KEEP OUT OF HOT WATER – STOCK UP ON COLD
Water is the stuff of life, and in the world of
aerospace manufacturing it is a critical component for keeping
things running. Without it, both man and machine would soon grind
to a halt.
So what do you do when the aerospace plant you run is more
likely than not to be faced with a major water outage at least once
a year? How do you counter a stoppage bill that is calculated to
cost at least £300,000 a time?
This is the problem that faced Lee Nicholson and the team from
Investment and Infrastructure Services at the BAE Systems
manufacturing facility at Samlesbury in Lancashire. And it is a
problem that, if conventional solutions were used, would cost at
least £5million to solve.
By adopting an alternative solution, the team will save the
company £4.5million in costs and guarantee on-site water supplies
for the manufacturing processes to used make components for some of
the world's most advanced aircraft, and for the 4,000 plus people
who work on the site.
Lee explained: 'The location and geography of our site, means
that, even with the best efforts of our water provider, United
Utilities, we are likely to face a major water outage at least once
a year. We all know what it's like when you lose your supply of
water at home - it can make life both difficult and unpleasant -
but when it happens on a 350 acre site like ours it is little short
of a disaster. We wanted to make sure that couldn't happen - but we
wanted to avoid paying the estimated £5million it would have cost
to put a second mains supply pipe in - and the risk that even that
too could fail.'
Instead, the team came up with an ingenious system of cold water
storage tanks and booster pumps that guarantee at least 12 hours of
supply - even if the external mains is cut off. More ingenious
still is a novel 'level control' system in the tanks that ensures
the water is regularly 'turned over' to avoid any risk of
stagnation and keep it fit for drinking.
The cost of this solution? Not the £5million bill that the
company could have been facing - but £500,000 - just a tenth of the
original estimate for a conventional cure.
'The new system has been in place since February,' said Lee,
'and already it has kept the facility running during a supply
outage. Business continuity is everything to us, it means we can
honour our contractual obligations, keep the machines running, and
satisfy the thirst of anyone on site.'
This is the first installation of its kind to serve an entire
BAE Systems site anywhere in the UK. It is also a system that has
so impressed United Utilities that it is being recommended to other
North West businesses with similar critical supply issues. Within
BAE Systems the novel solution to a tricky problem has also secured
the team some significant recognition.
Caption:
Left to Right is: Jim West - FM Services Manager; Dave Jackson -
Senior FM Engineer; Len Sharrock - EMCOR Estates Maintenance; Lee
Nicholson - Construction Manager
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