10 Water Treatment Tips

Tip 1 
Check out accreditations
For a water treatment company in the UK, the LCA certificate is the one thing you want to be receiving in the post come the end of August. And it's not easy to get! Coming from the person who had to apply for the re-registration (for the first and last time) this year, it's stressful. After the hard work involved in putting everything together, there were the weeks of panic between sending out the re-registration documents and receiving the certificate. And finally, after all the fingernails had disappeared from my hands and sleep had become a distant memory... the dreaded certificate had arrived and it was a "Stage 2 - Temporary Certificate" that only lasted until October 2009... Time to start all over again.
What I'm basically trying to say is that it takes a lot of work to get accreditations. The accrediting company needs evidence that you're doing what you say you are, and each member will get audited - generally every few years (so you really can't make it all up!)

Tip 2 
Test their technical knowledge!
The fact that the company you'll be paying needs to know their stuff might seem like an obvious point to make, but how often do you just trust that your suppliers know what they're doing without testing them on it? I would strongly suggest quizzing your water treatment supplier on their knowledge - legionella control is the law and you need to know you're getting the best.
Obviously the way you test them depends on the extent of your own knowledge. You can't ask them a question you don't understand yourself! Doing a bit of internet research and relating it back to your equipment or a problem on your site should be sufficient.

Tip 3 
Money isn't everything
We all know that working to a budget is standard when working for any company and it's no different at B & V. However, it's almost always true that the cheapest price is never the best.
Water treatment is a legal requirement. If you have a Legionella outbreak on your site you will be responsible for any repercussions. It's one of those sad facts of life. So why pay the minimum possible to keep yourself, and everyone else, safe? With budget prices comes budget service and that's something you CAN'T afford.
The other point to make on this subject is one that applies to any service you are buying... hidden costs. This is how companies who charge what appears to be a 'too good to be true' rate make their money. Because, like the saying, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Tip 4 
Testimonials and references are everything!
It's not what companies say about themselves that matter, it's what other people say about them.
Ask a potential water treatment supplier for 2 or 3 testimonials or references. Contact all of these people - if they like the company enough to give a testimonial or agree to act as a referee they won't mind you calling them to check. Ask them questions and find out what water treatment was carried out on site. If the water treatment company really wants your business, they will provide you with contact details of sites where the work was similar to what it is will be on yours. Bingo - you've eliminated any made-up testimonials and got a good insight into how the company works and looks after their customers.

Tip 5 
Remember that it's your site!
Always remember that when you employ a water treatment company to work on your site, you are employing them to take care of your equipment. If they put the wrong corrosion inhibitor in, say, your cooling tower, YOU'RE the one who pays for a new one when it all goes wrong.
Because of this, there are two things you need to remember: 
1) It's your site and therefore your rules. Make sure you use a water treatment company who knows and respects this as they'll respect your equipment too. A good relationship means less mistakes. 
2) This point follows on from the last. It IS your site - if you're unsure about anything at any point, ask. If you don't feel like they're doing the best for your site, or making mistakes, use someone else.
Too many people have the "too much effort" attitude when it comes to changing supplier. But, if you even have the slightest doubt that your current supplier isn't doing the job properly, you're throwing your money away. After all, you wouldn't have a member of staff putting in half the required amount of effort, or not telling you exactly what they're doing and why when you ask.

Tip 6 
If you're a 'complicated customer'
No two sites are the same when it comes to treating water, but generally most sites have the standard cooling towers/boilers/closed systems situation. There are, however, those of you out there who need what we in the industry like to call 'specialist applications'.
Now I'm writing on the assumption that you know if you're a 'specialist application' site or not, but knowing that not all water treatment companies are as communicative as everyone would like, I'll explain briefly:
'Specialist application' refers to sites that have high pressure boilers, large cooling towers, reverse osmosis plants or something as equally 'complicated'.
The majority of water treatment companies simply do not have the in depth knowledge or specialist products required to cope with your needs. Make sure you find out exactly what your potential supplier intends to do and what treatment regime they will use. Then get a second opinion from another water treatment company.
References also come into play again here. Ask them for contact details of another site where they have treated the same equipment as they will be treating on yours. Always use a company with previous experience - it's not worth the risk to be a 'trial' site.

Tip 7 
Added value
A good water treatment company will always provide you with ways of saving money on site (another reason why the cheapest original quote isn't always the best). There are so many ways of cutting down costs that your water treatment supplier should inform you of.
Obviously every site is different so we couldn't tell you what would necessarily work for you, but some examples of ways of cutting costs are as follows:
1) Running your cooling tower or boiler at the optimum cycles of concentration (this will save you water AND chemical usage) OR 
2) Ensuring the boiler hotwell is running at the optimum temperature (which will minimize chemical usage).
It's as easy as that! Think about this when you're reading through a proposal from a water treatment company.

Tip 8 
Innovation
Any good company is constantly researching new ways of making things faster and easier. It's no different in the water treatment industry. There are lots of things out there that are making water treatment more automatic, while keeping sites complying with legislation.
It's worth asking a potential water treatment company whether they have any 'non-traditional' services available - even if you have no intention of using them. The reason being? Companies who are looking to last will always look ahead. You don't want to find out you're still using the traditional temperature check method while all your competitors are saving time and money using new and innovative ways!

Tip 9 
Think about risk assessments
If the water treatment risk assessment carried out on your site is wrong, all the water treatment carried out after this will be also. Well, for the next two years at least. And if the same company carry out the review? It'll be wrong for the two years after that as well.
Always ask to see an example risk assessment. Generally, the more detailed and organised the risk assessment the better. Good water treatment companies take a lot of time and effort over risk assessments as they realise their importance. And once it's done, compare it with a risk assessment done by another water treatment company. If you've picked well, the difference in quality should be immediately apparent

Tip 10 
Do your research!
It's more than okay to do a bit of digging on how your potential water treatment company runs their business. What's their complaint procedure? Even in the best or most successful companies mistakes happen, and complaints are lodged. So what do they do if something goes wrong for you?