The Diesel Loco Shed (DLS), Visakhapatnam, has developed a prototype of a ‘sanitisation tunnel’, as part of preventive measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prototype was designed in-house by DLS for the first time in East Coast Railway (ECoR). The fabrication was also done with available in-house resources.
The sanitisation tunnel is equipped with a sensor at the entry point, marked with a pedestal, connected to two valves (control devices), which are activated through interception of sensor. The two valves, one filled with chemical water and other with compressed air, discharge or spray mixture of chemical mist for five seconds and stop automatically. It again gets activated when the next person stands on the pedestal after intercepting the sensor. It is an in-house and cost effective approach to sanitise all staff during entry and signing off from duties, officials said.
The fabrication has been completed in two days by a team of four persons headed by Santosh Kumar Patro, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Diesel), Diesel Loco Shed.
Divisional Railway Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava appreciated the team for its innovative invention at this crucial juncture.
The items used for fabrication of the sanitiser tunnel are compressor air, container for disinfection solution, two magnetic valves to control the flow, timer circuit, sensor circuit with sensor, spray nozzles and other hardware.