OnSite Central, specialists in managing and maintaining drainage assets, believes that companies shouldn’t delay improvements to their underground wastewater infrastructure – and that there are plenty of affordable and readily available solutions on the market.
Dr Steve Ovington of OnSite Central commented: “It can prove expensive if drainage assets are taken for granted and owners are now expected to have these assets mapped, condition assessed and rehabilitated where necessary. As part of a Planned Preventative Maintenance programme it is also possible to introduce a real-time OS 8000 flow monitoring system into the drainage network”.
The OS 8000 system helps Maintenance Managers handle their assets in 4 stages so that important decisions can be made much, much quicker.
• Measure: The OS8000 meter transmits data wirelessly at regular intervals to a secure web based platform which can be combined with comprehensive rainfall information.
• Monitor: The web-based data management platform receives and analyses all data captured remotely.
• Predict: Built-in smart technology analyses historic data and predicts future asset behaviour under varying system conditions.
• Alert: System generates automated user warnings (sent directly to their mobile phones and/or email addresses) as events develop, allowing timely intervention and implementation of preventative measures.
Ovington says that in worst case scenarios, companies do get fined, and this appears to be on the increase as laws to protect the environment become more stringent.
He added: “Fines are one thing, but there’s also the hassle - and the downtime, which may actually cost far more in financial terms. And there’s the adverse publicity too, this alone can wipe out years of hard work and goodwill invested in establishing brands and building lucrative, long-term business relationships”.
Ovington sympathises with the vast majority of those companies now facing the wrath of the authorities, when unknowingly, ageing drainage networks have been subject to deterioration and damage caused by ground movement, disturbance from excavation, and root ingress.
He continued: “It’s best to get some sound advice because regulators are now insisting that as a minimum, owners should know what condition their wastewater system is in and how it is performing. These days, ignoring or neglecting your drainage assets is just not worth the risk”.
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