An enhanced cleaning solution for major research facility
The client’s needs and solution
The client – a major industrial chemical research facility – was having issues with its existing laboratory washer. Due to the use of harsh substances, the washer chambers were being coated with leftover residue, turning black and ultimately becoming unusable. Research members from the facility were invited to Miele Professional’s Abingdon test wash centre to wash the contaminated drums.
The client then opted to trial the highest specification of the PLW8617 washer to replace its existing one. With a focus on sustainability, the PLW8617 includes a recycling tank that can recycle water from the final rinse to use in the next wash – saving 30L of water – or as a preheated tank to speed up cycles for the following loads. Miele Professional’s technicians designed a unique cycle programme to be used in the PLW8617 using different chemicals to target the contaminants and prevent the build-up of residue that had occurred before.
Due to an existing relationship with Veolia Water Technologies, the facility’s team also approached the water treatment specialist to help develop a centralised purified water system to feed the specialist washer units. The requirements included purifying, storing and distributing approximately 1.5m3 litres of purified water per day at a 14 L/min peak flow rate per washer, with the ability to run up to three Miele PLW8617 washers simultaneously. The system also needed to comprise at least two water treatment units, to ensure that a 50% redundancy could be achieved and allow glassware washing to continue even if one unit is down for maintenance.
The choice of water treatment solution also needed to consider the logistical challenges of the site, including the limited space available for a water treatment plant. The solution needed to be installed in an area of just 5m2, while the pipework would be routed around existing assets. Furthermore, owing to the high-priority nature of the work carried out by the laboratory, the conjoined project had to be managed within a tight one-week window of opportunity (from installation and commissioning to end-user training).
Results
Miele Professional and Veolia Water Technologies worked together to successfully install the upgraded solution,
overcoming challenges including the limited space available for the two CENTRA™ units and a very short timeframe.
"Miele Professional love a challenge. This project brought the best out of the team. We managed to remove a difficult contamination with a custom program in the large chamber machine at the test wash centre, deliver a more sustainable product with regards to water usage and as always give a great customer experience during installation working alongside
Veolia."
Nadine Bellamy Thomas, National Account Manager for Lab and Medical at Miele Professional
We were delighted to be able to help our client to improve the performance of its facilities in conjunction with the team at Miele Professional. This project is an excellent example of how the CENTRA™ units can be deployed to achieve a robust and reliable centralised purified water supply in a simple and effective way.
