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Asset Maintenance requires planning for good ROI

Generally, obtaining buy in from the water industry for OEM planned maintenance programmes has always traditionally proven to be a formidable task, as many water companies place the emphasis on capital expenditure rather than maintenance, with the temptation to rely on in-house staff to carry out general maintenance tasks. However, it is becoming clear to several water companies that the number of staff required to carry out such tasks safely, make them difficult to plan for. Maintenance staff within the water companies are often spread thinly territorially, so getting them together in one place for a day or several days at a time can prove to be difficult.

OEM service contracts may not always initially look attractive to the UK Water Industry, but, given the increasing pressures to achieve compliance with equipment that is becoming ever more complex, and the demand on staff who are becoming stretched even more thinly, service contracts can be proven to make good business sense and help increase the return on investment of the initial outlay.

ELIQUO HYDROK have been manufacturing water treatment equipment for more than 25 years, historically the technologies had previously been supplied to clients without the expectation for any form of servicing requirement. With the development of the Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) and Fixed Bed Diffused Aeration (FBDA) process treatments, plus the Mecana tertiary filtration systems, it became clear that offering a service and maintenance package would essential for the client Water Companies, and would provide additional reassurance that the product would meet its forecast, expected life span.

Many ELIQUO HYDROK clients who purchased equipment stated that maintenance would be carried out by their in-house personnel, they have subsequently found that, even after the training supplied by the OEM, the tasks have proven time consuming, less efficient and costly. This has led to a recognition that reverting to the OEM for service tasks is not only desirable, but in some cases, imperative. Leaving valuable assets to deteriorate as evident in the images shown, can not only result in potential damage to the equipment, but also result in the failure to comply with discharge permits. Once serviced, the units are returned to good working order with minimal disruption to the treatment process.

Mecana unit before cleaning

MECANA UNIT BEFORE                                                              

Mecana unit after cleaning

MECANA UNIT AFTER CLEANING

As a solution, ELIQUO HYDROK have spent time and investment developing a service team format that allows a service package to be offered requiring minimal input from the water company whilst offering maximum efficiency in the maintenance process. Having teams carrying out the tasks in line with Reliability Centred Maintenance is cost effective. The ELIQUO HYDROK teams are proficient in these tasks and able to reduce the down time required of the assets.

The cost efficiencies mean that the water companies can concentrate their resources on the day to day tasks required to keep the plants running, leaving the equipment OEM to specialise in the tasks that they understand.

Using the OEM service teams, who are trained and equipped to carry out the task, also reduces the requirements for the temporary supply of specialist equipment such as pumps and pressure washers

Tube aeration

ELIQUO HYDROK teams are fully equipped with all the required plant including critical spares in purposefully fitted vehicles. This allows for replacement of parts during annual servicing that have or imminently due to fail thus preventing plant downtime and reactive maintenance and once on site the only external requirement is wash water from the client. The use of petrol driven cleaning equipment ensures that our teams are self-reliant even on remote parts of the site, the task can be achieved without further input from the clients.

For further information or to discuss your requirements contact: Jim Prout, Service & Maintenance Manager at ELIQUO HYDROK, 01726 861900, send email

 

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Niki Court
Tel. +44 (0) 7921 610 433