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 OEM service contracts may not always initially look attractive to the UK Water Industry, but, 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.

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.

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 tertiary filtration systems in conjunction with Mecana, it became clear that offering a service and maintenance package would be both desirable to the client Water Companies, and provide additional reassurance that the product would meet its expected life span.

Many of the 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 realisation on their part 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.

As a solution, ELIQUO HYDROK have spent time and investment developing a service team format that allows a service package to be offered which requires minimal input from the water company whilst offering maximum efficiency in the service process. Having teams carrying out the tasks on a regular basis means they 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 washer.

ELIQUO HYDROK teams are fully equipped with all the required plant in a specially purposefully fitted van and once on site the only external requirement is wash water from the client. The use of petrol driven cleaning equipment ensures that even on remote parts of the site, the task can be achieved without further input from the clients.

Author: ELIQUO HYDROK, 01726 862000, send email