This is the fifth time that Olfasense organizes a workshop about odour management focused not only in environmental issues but also in product and material testing. This time the organization, coordinated by Ms. Liczkowski, was exquisite and very detailed. At the end of the workshop, a hands on experience with product testing, sampling, managing a LIMS and finally using a TO evolution was carried out. During this event a 3D print of the future TO Mobile olfactometer was presented. All in all, we enjoyed a very well organized event.

   Olfasense has been dealing with equipment for olfactometry and product testing for a few decades under different brand names. Now they have over 50 people working at their offices in Germany and The Netherlands, and they deliver products and services in almost any point in the planet. For a second year in a row, they decided to take some time from their daily tasks to organize a Technical Training Day (TTD) and a Workshop, and they did it very well.

   It was over ten years ago when the editor of olores.org was there at the old offices of Olfasense (at that time ECOMA) in Honigsee. This time, the Olfasense branch in Germany is not in Honigsee anymore. A few years ago they moved their manufacturing facilities. They also moved their offices to a very nice spot in the city of Kiel. The Kiel Science Park is a unique building with a lot of space to organize many activities, such as these TTDs and workshops. There are a few olfactometric labs and a few offices in the last floor of the building. The offices are just a block away from where Mr. Mannebeck senior began his work with small portable olfactometers many decades ago.

   Olfasense organizes their events with a mix of in-house experts and outside speakers. At this stage, they have experts in most of the groups dealing with European and German standards, so there is no doubt about their expertise. They have many things to tell to the industry and policy-makers. As a small example, Mr. Dietmar Mannebeck just arrived from a meeting in Berlin dealing with environmental odour standards.

   The editor of olores.org was invited as keynote speaker for the TTDs. For the workshop that took place the first day, other relevant external experts were invited there, like Ms. Rita Domingues from the company Eurofins or the independent consultant Mr. Hansruedi Gygax.

  The attendants came from different backgrounds and countries so it was a challenge to meet all their needs of information. The idea here was to try to close the gap between the techniques used for product and material testing and those for environmental management. Also, the goal was to introduce the techniques used in both fields.

Mr. Andresen presenting the new mobile olfactometer

   Another interesting moment in this event was the announcement of a new mobile olfactometer. The TO evolution is a fine olfactometer, but it is clearly a bulky device, designed to make the life more confortable to panelists, allowing more space between them. However there was a need for a more portable device, above all in Germany, where samples need to be analyzed in less than 6 hours. Marc Andresen guided the attendants in a very nice presentation through the reasons of the new TO olfactometer. At a first glance, there is not much difference between this mobile olfactometer and the old TO8 (which was actually, quite mobile). According to the makers, this resemblance with the old model has been intentionally made. The real difference with the old one is that this new olfactometer is connected to the central LIMS system of a lab, so any measurement is automatically logged and sent for quality procedures.

   It was a pleasure attending this very well organized event. We hope to see each other again soon, maybe in the next NOSE 2018, that will take place in Milan, Italy.   There, the olfasense team will probably be presenting this new olfactometer, and we will know finally the shape and name of this new device. Will it be TO9? Will it be TO evolution mobile? who knows!

   If you find this article interesting, you might also be interested in these articles:

• Olfasense 2018 Technical Training Day is here. The editor of olores.org invited as keynote speaker
• Only 5 seats left for Olfasense Odour Workshops 2018
• Limited seats left for Olfasense Odour Workshops January 2017 How to set an odour management system
• Olfasense launches a new emission testing chamber
• A Visit to the Facilities of ECOMA in Honigsee, Germany