After 17 years of expecting better from safety shield standards across the world, Flangeguards has shifted market expectations of what is acceptable. The Flangeguards Sureband design was introduced to overcome operational issues associated with conventional shield designs. Today it stands out as the market leader. So how did we get there?
Flangeguards MD and founder Jeff Harwood was heavily involved with the design, site survey, supply and installation of safety shields for customers around the world. At this point, the ‘bag’ style of shield was the only design widely available. Through considerable end-user site survey and installation work, Jeff had become increasingly aware about and concerned by some common issues.
Back then, Flangeguards had already launched the Sureband Steel shield as a major departure from the conventional steel shield design, with rudimentary screw connection and crimped edges. Sureband Steel’s quick-connection latch reduced installation from minutes to seconds, and internal multi-layered steel mesh provided the dispersion of pressure. These strong design improvements immediately positioned Sureband Steel as the best solution for oil and steam applications. But for corrosive applications, the fabric ‘bag’ shield was still the only viable option.
Flangeguards was chosen by a large chemical company to provide site-wide safety shield solutions at a UK facility. This required considerable site surveying, as well as shield design/selection, installation and ongoing inspection.
In lieu of pre-existing pipe schedule information, fabric bag shields require several different flange and pipe measurements to ensure a good safety shield fit. In a particularly challenging environment with over 5,000 pipe joints, the survey was sizable and in a challenging working environment, requiring full chemical protection suits. In an already time-consuming job, the bag shield design stood to cause serious delay. But the real challenge came in fitting the shields. Bag shields require tightening of pull-cords into a reef knot to be fastened. When paired with awkward flange locations, the true challenge of the job highlighted an overarching need for a better solution.
After installation, Flangeguards returned to site periodically to inspect existing shields and identify requirements for new ones. Jeff was shocked by the finding of subsequent inspections, which lead to the realisation of two things. First, operational staff were finding it too hard to work with installed shields when performing flange maintenance. Specifically, the pull cords were incredibly difficult to untie while wearing gloves. Instead, staff cut shields off, often leaving them on the floor or simply draped back around the flanges. The shields were not effective after flange maintenance. Second, corrosive environments had damaged the fabric shields’ material. In the worst cases, these shields required replacement within 9–12 months. Whilst these issues resulted in considerable repeat business, Jeff wasn’t in the business of price-gouging. This was about finding the best solution.
Jeff was tasked with installing several shields for a customer site. The requirement consisted of two processes, one corrosive line requiring conventional fabric ‘bag’ style shields and another high-pressure oil line requiring steel shields.
Whilst the corrosive and the oil processes required approximately the same number of shields, it became immediately obvious that the speed and simplicity with which the Sureband Shields could be fitted easier and quicker, at around half an hour when compared to the fabric ‘bag’ shields, a process which required nearly two hours.
During the 5-hour trip home from site, Jeff went to work trying to think of a better solution for those corrosive applications, using the same Sureband Steel design but with suitable materials.
The fabric ‘bag’ shield design comprises several layers of PTFE-coated fibreglass sewn together. Whilst PTFE is corrosion resistant, each of the many hundreds of holes the sewing needle makes in the shield exposes the fibreglass material underneath, which is not corrosive-safe. PTFE coating on the sewing thread itself gets worn when run through the sewing machine. Not to mention that pull cords wear out over time. Jeff had identified the need to come up with an innovative new design to overcome these challenges.
This is where the concept for Sureband Clear was born, the very next day Jeff and his production team made a rudimentary prototype using an ETFE outer band and PTFE internal mesh, held together with Velcro. It didn’t look pretty, attracting some negative comments, the market didn’t believe it would work. But with no regard for trepidation or sceptically, the Sureband Clear prototype was put through its paces on the Flangeguards Pressure Test Rig.
It worked at the first time of asking; effectively diffusing a pressure release in excess of 50 Bar.
After considerable product design and development, Flangeguards launched Sureband Clear at the 2018 Achema exhibition. Unsure how the design’s simplicity would be received, Jeff was quickly assured that the product was fit for the market after receiving ample positive feedback.
Since then, Sureband Clear has displaced the conventional shield design and is becoming the site standard across a growing number of customer facilities.
Jeff’s main considerations for Sureband Clear were the product’s ease of use and extended lifespan. But we’ve learnt from our customers first hand that there are several other big advantages to Sureband products’ designs.
Reduced Risk of Flange Corrosion - Unlike the 'bag' shields that hold the leaking process against the flance, Surebnd Clear is capable of self-draining, separating hazardous material and critical infrastructure.
Increased Safety - A bag full of acid is a safety concern for operators upon removal.
Flexibility - In allowing for one size type of shield to effectively cover a multitude of flange sizes, the Multi-Size function means reduced stockholding requirements. it also reduces the chances of sizing errors when flange measurements are taken.
Thinking back to the product launch in 2018, when our competitors claimed Sureband Clear would fail, we are now watching as, one by one, those same competitors are all starting to launch their own copycat shields.
Two important footnotes: Firstly, since 2018 Flangeguards has continued to develop the SUREBAND design, gaining valuable customer feedback – and the latest incarnation of the product launched in August delivers even higher performance. Secondly, remember Jeff’s response to the fabric ‘bag’ shield’s short lifespan. It wasn’t to sit back and enjoy the repeat orders. Instead it was to make flange shield better.
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Published on 22 September 2025 By Nick Harwood
