Spotlight Environmental Analysis & Water Testing MIS Online Portal Cuts Time and Costs for Sanctus


ALcontrol Laboratories has recently been helping Sanctus, the leading provider of brownfield site testing and contracting services, to obtain accurate test results faster, using the new @MIS web portal. With online scheduling and direct, real time access to individual test results, Sanctus has increased the speed and reliability of its processes, saving up to a day per sample, while exceeding its customers’ expectations and minimising costs.


Sanctus has been working with ALcontrol for a number of years, relying on its cutting edge soil and water testing facilities to provide the company with accurate data as quickly as possible. Recently, ALcontrol and Sanctus began to discuss how things could be improved still further. Alexa Gray, Environmental Chemist at Sanctus, explained: “We started thinking about how we could communicate more efficiently, to allow us to obtain test results more quickly, reduce


the risk of human error, and cut our costs. ALcontrol suggested we trial their new @MIS online portal, so we set about integrating it into our procedures.”


ALcontrol developed its @MIS online schedule and reporting service specifically to address the requirements of clients like Sanctus. During its research, ALcontrol found that its clients spent a considerable amount of time firstly completing and submitting Chain of Custody documentation and secondly calling the laboratory for the status of tests. Additionally, the manual nature of these processes introduced the risk of human error at numerous stages and took up valuable resources.


To address these issues, ALcontrol created a method for its clients to enter Chain of Custody information directly into the system and access results from each part of the testing process as soon as they were completed. Additionally, users would be able to produce detailed final reports and hold them in an easily accessible archive for increased traceability and analysis.


Circle no. 572 The Ultimate Star in Service Delivery


In the current economic downturn it is vital to control costs, and water treatment is a key area. Minimising operating costs often means a new water treatment plant but, with limited capital available for investment this might pose a problem. Elga Process Water’s new AQUAservice Star package solves this. AQUAservice Star is a five-year agreement, covering rental of a new water treatment system including consumables, spares, pre-planned maintenance and


guaranteed onsite 24/7 support. With no initial investment this flexible package gives you full control of your budget.


Whether users currently own a water treatment plant from ELGA Process Water or another supplier – there is a range of AQUAservice and maintenance agreements available that will help businesses maximise their capacity and availability, whilst meeting water quality and quantity requirements and optimising operating costs.


AQUAservice Protect provides regular planned preventative maintenance to keep the water system running efficiently and extend equipment life. AQUAservice Secure adds a guaranteed 24-hour breakdown response time to help maximise system availability, while AQUAservice Total provides a guaranteed 8-hour response for highly sensitive and critical applications.


Managing Director, Martyn Fisher, explained: “Following feedback from customers, we have streamlined our service offerings to provide clearer choice, flexibility and added value to enable our customers to adapt to today’s challenging environment.”


Circle no. 573 Cost-Efficient Metals Analysis


Cogent Environmental has developed a new test cell, the 'SV Labcell', for use with company's market leading portable metals analyser, the PDV 6000plus.


The SV Labcell provides lower levels of detection and greater flexibility in analytical methodology, effectively turning the PDV 6000plus into a precise analytical laboratory instrument.


The PDV 6000plus is a portable metals analyser that provides fast, cost- effective analysis of solid or liquid samples for a range of metals including Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Mercury, Chromium and Nickel. The SV Labcell adds molybdenum, uranium and other metals to this list and permits the use of bismuth film techniques removing the need for mercury film electrodes.


Many hundreds of these instruments are in use worldwide because


operators have a need to be able to produce fast results without having to incur the cost and time delays of laboratory analysis. However, laboratory analysis is often required when lower levels of detection are required, for regulatory purposes, in research or in circumstances, which demand a broader range of measurands.


Traditional laboratory equipment for the analysis of metals, such as ICP or GFAA, can be expensive to purchase and operate, requiring a high level of expertise. In contrast, the PDV 6000plus with an SV Labcell is relatively low cost, simple to operate and capable of producing high quality data.


Explaining the appeal of the new system, Cogent's Martin Butterfield, said: "The development of the SV Labcell will enable our customers to produce data with much greater precision and resolution easily meeting the requirements of the majority of practical applications and turning the PDV6000plus into a powerful research tool - all at a much lower cost."


Circle no. 574 Waste Water Pumps


Whisky distiller Chivas Brothers Ltd has selected Verder’s Dura 10 pumps for its waste water treatment plant at its Glenallachie Distillery in Scotland.


Craig Bolling, Verder’s Regional Sales Engineer for Scotland, explained: “Verder’s innovative Dura pump offers Chivas Brothers a state of the art peristaltic pump with excellent reliability and an extended hose life. This enables the company to place the Dura 10 at the heart of its processes. With its excellent knowledge of the industry, Verder can offer customers in this sector the best solution for low maintenance and less down time. Ideally suited to a Lime dosing application – an application other conventional dosing pumps are unable to handle – the Dura pump range has a proven track record that allowed Chivas Brothers to place the order with confidence.”


Ewan Fraser, Engineering Manager for Chivas Brothers, explained why the company opted for Verder: “We opted for Verder’s Dura pump because it offered us a low maintenance solution. We want to install reliable equipment and to do this we want to work with the best suppliers that understand what we do and provide us with the best solution for our needs.”


Circle no. 576


Hach Lange is helping a number of customers to save considerable time and costs with its new IL550 TOC-TN analyser. TOC analysis is vitally important in applications ranging from power generation, wastewater, drinking water, surface water and ultrapure water, to agricultural soils, contaminated land and food.


The IL550 can also be used for the determination of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) as well as total organic carbon (TOC) in sewage, river, landfill leachates, effluents and groundwater samples. As a result of this versatility, it has proved to be an important addition for Hach Lange customers including the Environment Agency’s National Laboratory Services (NLS), South West Water and laboratory testing services company Chemtest.


Hach Lange's Matthew Dillon, said: "The key feature of the IL550 is its ability to provide highly accurate results for a wide range of sample types."


Circle no. 575


New TOC Analyser Improves Lab Efficiency


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