Degrémont – Operator know-how, builder expertise, leveraging IT tools
Degrémont, the world water treatment specialist
A subsidiary of the SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT group, Degrémont (www.degremont.com.cn) has been the world water treatment specialist for more than 70 years. Operating in more than 70 countries with over 5,000 employees, Degrémont generated revenues of €1,110 million in 2013.
The Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Support Division represents one third of Degrémont’s employee, namely 1,800 people, specialists in large high-tech facilities, present in 20 countries. 19 million people are serviced by a drinking water production plant operated by Degrémont and 21 million people-equivalent are serviced by a wastewater treatment plant operated by the company.
The main challenges faced by water treatment facility operators are: guaranteeing continued water production or water treatment, controlling operating costs and preserving assets. On a daily basis, these challenges translate into rigorous planning and a multitude of interventions to manage the facility.
In order to better serve its industrial clients in China with maintenance services, Degrémont has decided to team up with Siveco China, the country’s largest maintenance consultancy. Siveco brings over 10 years of experience in the Chinese market, with a customer base of over 800 sites in China, a team of maintenance specialists and the award-winning bluebee® solution for multisite maintenance management.
Maintenance improvement services for industrial water plants
The service proposition prepared by Degrémont provides a broad range of solutions to allow operators to choose adapted and cost-efficient solutions. Siveco’s maintenance specialists work as part of the Degrémont team, while Siveco also provides the central maintenance management platform bluebee® cloud that Degrémont uses to manage O&M contracts. The joint approach usually consists of three main phases:
1. Initial maintenance assessment
A joint Degremont and Siveco team goes on site for an assessment of current facilities condition and maintenance status: inventory of key equipment and its condition, review of existing maintenance plans, records and documentation, interview with key personnel. This third-party assessment, based on European maintenance standards, provides clients with practical recommendations in the form of prioritized action list. Collected data and findings are uploaded into central bluebee® database, accessible by all parties.
2. Review and update of maintenance plans
Degremont and Siveco recommends immediate corrective and improvement actions, based on onsite condition, as well as a professionally-reviewed inspection and preventive maintenance plans, based on equipment suppliers recommendations, industrial best practices and maintenance history at site. Plans include spare parts and consumable requirements. All actions are available in the easy-to-use bluebee® cloud database (export to Excel and pdf available) and immediately usable to obtain quotes from service suppliers. QR-coded tags for equipment and inspection points can also be printed directly from the system.
3. Implementation and follows-up
With a focus on ensuring that planned actions are actually being implemented, Degremont and Siveco train the maintenance team (in-house or contractor) in new maintenance plan and usage bluebee® mobile (Android app), a foolproof mobile recording system based on scanning QR codes on equipment and inspection points. Monthly remote reviews are performed based on system reports, as well as additional onsite coaching every 3 months, and a yearly performance assessment. The combination of coaching and recording system ensures that recommendations are actually implemented.
bluebee®, the supporting tool
The bluebee® suite supports the entire process: Degremont and Siveco engineers are equipped with the bluebee® surveyor app for the initial audit. All data is then uploaded into bluebee® cloud, accessible with secure login by all authorized parties. Maintenance supervisor (customer’s in-house team or appointed contractor) use the bluebee® technician app for daily recordings.
The award-winning bluebee® system is designed to be easy-of-use, facilitating daily work. It automatically produces maintenance reports based on European standards.
Benefits: Leveraging process and maintenance expertise with IT tools
According to Herve Lienhardt, Asia Services & Equipment Solutions Director at Degremont:
“Our partnership with Siveco ensures for our customer one single interface for a dual expertise: process & maintenance. Thanks to our advanced IT tools, we leverage both expertise and ensure monitoring of the activity, to guarantee the quality and reliability of your installation.”
