Case Study: Selwood Housing

Operations & Management

Project

Selwood Housing has a total of 40 sewage treatments assets to cover a proportion of their housing stock which is not directly connected to the sewerage network. These homes require treatment of sewage at treatment plants or sewage to be pumped to local sewerage networks by pump stations owned by Selwood Housing.

When the company decided to outsource the operation, planned preventative maintenance and reactive maintenance of their sewage treatment and pumping assets, they were looking for an expert, professional subcontractor with the standing and resources to deliver consistent and reliable operation of their assets.

Alpheustendered for and won the contract to provide planned preventative maintenance and emergency call out services to Selwood Housing’s sewage treatment assets in 2006. The services also included ensuring compliance with discharge consents and assisting the client in liaising with the Environment Agency.

Implementation

Alpheus undertook a detailed review, in conjunction with Selwood Housing, of all sewage treatment assets covered by the contract to gain a full understanding of the assets and the challenges faced and to identify any remedial work and upgrades needed.

The contract was based on a planned preventative maintenance approach with visit frequencies tailored to and developed on a risk basis to suit particular assets. On some sitesAlpheuswas able to reconfigure some redundant assets to provide additional treatment without resorting to significant capital expenditure. The telemetry approach was also adopted on a number of the high-risk sites to ensure that in the event of any failure, issues were identified and rectified promptly. This approach allowed risk to be reduced within the contract sum. Emergency call outs were handled throughAlpheus’ 24/7 in house service desk ensuring all call outs were handled in a timely and efficient manner.

Outcomes

Since the detailed review and subsequent implementation of the planned preventative maintenance and emergency call out service, the Selwood Housing sewage treatment assets have achieved a much improved and stabilised plant performance. Through more focused spend and a risk based approach, Alpheus has been able to deliver better value for money, environmental compliance and a stronger relationship with the Environment Agency for their client.

To date Alpheus operates and maintains 40 sewage treatment plants and pump stations on behalf of Selwood Housing.

Selwood Housing has commented: “We have found Alpheus to be diligent in undertaking their responsibilities, maintaining mechanical, electrical and process operation of our assets to ensure environmental compliance. When challenges are faced we have found thatAlpheusaddress these in a positive and proactive manner.”