Spiking Equipment Reliability

Because of the very high cost of HWC tests, ESS has designed its entire operation on the principle that ESS’ spiking services must not be the cause of test delays. We believe that implementation of this principle includes:

1. Selection of the most reliable and versatile equipment available,
2. Implementing a meticulous routine & preventative maintenance program,
3. Supplying 100 % equipment redundancy ¹ at the test site, and
4. Training and equipping our Technicians with all of the specialized tools and spare parts needed to service malfunctioning equipment on-site, should that ever be necessary

Toward that end, we have continually upgraded our equipment and operating & maintenance procedures:

1. We have achieved ISO 9001:2000 Certification and are now persuing ISO 17025.
2. We have continued and extended our long-term practice of providing 100 % equipment redundancy during the test at no charge to our clients;
3. We have recently completed implementation of Spike Manager © our proprietary computer based data acquisition and control system;
4. We have doubled our pump inventory in the last two years while retiring any equipment which did not meet our long term performance, reliability, flexibility, and automation goals;
5. We have added mass flow meters to our equipment fleet,
6. We have implemented equipment upgrades to achieve NEC Class 1, Division 1, Group D explosion proof or intrinsically safe ratings on our field equipment;
7. We have developed spare parts & specialized tool inventories, and provided the specialized training needed for replacing “wear” parts &/or easily damaged parts in the field;
8. We have weather-proofed or otherwise “hardened” our field to minimize damage during Mobilization/Demobilization or severe weather conditions should they occur during a test;
9. We have developed and implemented a “standardized” pump skid P & I Design to enhance operation and standardize operating and maintenance procedures; and
10. We have utilized our extended equipment inventory to dedicate equipment to specialized service such as to liquid or dispersion only service, and in other ways to improve operability.

The following two tables provide a summary of ESS’ extensive spiking equipment and weight standard inventories.

1. ESS provides (at no charger) one spare pump & one spare scale for every type/size pump & scale to be used during every test.