams: one focused on our advisory services, the other on our growing engineering and technical services. This is further complemented by the rapidly growing opportunities in Robotics & Autonomous Systems and Power & Energy solutions.

Press Release

Allied Universal Seeks to Hire 35,000 Security Professionals in US Over the Next Two Months

Global security and facility services company, Allied Universal, is seeking to hire more than 35,000 security professionals, administrative and managerial staff to fill positions over the next two months. Recently, Allied Universal joined forces with London-based global security provider G4S and is now the 3rd largest employer in North America. The company’s goal is to seek security professionals to support its local operations in communities across the nation. Allied Universal is offering hiring bonuses to new employees in select states across the United States.

“It’s an exciting time to join Allied Universal as the sky is the limit in terms of career opportunities and growth,” said Don Tefft, Jr., chief human resources officer, Allied Universal. “Our security professionals play a pivotal role in serving and safeguarding our customers and communities in our ever-changing world.” 

Allied Universal is offering regular and temporary, full-time and part-time opportunities, and these open positions include security professionals, client and account managers, site supervisors, and other functional roles within human resources, sales, finance and IT.  
     
Allied Universal employs a virtual interview process where applicants can complete the company’s online application from the comfort of their home through highly advanced video interviewing technology. The company is looking for individuals who are dependable and trustworthy and offer superior customer services skills. 

“Allied Universal offers so much more than just a job — we offer careers,” said Tefft. “We have countless examples of employees who began their career as security professionals and today, are members of our senior management team, working in all facets of the organization.”