The Simocode, An innovative solution to pump blockages

The Problem

There are approximately 34,000 blockages in pipes per year which need clearing, costing Anglian Water approximately £15m. Each blockage costs approximately £500 to clear and a substantial part of the cost covers the engineer’s time.

Anglian Water are very proactive in trying to reduce blockages through education projects such as the Keep It Clear campaign, which communicate across local communities to teach people what materials can and can’t be poured down a drain or flushed. However, blockages still continued to be a problem.

The Solution

With this in mind the Water Innovation Network (WIN) introduced Siemens Simocode to Anglian Water, an innovative, cost effective solution to pump blockages. This solution has a reactive and proactive approach to agitate the particles free and has brought energy savings and has decreased blockages by an impressive 70%.

The Simocode can also be monitored by the engineer off site, as it can be connected using a secure internet connection, which now means that engineers are no longer required to visit these locations, saving time and money. The engineers can now focus their time on what they are trained to do which is to enhance the processes of water recycling centres and pumping stations to prevent any future issues from occurring.

“We are very excited by this product and partnership which is a very reactive and proactive approach. We worked with WIN and Anglian Water and were guided by them to ensure the product was fit for purpose and took in extra considerations such as energy savings. It is not very often that such a complicated problem can be solved with such a simple product as Simocode.” Dave Holcroft – Business Development Manager, Siemens

Watch the full case study here 

Do you have an innovative solution or product that could be introduced into Anglian Water’s supply chain? Contact us today.