18 From the Top First service
Ian Carroll, Fujitsu sales and marketing director on the impor- tance of maintenance.
AS FAR AS end users are concerned, service and maintenance is the least exciting and desirable part of having an air conditioning system. Unless they are very large companies, with dedicated facilities management companies or departments, they tend to look on service and maintenance in the same way most of us look on a visit to the dentist; a necessary evil that can always be put off for a few weeks if inconvenient.
The problem is that, if maintenance keeps being put off for a few weeks, over the life of an air conditioning system, many fewer visits will be made. While this does not necessarily mean loss of income for contractors that have concluded maintenance contracts with their customers, it can mean more work needs doing at each visit, requiring more time.
It can also mean loss of performance over time and a reduction in end user satisfaction.
The key players in this are obviously contractors who, I suggest, would benefit from educating their customers about the value of regular maintenance; something that as to be a continuing process, not just a chat at the hand- over.
Obviously, the shorter a maintenance visit can be, the more can be done in a day and the more profitable they become. Experience from contractor phone calls to our technical department shows that there are a number of very simple steps that contractors can take to make service and maintenance calls go much more smoothly.
The first step is at the planning and design stage. I realise that there is not always a choice of where to install equipment, particularly outdoor units, but where there is, it makes sense to position them somewhere that they can
ACR News May 2015
be accessed easily. Very often, a lot of thought goes into getting the installation right, but being able to work on the equipment later gets overlooked. We have even had cases of ducted equipment installed above plastered ceilings with no access panels.
Other very simple steps include hanging on to the installation instructions for later reference, have the correct model numbers for equipment you will be working on, in case you need to ring up for support and ensure the engineer has a fully functioning multi-meter with him – that last one was a special request from our technical team, so don’t blame me.
Fault finding knowledge of today’s increasingly complex systems is a fundamental requirement for any engineer, which is why manufacturer specific product training and documentation is so essential. It is also very worthwhile downloading one of the available fault finding apps, such as our Mobile Technician. The main point of all this is that not enough thought is going into service and maintenance, an activity that could, with a little more preparation, become far more streamlined and provide fewer headaches for end-users, engineers and manufacturers’ technical support teams. As far as manufacturers are concerned, we will continue to provide the best up-to- date product training, but, as always, the real onus is on the engineer once again.
■ Agree, disagree? Let us know by emailing
fromthetop@datateam.co.uk
News A royal 60 year celebration
AS A PART of its 60 year celebrations BSRIA were visited by HRH The Duke of York on 13 April. The Duke visited BSRIA’s Bracknell Headquarters where he met with senior staff before touring the BSRIA test laboratories and meeting the test engineers.
During his visit The Duke was shown the full extent of the geographical coverage of BSRIA’s Worldwide Market Intelligence division which has researched over 94 countries, and was given an overview of the consultancy and research work BSRIA undertake and how this has delivered improvement in the Built Environment. His Royal Highness then moved onto the BSRIA Library, which by holding over 80,000 entries is considered to be one of the largest dedicated Building Services libraries in Europe. A demonstration of a ‘fan rover’ undertaking an airtightness test ran alongside an explanation of the history
and development of this method of checking building envelope integrity and the role BSRIA played.
His Royal Highness then toured the BSRIA product test labs where he saw a wide range of equipment being tested and discussed the role that BSRIA play in improving product efficiency by not only testing products but by being involved in the development of Test Standards.
The Duke’s visit concluded by meeting a group of staff, all of whom have worked for BSRIA for over 25 year’s. “BSRIA is delighted that His Royal Highness visited BSRIA to help us celebrate our Diamond Anniversary, it was a fitting tribute to the work that BSRIA has undertaken in the last 60 years, and while we are rightly proud of our heritage, much of the visit was used to discuss the current and future issues that face the industry and the role BSRIA will play in the next 60 years,” said Julia Evans BSRIA’s chief executive.
New software from Bitzer
WITH A RELEVANT update to the Bitzer software, users can now establish for themselves if the new refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP) can be used for their existing or planned refrigeration systems and what effect they will have on the performance data of the compressors.
In addition to the Ecoline series, the semi-hermetic screw compressors of the HSK/HSN series with R448A (N-40) and R449A (XP40) can also be designed in the software.
With this update, Bitzer is improving the customer service and user-friendliness of its software.
The main features of the new program include the rapid calculation of performance data and a virtually displayed refrigeration system where users can modify various components as they wish.
Users can also set individual parameters by means of input fields and thus easily evaluate the desired operating conditions. The individual Bitzer compressors can also be selected and displayed within the system with their respective performance data. This provides users with important technical information, calculation results and individually defined performance tables for the compressors, which they can then print out or save in PDF format. The new software can be accessed via the Bitzer website or is available for download.
Visit ACR News online at
www.acr-news.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48