The need to conserve water is a common concern throughout the world.  Whether it is due to cost of water, availability of water, or environmental discharge concerns, the importance of water is a major focal point, both in the public and private sector. 

In many cases, both communities and industrial plants must reduce their use of water to conserve this valuable resource.  So, it is vitally important that the facility’s water and wastewater treatment equipment is operating properly.  Regular preventative maintenance, operator training, and process assessment are key components to the long-term success of a water treatment operation.

Protecting a community means protecting its water treatment investment to ensure optimal performance.   Regular preventative maintenance, either done by facility staff or outsourced, is vital to the long-term health of a water treatment facility, helping to ensure efficient operation, day after day, producing water of excellent quality consistently and reliably.

As well, many industries rely on high-quality process water to produce their end products.  Any interruption can mean a disruption of the production process and literally millions of dollars. 

In addition to regular service and maintenance, a water process assessment conducted onsite can help a facility maintain its water quality specifications, ensure a cost effective operation, and help preserve the water supply.   A water assessment is a review of all the process water and/or wastewater treatment equipment at the plant.  This review can be conducted either by plant personnel or by an outside company.  By conducting a water assessment, facility personnel can determine, if the plant is producing water in the most efficient way to reduce operating costs and conserve resources.  

As part of this assessment, treatment needs can be identified for replacement or upgraded technology to enhance the operation of an existing system.   Depending on a facility’s specific needs and budgets, this could mean additional equipment can be permanently installed, or provided via build-own-operate, or temporary mobile systems.

A water assessment can be as complex as reviewing every unit of operation, process control instrumentation, vessel inspections, piping, source water options and discharge limits, or it could mean a simple review of one specific part of the process. 

For example, an industrial facility had an older reverse osmosis system designed to treat reclaimed wastewater to boiler feedwater standards.  A water system assessment was performed when the facility changed their  feedwater supply  to well water.   After a water assessment, it was  recommended to eliminate the  Weak Acid Cation (WAC ) unit and de-carbonator  as pretreatement steps ahead of the Reverses Osmosis (RO) unit. It was also determined that the RO membranes had not been cleaned in the past  several years.  Based on a membrane autopsy new elements were recommended and installed.   The plant i saved more than $80,000 per year  on reduced electricity, chemical and labor costs. As well, an RO membrane cleaning service was implemented, reducing ion exchange polishing costs, by 25%. 

In addition to regular maintenance and process evaluation, another tool to ensure long-term efficient system operation is proper training of plant personnel.  One of the most important aspects of proper operation and maintenance of the water treatment systems is control of the units by responsible plant personnel. Keeping this in mind, technology providers, such as Siemens Water Technologies, put a great deal of emphasis on training programs for plant personnel as well as plant management. Training seminars are recommended at a minimum of once per year to ensure existing operators still have a full and current understanding of the system and processes.

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Local Support Network

At Siemens, we combine expert technical and operations knowledge with the largest network of field service technicians who are dispatched from 93 branch facilities in North America. Our field support includes trained service personnel with experience in maintaining and operating our own systems as well as equipment provided by other companies. Our technicians provide prompt, courteous service to help customers manage their water treatment system with minimum downtime and maximum use of direct labor and operating budgets.

In fact, we are strategically located to provide support services to >85% of the North America population in less than a 2 hour drive from one of our facilities.  Siemens currently provides field support to over 85,000 customer locations in the US and Canada.

Training and Certification

Siemens maintains a formal training and certification program for all field service technicians The training consists of classroom, on-the-job training and comprehensive testing for each class of technician.  Our technicians are trained in system and maintenance procedures for industrial, municipal and institutional applications. They understand the unique differences and operating challenges associated with each of these applications.  Our training and certification program ensures that the technician arriving on-site is qualified and proficient in servicing the systems at our customer’s site.

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