Strategies For Wastewater Treatment To Help Reduce Downtime
Downtime in wastewater treatment is something every operator aims to avoid, but the reality is that system issues are bound to occur, disrupting operations and costing more than you think. The key lies in minimising this downtime to reduce its impact on your processes.
In this article, we explore strategies to keep operations running smoothly and reduce the effects of unexpected interruptions.
Common Issues In Wastewater Management
The wastewater industry has undoubtedly faced major disruption in recent times, driven by a combination of environmental, political, legislative, and economic challenges. Climate change has intensified issues such as droughts and flooding, affecting both the availability and quality of water. Rapid population growth has added pressure on system capacity, and the implementation of water quality and environmental legislation continues to demand substantial time and financial resources. Additionally, supply chain disruptions, inflation, and rising costs are aggravating these difficulties.
Six Strategies To Reduce Downtime
These challenges aren’t going away anytime soon so it becomes a case of dealing with them as expediently as possible.
1. Effective Inventory Management
Having inventory available whenever it is needed is crucial to the wastewater management process. Engineers often have a lot of ground to cover, travelling across plants and between wastewater treatment centres. Ensuring they have the supplies they need close at hand, whether it’s PPE, tools, replacement parts or workwear can create a more streamlined process.
Similarly, supply chain automation can reduce the chances of running out of vital supplies by alerting you when stock is low and automatically re-ordering with your suppliers.
2. Maximising Engineer Deployment
It’s essential you employ the right staff with the necessary experience to understand problems and deal with them quickly. It’s also important to optimise their workflow so they’re not wasting time driving from job to job with lots of gaps in between. Implementing a data-driven schedule can help determine the most efficient order of work for them.
Your site engineers’ work likely spans a variety of equipment and technologies. Aim to understand the competencies of your in-house team, and what the equipment manufacturer or external specialists can do to support them.
Additionally, look out for training opportunities to cover knowledge gaps. Atlantic Pumps provides online courses via the Pump Centre, and onsite training specific to your pumps and their duty.
3. Proactive Over Reactive Maintenance
It is often said that unscheduled maintenance costs four times more than regular maintenance. While the exact costs might be disputed, there’s no denying that regular maintenance can save you time and money. Not only can your engineers optimise machine performance, but they can also spot problems before they arise and schedule repairs. It means you’ll need fewer tools, consumables and spare parts which in turn reduces waste.
4. Sourcing The Right Pumps For The Job
Wastewater treatment or slurry pumps are expensive compared to ordinary clean-water pumps and it’s easy to be swayed by price alone. A wastewater pump will be specially designed to handle wastewater, which can significantly damage lesser pumps. If you save on costs on the upfront investment, you’ll likely spend far more in the long run having to repair it.
5. Remote Sensors And Monitoring
Thanks to technology, remote monitoring is commonplace and there are many sensors available to monitor critical processes and equipment such as pumps and material flows. For example, inbuilt sensors can alert you of seal failure and initiate pump shutdown to stop liquid from damaging the motor – minimising downtime which means that you only need to replace the seal instead of the entire pump.
6. Work With A Proactive Supplier
Build a relationship with your supplier and get to know their working practices so if you do need to order spares or require a call, they can deal with it quickly. If your pump supplier is slow to respond then it can increase downtime and have a detrimental effect on plant operations. A supplier that puts the customer first will understand the importance of getting what you need fast.
The nature of industrial wastewater management means the pumps will always be subject to a lot of wear and tear but with careful planning, you can minimise the disruption to your plant. Learn more about best practices with our Managing Sludge & Grit - Water Industry Guide
