Eaton-Williams - EWS urges action now to avoid summer plant
failures
Last summer’s high temperatures wreaked havoc with
air conditioning systems that were not covered by a
maintenance contract. With a long hot summer predicted
this year, EWS has issued a wake-up call, warning
companies to take preventative action now to avoid a
repeat performance.
The likelihood of a system failure is far greater when
temperatures rise. Many air conditioning systems are
only designed to cope with temperatures up to 28ºC or
30ºC maximum, but when temperatures touch 32ºC or more,
systems struggle to deliver enough cooling either
because they fall short of the specifications in a bid
to cut costs or service and maintenance has been
neglected.
An added problem is the trend for open plan offices with
hi-tech equipment continually being introduced into the
workspace. Despite the advances of technology, heat is
still a by-product and adds to work place temperatures.
Yet, many companies are not aware of the additional heat
generated or that their air conditioning system may need
to be up-graded to cope with the increased demand and
wait until problems develop until making a call.
Last summer engineers across the industry were working
flat out. Companies that took a risk and did not have a
PPM contract suffered the consequences of higher call
rates and in some cases catastrophic failures as
customers with contracts took priority. This was
compounded by longer waiting times, sometimes weeks
before an engineer became available.
By investing in a robust planned preventative
maintenance programme customers can minimise the
likelihood of failures as our engineers can flag up
design, installation and other potential problems early
on and rectify them before they become a major problem
in the summer months. Engineers and support teams can
also advise and help customers engineer a solution.
The F-Gas regulations coming into force on July 4th
affects operators (owners) or installers of ACR
equipment that is charged with 3Kg or more of HFC
refrigerant (or 6Kg if hermetically sealed ) and
requires them to ensure periodical checks to identify
leak. Verifying containment is part of our routine
maintenance,” says John Wright EWS’ General Manager.
“This new regulation is not widely acknowledged and EWS
is doing everything it can to alert customers to this
much needed change in legislation. This will also bring
pressure to bear in the coming months as the work-load
for service and maintenance companies increases.”
With the additional work that will be generated by
companies wanting systems leak tested the waiting time
for an engineer this summer will be even longer.
Alan Robinson EWS’ Regional Business Development Manager
argues that maintenance should not be viewed as a
seasonal activity. “The trend for boilers to be
maintained in the autumn or later and air conditioning
systems when temperatures start to increase is
illogical.”
“It doesn’t matter when a car is serviced as long as it
is done at the appropriate intervals, the same applies
to HEVAC plant,” says Alan and adds “Investing in a PPM
programmes ensures that your plant is well looked after
all year round. Relying on a reactive strategy is a
short term fix and likely to prove costly in the long
term.”
Despite the warnings, some companies will continue to
give maintenance a low priority or take a chance. With
2007 expected to be another record year, those without
adequate levels of maintenance are likely to experience
another summer of misery.
Email:
peter.dewdney@eaton-williams.com
Arundel Jones Associates Ltd
Hill Farm, Linton Hill, Maidstone, Kent ME17 4AL
Tel : 01622 745333
news@buildingdesign.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales No. 07334149
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