FEATURE ENERGY MANAGEMENT WEED KILLER
Ageing equipment at a Lincolnshire pumping station was beginning to pose increased maintenance costs as well as potential health and safety concerns for the operators. The solution required the installation of a new, reliable system from ECS Engineering Services that would reduce the overall operating costs and improve safety
M
aintaining the land drainage scheme in Lincolnshire is an important task
for the Environment Agency (EA) and the pumping stations used to control water levels are protected by weedscreens to prevent damage to the pumps. The equipment at the Dirtness station had been in service for over 60 years. Originally housing a beam engine produced by James Watt, the station has been performing crucial water level control operations for nearly 150 years. The original steam equipment was replaced in 1928 with the current equipment being installed in 1952, which included a rotary screen designed to remove the debris from the water and deposit it on the bridge over the watercourse. The design of the old rotary screen
required a small tractor to regularly remove the resultant debris from the bridge. However, as the tractor equipment has grown in size so the mechanised method had become impossible, so the more recent method had involved reverting back to the trusted wheelbarrow. In addition, when the temperatures dropped in winter ice would build up on the screen and reduce water flow through the station. This required regular intervention by the maintenance staff to break up the ice to ensure the pumping station operated efficiently. The EA brought in ECS Engineering
Services, with whom it has an ongoing working relationship, to deliver an improved, more reliable solution which would reduce maintenance costs and provide an automated weedscreen solution. ECS suggested the installation of a Landustrie automatic screen cleaner which could provide for all the immediate requirements of the EA and would be covered by an initial warranty and continued maintenance support.
TIME FOR AN UPGRADE ECS delivered a turn-key solution which included the removal of the obsolete equipment, additional civil engineering to prepare the site, complete mechanical and electrical installation as well as testing and commissioning. All of this had to be completed in the most discrete and
10 MAY 2014 | AUTOMATION
moving from its parked position to a point above the weedscreen where it is lowered onto the screen to a point below the surface of the water. The grab is then closed hydraulically and raised out of the water before traversing along the gantry to a point above the skip, where the weed is deposited. This procedure is repeated until the full width of the screen is cleared.
sympathetic manner so as to follow the guidelines for the Grade II listed building. Having removed the original
weedscreen, ECS needed to use divers to modify the bottom of the watercourse to provide a flat base for the new screen. Additional civil engineering works were required to prepare the concrete bases for the overhead gantry and to install underground ducts for the electrical cabling. Once this work had been completed the task of erecting the steelwork could begin and would only take three days to complete. Electrical work to provide power,
ultrasonic level control and telemetry was completed and connected to the central control panel. Testing and commissioning was completed along with operator training to ensure reliable operation. The project was completed with the installation of additional hand railing and perimeter fencing to secure the site. The completed project has provided the
EA with a much improved weed screen with an automated cleaning system which greatly improves reliability and reduces maintenance costs. The new system performs a cleaning cycle each time it is triggered, which can be when the pumps operate, on a timer or based on a water level differential measured by the ultrasonic sensors. It can also be operated manually using a plug-in handheld console. This choice of operation makes the cleaning system very adaptable and suitable for a variety of applications. The cleaning cycle involves the grab
Above: the pumping station at Dirtness is a Grade II listed building which has been performing crucial water level control operations for nearly 150 years
KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE The system is built to provide reliable operation, with a minimum of components to simplify the maintenance requirements and as such does not rely on proximity sensors for the control of the carriage and hoist. Instead, it uses counters which are programmed via the control panel and provide a more accurate and reliable system of operation. The installation is connected to the local telemetry system to provide feedback on
Above: ECS Engineering Services delivered a more reliable solution which would reduce maintenance costs
Inset: the system is built to provide reliable operation, with a minimum of
components to simplify the maintenance requirements
To view a video on the pumping station project, visit
connectingindustry.com/ dirtness
the current operation status as well as a requirement for operator intervention. The cleaning system can also be operated by hand with the pushbutton pendant which is plugged into the system at a point close to the screen to allow the operator a clear and safe view of the operation. Once installed and tested, training has
been provided to the EA staff who are working on this and other sites in the area to ensure familiarity and an understanding of its operation. The completed solution has greatly improved the reliability of the site as well as removing the manual handling requirement and its reliance on regular operator intervention.
ECS Engineering Services
www.ecsengineeringservices.com T: 01773 860 001
Enter 201 /AUTOMATION
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