Product category:
Materials Testing
News Release from: Hach Lange | Subject: Water monitoring
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 19 December 2005
Water monitoring improves with
instrumentation
Water monitoring has developed considerably over the last 20 years, but Terry Bailey believes that the best is yet to come.
Water monitoring has developed considerably over the last 20 years, but Terry Bailey believes that the best is yet to come Terry Bailey, Service Manager for Hach Lange has worked in the instrumentation sector of the Water Industry for over 20 years
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Jun 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Water testing workshops
Conscious of both the need to produce high quality data, and the need to produce data that meets regulatory requirements, Hach Lange has organised a series of workshops.
Spectrophotometer tests water for drinking
Hach Lange has launched the DR2800, a (340-900nm) spectrophotometer designed to meet the needs of those responsible for testing wastewater, drinking water and process water.
Recently appointed, Terry looks back over his career and gives us an insight into how the industry works and how water monitoring is likely to change in the future.
As a young man Terry completed his apprenticeship as a fitter/machinist and became a Service Engineer in 1971.
This lead to a position in 1983 with 'Golden River', who manufactured data loggers and flow meters.
Further reading
Free seminars on wastewater management
Hach Lange has issued an open invitation for anyone with an interest in wastewater to attend one of its free, one-day workshops at their new offices in Manchester.
Wastewater workshops focus on cost reduction
Hach Lange recently organised two free seminars that examined some of the latest wastewater management techniques.
Free training courses for laboratory testing
Hach Lange, one of the world's leading manufacturers of laboratory testing equipment, has established a series of free training courses.
It is interesting to note that both his technician and his boss at that time, have since become customers of the service department that Terry now manages.
Ask most people if they work in an incestuous industry and they will smile and agree, but asking the question in the water sector is rhetorical.
Terry believes "the close knit nature of the Water Industry is neither surprising nor an issue to be lamented.
The management of the country's water is a serious and important business, and it is reassuring that many of the people in our sector are highly skilled and experienced.
They understand the industry very well, and they are generally risk-averse.
As an industry we like to use processes and techniques that are tried and tested, and we like to work with people that have established a high level of trust and reliability.
That is not to say that our eyes and ears are closed to new techniques - in fact the nature of our industry means that news travels fast, so when an innovation in the water sector performs well, we all get to hear about it very quickly." One of Hach Lange's strongest held beliefs, when it comes to water instrumentation, is that those responsible for its management should be completely responsible for its performance in the long-term.
As Terry says "responsibility is where the buck stops - no excuses.
If people know that they have responsibility and accountability they make sure that things work" One could argue, therefore, that accountability in a Water Company could be maximised by employing in-house service and calibration teams.
However, one only has to study the resources available to a Hach Lange service engineer to realise that the responsibility is best placed with them.
Working for an instrument manufacturer, Hach Lange engineers have immediate and unlimited access to technical documentation on every product, and to the engineers that initially developed and tested the instruments.
They also have access to colleagues spread all over the UK and to a team of around 100 similar engineers across Europe.
Furthermore, as Terry says "Our guys are working on this equipment all day, every day, and that is the best way to get to know it inside out" Over the last twenty years, developments in instrumentation have all lead to one or a combination of the following factors: 1.
Cost reduction 2.
Increased accuracy 3.
Reduced service and calibration requirements 4.
Easier use 5.
More data, better data, faster A good example of almost all of these is Hach Lange's luminescent dissolved oxygen (LDO) sensor.
Previously, dissolved oxygen sensors required frequent visits (every 2 weeks was common) for service and calibration, but the LDO needs no calibration until the cap is changed after 12 months.
Looking forward, Hach Lange believes that the cost of ownership for instrumentation will continue to drop, particularly as service intervals grow.
There will be an increasing trend toward sensors that do not require reagents, which again will reduce the costs of maintenance.
Sensors will continue to become more 'intelligent' - 'plug and play' will be more common, fault diagnosis will be built-in, user interfaces will improve, on-line upgrades and downloads via the Internet will become more common and communications look set to become even simpler and faster.
As a result, the role of the service engineer will evolve; no longer will his or her knowledge be confined to the sensor, he will need to understand both the process being monitored and the complete data collection system.
For example, it will be necessary to provide technical assistance to ensure that sampling is undertaken at the correct interval, at the right location and under appropriate conditions, in order to ensure that the data is truly representative.
In addition to our field service engineers, we now employ highly qualified office-based staff that are able to provide technical service by telephone and email.
An interesting recent development in the Water Industry is the purchase of data rather than instruments.
Hach Lange sees this as a positive move because it exploits the benefits of data ownership and accountability - when it becomes Hach Lange's responsibility to provide accurate reliable data, it will do whatever is necessary to ensure that that is exactly what the client gets, and the company is looking to offer this facility in the coming year.
In recent years there has been a great deal of consolidation of instrumentation companies, and nowhere more so than within the Hach Lange family, which now includes such well-known brands as Evita (formerly known as Danfoss Analytical), , GLI, Buhler Montec, American Sigma, GLI, Lachat and Radiometer Analytical.
This has effectively meant that research and development budgets have been merged so that far greater resources can be applied to the development of each new instrument.
For example, Hach Lange has recently launched a new spectrophotometer (DR2800) that combines all of the best features of its predecessors from both Hach and Dr Lange.
Terry says that he has always had two major objectives - firstly to provide a first class service to his customers, and secondly to empower his engineers so that they are able to maximise their usefulness during every site visit.
Each of his team has a laptop with 3G/GPRS so that, for example, if an engineer finds that a new circuit board is needed at a plant in a remote location anywhere in the UK, it can be ordered immediately and delivered within 24 to 48 hours.
It is clear that the mix of service work will change, but Hach Lange believes that the demand for managing quality service will grow.
This view is supported by Darin Stell, who is responsible for Hach Lange in the UK, and comments "In line with our strategy to provide long-term commitment to our customers, we believe that the provision of specialised installation, service and support is integral to the success of our business and we are currently in the process of recruiting talented new engineers to our team" Finally, in answering the question as to whether a modern service engineer in the Water Industry should wear a blue collar or a white collar? Terry says "In my team they need both.".
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