Welcome to the latest edition of the Pirtek In the Pipeline Magazine where you will find customer testimonials, special offers, details on new centre openings and much more...
THE PIRTEK MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2018
INTHE PIPELINE M A G A Z I N E
INSIDE THIS ISSUE...
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ALL NEW AUTUMN SPECIALS VALID FROM 1 OCTOBER - 31 DECEMBER 2018
£ 239.55 € 272.42
£ 256.42 € 291.60
PIR-SWHR-30- 38MB222K H/REEL + 3/8” 2 WIRE JET/W M22 30MTR
PIR-NOZA-SS NOZZLE 60L/MIN 3/4”
£ 51.10 € 58.11
£ 71.30 € 81.08
PIR-2019-9337 1” BORE HOSE C/W TRIGGER & VALVE 3MTR
PIR-AB-HPPK LEVER HAND PUMP & ACCESSORIES ADBLUE
£ 64.82 € 73.71
PIR-KITBLANK-BSP 1/4”-11/2” PLUG AND CAP KITS BSPP £74.40 / €84.61 PIR-KITBLANK-JIC 7/16”-15/8” PLUG AND CAP KITS £89.90 / €102.23 PIR-KITBLANK-ORFS 9/16”-17/16” ORFS PLUG AND CAP KITS £89.90 / €102.23
PIR-SCREENWASH DE-ICER SCREENWASH DE-ICER
PIR-ADBLUE-10 ADBLUE 10 LITRES PIR-ADBLUE-20 ADBLUE 20 LITRES
£ 26.20 € 29.79
PIR-TRAFFIC FILM REMOVER TRAFFIC FILM REMOVER 20L
£ 9.15/ £ 15.50 € 10.40/ € 17.63
PIR-MEG ANTIFREEZE MEG ANTIFREEZE 20L £46.50/€52.88 PIR-LONG LIFE ANTIFREEZE LONG LIFE ANTIFREEZE 20L £55.80/€63.46
£ 10.80 € 12.28
PIR-LONG LIFE 50/50 MIX LONG LIFE 50/50 MIX 20L £29.14/€33.14
PIR-OSK-20-BP 20L OIL RESPONSE KIT
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M A G A Z I N E
This issue is focused on the investment by the Pirtek Network in providing excellence to our customers.
Leading the way
Pirtek’s dynamic franchises in Ireland are extending both their reach and their services to meet customer demand. Both the Belfast and Dublin centres have invested in more vans to allow greater coverage, increasing to seven and nine respectively. High pressure hose testing, as pioneered by Pirtek Galway, ensures quality and compliance to the highest standards, providing peace of mind in critical applications. Investment is key, with the Galway franchise upgrading its centre with a unique hose testing rig and the necessary safety measures to extend the range of testing available and add in-situ pressure testing with a new mobile rig.
Pirtek Cork has extended its services to steel hydraulic tube replacement, allowing a one-stop-shop for complex hydraulic plumbing in a range of industries, including shipping,
industrial plant and heavy goods vehicles. All this is made possible by Cork’s investment in a deceptively simple pipe bending machine. Rapid response is critical for customers in a maritime city. Shipping companies know they can call Pirtek 24 hours a day.
‘Rapid response is critical’
Colin May shares with us the latest stage of his development in the Pirtek family. Colin recently became a multi-franchisee by purchasing the Harlow franchise, adding to his Basildon centre. His new customers continue to benefit from the ongoing investment in the Pirtek network, providing fast, reliable service throughout the UK and Ireland. LustorSystem is a unique product that filters and stores oil, increasing component life and reducing unplanned maintenance. It was developed in Cambridge by Enluse BV with Pirtek’s help. Pirtek’s input made it CE compliant, meaning it can be sold across Europe, so putting it ahead of the competition.
As winter approaches, Pirtek technicians are investing their time preparing customers’ equipment after a long summer. A thorough Pirtek service means clients can be confident in their equipment and feel ready for any further extremes the weather can throw at us.
Chris Stuckey Managing Director c
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ABERDEEN Tel: 01224 225 588 ASHFORD Tel: 01233 502 090 BASILDON Tel: 01268 522 633 BELFAST Tel: 02890 369 522 BIRMINGHAM Tel: 0121 327 8678 BRADFORD Tel: 01274 739 300 BRISTOL Tel: 01179 820 056 BURTON UPON TRENT Tel: 01283 545 666 CAMBRIDGE Tel: 01223 835 222 CLEVELAND Tel: 01642 611 111 CORK Tel: 00353 21421 0990 COVENTRY Tel: 02476 633 797 CRAWLEY Tel: 01293 571 707 CUMBRIA Tel: 01768 210 055 DERBY Tel: 01332 205 000 DOCKLANDS Tel: 020 7474 8197 DONCASTER Tel: 01302 881 115 DUBLIN Tel: 00353 1456 4822 DUNDEE Tel: 01382 819 988 EDINBURGH Tel: 0131 554 1445 ELLESMERE PORT Tel: 0151 357 3574 GALWAY Tel: 00353 91 730 530 GLASGOW Tel: 0141 641 4422 GLOUCESTER Tel: 01452 881 861 GREENWICH Tel: 020 7237 8230 GUILDFORD Tel: 01483 454 546 HARLOW Tel: 01279 427 300 HULL Tel: 01482 217 222 IPSWICH Tel: 01473 688 288 ISLEWORTH Tel: 020 8847 5095 ISLE OF WIGHT Tel: 01983 528 000 KIDDERMINSTER Tel: 01562 753 770 KILMARNOCK Tel: 01563 521 166 KINGS CROSS Tel: 020 7700 1819 KINROSS Tel: 01577 865 855 LEEDS Tel: 0113 244 2700 LEICESTER Tel: 01162 547 745 LEYTON Tel: 020 8556 9500 LIMERICK Tel: 061 305569 LINCOLN Tel: 01522 697 698 LIVERPOOL Tel: 0151 933 9000 LUTON Tel: 01582 597 050 MANCHESTER EAST Tel: 0161 785 9100 MANCHESTER Tel: 0161 877 0000 MANSFIELD Tel: 01623 555 500 MEDWAY Tel: 01634 297 080 MILTON KEYNES Tel: 01908 565 500 MITCHAM Tel: 020 8640 6565 NEWPORT Tel: 01633 868 655 NORTHAMPTON Tel: 01604 499 644 NORWICH Tel: 01603 744 544 ERITH Tel: 01322 350 400 EXETER Tel: 01392 499 030 FALKIRK Tel: 01324 611 444
Inverness
Aberdeen
Dundee
Perth
Kinross
Falkirk
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Paisley
Kilmarnock
Tyne&Wear
Dumfries
Penrith
Cleveland
Belfast
York
Bradford
Leeds
Preston
Hull
Wakefield
Oldham
Manchester
Liverpool
Doncaster
Galway
Wigan
Lincoln
EllsemerePort
Sheffield
Dublin
Nottingham Mansfield
Stoke
Norwich
Derby
Leicester
Limerick
Shropshire
Burton-upon-Trent
Peterborough
Wolverhampton
Coventry
Birmingham
Waterford
Oldbury
Cambridge
Rugby
Northampton
Redditch
Cork
Worcester Kidderminster
Ipswich
MiltonKeynes
Luton
M25
Harlow
Gloucester
Slough/Heathrow Oxford
Basildon
Swansea
Newport
Cardiff
Watford
Reading
Medway
Swindon
Leyton
Thurrock
Westbury
Bristol
Guildford
Ashford
KingsCross
ParkRoyal
Crawley
Docklands
Erith
Portsmouth
Greenwich
Ferndown
Isleworth
Exeter
Southampton
Poole
Mitcham
Plymouth
IsleofWight
NOTTINGHAM Tel: 01159 850 081 OLDBURY Tel: 0121 552 3355 OXFORD Tel: 01865 711 323 PAISLEY Tel: 0141 849 0404 PARK ROYAL Tel: 020 8961 0333 PERTH Tel: 01738 635 555 PETERBOROUGH Tel: 01733 893 466 PLYMOUTH Tel: 01752 511 010 POOLE Tel: 01202 681 681 PORTSMOUTH Tel: 02392 382 221 PRESTON Tel: 01772 620 111 READING Tel: 01189 584 458 REDDITCH Tel: 01527 521 933 SHEFFIELD Tel: 01142 493 666 SHROPSHIRE Tel: 01952 200 678 SLOUGH Tel: 01753 550 077
SOUTHAMPTON Tel: 023 8033 7737 STOKE Tel: 01782 206 206 SWANSEA Tel: 01792 310 031 SWINDON Tel: 01793 512 500 THURROCK Tel: 01708 869 696 TYNE & WEAR Tel: 0191 487 9996 WAKEFIELD Tel: 01924 365 300 WATERFORD Tel: 00353 5137 4000 WATFORD Tel: 01923 256 733 WESTBURY Tel: 01373 822 073 WIGAN Tel: 01942 230 111 WOLVERHAMPTON Tel: 01902 862 000 WORCESTER Tel: 01905 757 111 YORK Tel: 01904 693 866
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Contents
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Luton News Update
The Ireland Issue Intro
Belfast Service Under Pressure
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Dublin Moving on Up
Galway Testing the Limits
Cork Marine Support
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Basildon Dynamic Deals, Soft Service
Cambridge A Clean Sweep
Pirtek Racing Photo Finish
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Luton – News Update
With the new football season well underway, Pirtek Luton’s name sits in pride of place to the top left of the goal at the Oak Road Stand of Luton FC’s Kenilworth Road stadium. Pirtek’s prominent support is obviously helping, with the club sitting in the top third of the table at time of writing. The whole Pirtek network wishes The Hatters well in their first spell in League One since the 2007-08 season.
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The Ireland Issue
Green light for growth on the Emerald Isle
Pirtek’s operations in Ireland are relatively recent in relation to those in the UK and the rest of the world. However, Pirtek Ireland is a high growth operation. With six centres and 32 vans at present, all of the franchises in Ireland are developing their operations, offering new services, recruiting staff or finding new customers.
Franchisees and centre managers across Ireland have ambitious plans, introducing innovative services such as Total Hose Management and working with high profile clients such as shipping company Arklow Shipping and even the Irish navy. Over two issues, we are covering all of the centres across Ireland, including the new depot at Dublin and, in line with
the trend in Pirtek Europe, the multi- franchise centres of Galway-Limerick and Waterford-Cork. Taking a road trip from the north down to the far south of the Republic, In the Pipeline shows off what Pirtek is capable of. With fast-moving centres in Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway, Pirtek, is going from strength to strength on the Emerald Isle.
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Pirtek Belfast is a centre that takes great pride in itself and the service it delivers. Though it has recently refitted its premises, the pristine paintwork and organised demeanour are nothing new or out of the ordinary. Providing a comfortable and efficient working environment for all staff is central to Pirtek Belfast’s ethos and its management firmly believes that this filters through to delivering excellent customer service. cleanliness and is meticulously laid out. “Both the franchisee David Adams and Centre Manager Alan Craig have excellent technical knowledge and they know the best way to lay out the store and the workshop,” says Cathy Doyle, Sales Manager at Pirtek Belfast. “Anyone who works here can pick stock quickly and easily.” The centre The centre is remarkable in its This is also true of the vans. “I could step in and find parts and fittings on any of the Belfast vans,” she says. “This means that when you’re on the job, time is not wasted searching for the correct hose or fittings as everything is where it should be. “This all helps with our promise of a fast response and first-time fix,” explains Cathy. “There’s no point getting there within the hour if you don’t have the fittings you need and our customers know that if we are taking pride in our work, they’re going to get a quality service.” Though the workshop has recently been refitted, its remarkable state of good order is no flash in the pan. “Visitors will always find our centre clean and organised to this standard,” Cathy says.
Belfast – Service under pressure
“The refit was not completed due to the need to redecorate; it was a practical
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M A G A Z I N E
move. As we have grown from a three to a seven van centre, we simply needed more room and have doubled our office space and created a larger kitchen area.” Cathy continues, “Before it was just one narrow office and our kitchen consisted of one cupboard and a sink. It was spotless, but we needed the extra space for downtime, somewhere the MSSTs could sit and have a coffee between jobs.” Increased stock holding Not only is the organisation of stock considered important, but also the range of items held at the centre. Cathy says, “Stock is an area in which we’ve invested heavily in the last year or so because we recognised that we needed to carry more large bore hose and fittings to ensure we were able to carry out more first time fixes. We’ve also invested in CAT presses, enabling us to better service our customers’ full range of equipment.” Pirtek Belfast has an additional storage facility in Omagh, County Tyrone. “This means that if any of our technicians are completing a job where they happen not to have the items on their van, they have two locations to pick from, again reducing downtime for our customers.” Recognition of excellence Those at the centre are rightly proud of its achievements and this has been recognised by Pirtek UK. “Not only were we the first centre in the network to achieve the Centre of Excellence award, we also recently collected an award for Customer Service at the Pirtek 30 year anniversary conference,” says Cathy. A major contributing factor to attaining these awards was Pirtek Belfast’s belief that communication is key to providing great customer service. “One of the ways we improved communication with
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customers was the introduction of a text service. More than six years ago we introduced a system whereby we would send our customers manual texts,” says Cathy. “We would text customers ETAs and any other updates. As we moved up to seven vans we realised that this would no longer work as effectively. “So when we changed our tracker system we invested a little extra to have some software written that would automatically text our customers. “When we receive a breakdown job, the customer will ring the depot and let us know their problem; we will take all the information; book the job not only on the t-card system but on the tracker as well. “When this information is input to our tracker, it shows us the closest technician and we can then assign the job to them,” Cathy says. “Once assigned, the customer will receive a text to thank them for choosing Pirtek and advise them that the job has been confirmed. The tracker will then send a further text when the technician
is 15 minutes away, confirming the time of arrival.
a job, it’s in hand and they don’t have to chase it up. They trust us to advise when we will be there and let them know if anything changes – for example if a previous job runs over. “When the job comes back, it is checked by a manager and then emailed to the customer along with site photos so they have a complete picture of what the job entailed, all within 24 hours of completion.
“We believe that if you supply your customer with accurate information they can always work around it if things don’t go to plan. “We would rather be open with a customer,” Cathy says. “They know us and they know that when they ring in
RENOVATION: Pirtek Belfast’s new trade counter
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my son got older, I took on more hours. I’ve been full time for six years now and progressed from part time accounts to Sales Manager. “We’ve also had a few boomerangs over the years. Alan Craig, our Centre Manager, is a good example of this. He was an MSST for around four years but wanted to try something new. Fast forward a few years and Alan was back, initially returning as an MSST but soon promoted to Centre Manager.” Planned maintenance. The Belfast centre ensures that it does not solely rely on breakdown work but also seeks out preventative maintenance contracts. “We currently service local government contracts, which is basically a lot of gritters, gulley suckers, snow ploughs, hedge cutters, all those types of things,” Cathy says. “We provide preventative maintenance inspections for customers so in the winter we would be completing preventative work on their summer equipment – hedge cutters, mowers, etc. And then in the summer we would be maintaining
their gritters, snowploughs and the like, making sure they’re ready for the coming season. That way they can reduce breakdowns and I believe we have proven the value of that to them.” Preventative maintenance is at its best when it goes unnoticed. “Most people will never see the work that goes on in the background to keep these vehicles on the road but it’s definitely beneficial to do the preventative work.” Everything at Pirtek Belfast comes back to customer service and saving the client time and money, says Cathy. “We have really focused on our core business for the last few years – on-site hose replacement – and making sure we do that to the highest standard.” communication and planned maintenance all add up to a centre of excellence for customer service. “Customer perception of our service is vitally important to us and we always try to work with what the customer needs without compromising on our service,” Cathy concludes. The way the centre and its vans are organised, stock keeping, on-the-job
Dedicated Pirtek people The ethos at Pirtek Belfast is instilled from the top. David Adams has built a team of loyal staff who are dedicated to their roles and passionate about providing customers with a great service on every job. Speaking of her own experience Cathy says, “I’ve been here for 11 years. I started off in accounts part time and as
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Dublin – Moving on up
At the time of writing, Pirtek Dublin is in a state of flux. Having just moved into new, larger premises, it is extending its range of services. Space Pirtek Dublin moved into a new centre in mid September. Franchisee Ken Robertson says, “We outgrew our previous workshop a few years ago. We just didn’t have the space.
“It was all right when there were four or five vans but with nine vans (eight hose vans and one systems van) there was simply not enough space.
alone is bigger than the whole of the old site. A lot of thought has gone into the design and layout, it’s a whole lot easier to work in.” Guy’s dedicated hydraulic systems van also benefits from the newfound sense of space at Pirtek Dublin’s new centre, Ken says. “It requires a cleaner working area than others, giving us a further reason for the move.”
“We had 2000 square feet there but now we’ve got 5000.”
Pirtek Dublin’s dedicated Hydraulics Systems Engineer Guy Monaghan agrees with Ken, “The new building’s work area
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Drive in service Ken carries on, “We were doing around 40 breakdowns a month, in all weathers, right outside the door, which wasn’t ideal for the lads, working in the wind and rain. Now have our drive-in hose repair.” The main workshop has enough room to bring in a 30 to 40 foot trailer and work on it comfortably, says Ken. “Smaller haulage companies don’t want to pay for the call-out service so rather than lose them, we can have them come to us. This keeps their call-out charges down and increases our capacity.” Guy adds, “A hose on a grab truck may only take 15 minutes so they know they’ll be in and out quickly rather than waiting half an hour and also paying for call out. “No one else offers this service and most of our customers wouldn’t have their own fitters. It is certainly a good opportunity,” he concludes. Dublin to do total rehosing. “We do a little at the customers’ sites at present,” says Ken, “but you’re tying up a van, it takes longer because you’re working out of the back of a van and it could be a three-day job meaning the MSST has to clear up each day and start again the next. “Getting the customer to drop their machines to us so we can get in and rehose is far easier.” Feedback suggests there is a market, mainly from plant hire companies, Ken tells. “Every now and then it’s time to change all the hoses; rather than trying to do the work in a yard somewhere, they can bring it into our workshop. If we need to do a bit of welding or anything we can do that here too, whereas it’s not possible on the vans.” Rehosing The franchise is the only business in
Dock work Pirtek Dublin is carrying out preventative maintenance on five of the eight roll-on roll-off ramps at Dublin Port. “They’ve all got ageing hydraulic hoses so we’re routinely replacing and recording them,” says Guy. “Then if they need a replacement they’ve got a part
number and we can send the hose, rather than needing to send a van and MSST.”
The time available to work on the ramps is limited to between sailings, with tides and weather also playing a large part. “In summer months we get next to nothing done because there are so many sailings,” says Guy.
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Total Hose Management Pirtek Dublin has its own particular take on Total Hose Management. “We have a number of customers with rolling contracts to change a certain number of hoses each year,” says Ken, “so over a five year period we may change all the hoses. They’d be tagged with all the normal red tags but not with the full data- based system. “A lot of customers would say ‘We have a big loading shovel in the workshop today, come and change whichever hoses you think need to be changed.’ But they won’t say, ‘Come over and change them all and come back in three years.’ “They wouldn’t just change a hose because of its age, though they really should do because a lot of hoses we work on are over water so if one failed it could be a pollution risk. “They’d say their guy would keep an eye on it and change it when it looks rusty or starts leaking. “It’s hard to convince people that they will save money by taking off good hoses just because they’re three or five years old,” Ken says. “This is because they may not have factored in the price of downtime,” he explains.
“Currently there’s a sailing at 8am, then we have to be gone by 11am for an incoming ferry. This leaves again by 1pm, and there’s another ferry at 5pm.” He continues, “We’re down there twice a week on average and we normally get to replace two to three hoses per trip. There’s a lot of planning for each visit.” There is one minor issue for Guy though. “All the work at the moment is at height – cranes, cherry pickers and the like… and I don’t like heights,” he says.
Ken leaves the door open, however, “We’re not waiting for customers to demand this service.” Rams and things Customers have higher demands today, Ken explains. “People expect that if you’re in the hydraulics business, you have to be comprehensive. So we’re not just a hose company any more. We wouldn’t survive if we were.” With customers’ diagnoses not always accurate, it is in everyone’s interest that Pirtek can solve a wide range of problems. “In a lot of cases the customer sees oil running out of the machine, rings us and says he’s got a hose leak but when the van arrives the engineer discovers that it’s actually a seal in
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Guy Monaghan has more than 35 years’ experience in hydraulics, working in various roles from pump maintenance, steel pipe, flexible pipe fabrication and technical sales. He has been a dedicated Hydraulic Systems Engineer at Pirtek Dublin since 2017 although he has worked for the franchise since 2014. Speaking of his role, Guy says, “I work with the heart of the hydraulics – the pumps, the valves, the design.” Guy also does pipe work, oil analysis and pressure testing. “We send him out to do jobs where there’s a bit of hose work, a bit of pipe work, general troubleshooting,” says franchisee Ken Robertson. “On bigger jobs, he might work with one of the MSSTs, using his experience to help them,” Ken continues. “Guy’s return customers know they can trust him. We have a few customers, for example in piling rigs, who he would source new pumps or do overhauls for, whereas the other technicians wouldn’t have the expertise.” Hydraulic systems is a developing sector of the business, says the dedicated systems engineer. “We will be offering service packages for companies in order to keep their machines running – oil cleanliness, filter replacement, overall troubleshooting. Guy Monaghan: Hydraulic Systems Engineer
the ram that’s gone or it’s a leaking pump,” Ken says.
They can now say, ‘Get it back to our workshop and we can do the full job.’
“Previously the lads would go out and find that it wasn’t a
“We do full ram repairs, replace rods, eyes, we could make a full ram if you needed. We’ve been doing that for a good few years.
‘We’re not just a hose company’
hose, tell the customer and say goodbye. Now we can do something about it.
“There are a lot of people in Dublin doing rams but where we’re
“Now, we can get a guy out to save your pump;
to reseal your pump or take the ram off, bring it back and reseal it. If the chrome on the rod is damaged, we can put a new rod on it. “We can sell on the rest of the service. Sometimes the lads go to a site where they find the hoses all tangled together.
different is that we can do a next day service, which a lot of customers want.
“Our main ram customer is the airport,” Ken says. “They might have a passenger stair that goes up the plane. We would pick up the ram in the morning,” he says. “And we can get it back by the evening!”
We also want to start stocking components and building more now that we’ve got the room.”
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Galway – testing the limits
With Pirtek centres across the UK and Ireland seeking to diversify their range of fluid transfer products and services, new hose and piping applications are key. With new applications come different safety, testing and certification requirements. As Pirtek Galway and its sister centre in Limerick have sought new business, they have developed their ability to certify the hoses they supply. This has involved significant investment in hardware, software and upgrades to the Pirtek centre to make testing safe. Over the time they have been testing hoses, Pirtek Galway and Limerick have also invested in the development of their teams to enable them to safely carry out these tests. Getting started Getting into hose testing is not to be taken lightly. “It’s not something you’re going to learn in a year. You can’t just go out and buy the best of everything straight away,” says Sean Howard, Managing Director of Pirtek Galway. “You’re better off starting small. Make the mistakes, do it the hard way and eventually you’ll get there. “We started off with small rigs, testing maybe 100 hoses, 200 hoses but that has increased over the years.
“If people think they’re going to get into this tomorrow morning, to this
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getting them in order and making sure the certificates all match up.
standard…well, we had eight years’ experience and customers on the books.” Audit Initial auditing of Galway’s knowledge and safety procedures was rigorous. “We went through a stringent audit process here for six months,” says Sean. “We had an auditor who had 15 years’ experience at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA). “He grilled us from top to bottom and it was the best thing we ever did. Anyone could come in and audit us now – we’ve done it once, we can do it again. “We had three solid days where all we did was make a hose and test a hose; make a hose and test a hose, all for a five-minute process. “Jim asked question after question and he was great because we had to address his concerns. You don’t learn how to use this overnight. “You have to build up your experience as well as building up your customer base. There’s no point using this rig (the Resato type SLU) if you’re only testing 20 or 30 hoses a year.” Marketing Pirtek Galway’s customer base is evolving. “Hose testing started from us getting into the high-end stuff, Sean says. “Such clients won’t accept
hoses without a test certificate for every single one.”
“You have to relate the test back to the hose number and the invoice.” Every hose that’s tested is numbered and has its own test certificate. “That’s why we’re etching ferrules with the Pirtek brand and number,” says Sean. “We populate the certificate with the hose number and work order number. The form shows who tested the hose, the device and the serial number.”
Hose testing may not be for all customers, however, and this affects your marketing, says Sean. “When you say to an average client ‘Your hose is going to cost x or y to test,’ they may see it as not worth it and walk away, so you need to be targeting the right potential customers.
“Someone else could test it for less but they may not be doing it properly and they may not be producing the certificates. Without them, it’s worthless.
‘You need to be targeting the right customers’
The device must have a calibration certificate in order to produce valid test results.
“If you cannot relate the form back to the
“We have hydraulic hoses that can’t go into certain places – factories for example – without the correct test certificate.”
device serial number, the certificate is null and void. If the calibration certificate is out, you might as well not be testing,” says Sean. “Customers want that verifiable, traceable certificate stating, ‘We certify that this hose has been tested with reference to BS 7751 and ISO 1402’. These are our bible. Twice the working pressure for 30 seconds. Up in a minute, hold for thirty seconds, down to zero,” Sean continues. “You have to show peak pressures, time durations, dates, serial number, reference number and your hose number and you need a signature. “It took us eight years to get to where we are today,” says Sean. “We started off with small, non-recordable rigs, but as you start moving up the chain, clients want proof. It doesn’t matter what you do, that proof – the software that provides it – costs money.”
Demand is increasing for hydraulic hoses, Sean says. “What we’re noticing is that this rigorous attitude is making its way down the food chain.” Certification and accountability Hose testing is premised on certifiability and in recent years, the demand for hose certificates has increased.
Hoses need to be tested, and this needs to be verifiable, as Sean explains.
“This is especially true in the oil, gas and pharmaceutical industries,” he says, “where safety and reliability are crucial and detailed documentation on pressure tests of industrial hose assemblies is required.
“It’s not just testing hoses,” Sean says, “it’s getting them in, tagging, cataloguing,
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fire a shotgun at them. We were specced 8mm but we went for 12mm.”
“If any of the doors are opened while there’s pressure on the rig, it turns it off immediately.” Pirtek Galway tests a wide range of hoses, but safety remains just as important at whatever level. “A lot of our stuff is at the low end,” says Sean. “This hose we’re testing now is at 15 bar but 15 bar will kill you. This is where the complacency can kick in.” Experience is the antidote to this, Sean says. “When you’ve had years of experience and seen what can happen, that’s what prevents complacency. Having been pressure testing hoses for eight years, it was time for Pirtek Galway to consider new solutions in order to meet future demand and expand into new markets. To do this would involve improving their existing pressure testing process and giving themselves the ability to generate reliable certificates. The company decided to invest in a Resato type SLU hose test rig (left), which generates accurate digital test Resato test rig
Safety
Micro switches on the test rig are linked to the doors, ensuring the safety of workers and customers. “If any of them are broken,” says Sean, “the rig shuts down. We also have monitors at every access point that indicate the test is in progress.” “We can test longer hoses in a larger safe zone that is behind the polycarbonate doors,” says Sean. You can see on the monitor screen that the test is going on, so you stay behind the door until it tells you the test is complete.
Safety is paramount in the hose testing process. “You have to have a safe zone, no matter what,” Sean says. “The equipment is not cheap, but to safely test hoses at this level, it’s absolutely necessary,” he says. The rig is situated in a room that is approximately two by four metres, as Sean describes.
“The blast room has 12mm polycarbonate screens – you could
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“There’s 30psi in your car tyre, whereas there’s 2,000 psi in these hoses – and we call that low pressure. “You need to see a hose burst before you’ll really get what’s at stake. I did it deliberately in front of the two lads who would be using the new rig when we introduced it at Limerick. They jumped. “It was one of the highest pressure hoses that we test, rated up to 2,000 bar. We got to 24,000 psi. I was up to 22 then 23 and I thought let’s keep it going. Eventually it was one of the fittings that we knew was not rated to that pressure that burst. Believe you me now, when they’re testing a hose in Limerick they understand.”
MARKUP: Acid etching of pipes with Pirtek name and part number
certificates and reduces pre-filling and setup times.
“We have the smaller rig in Limerick,” he says, “It does the same job but it’s slower. Because the bulk of our hoses are tested here in Galway – you could have 80 or 90 of them coming at you at any one time – we needed to speed the process up.” Pirtek Galway valued Resato’s knowledge and experience in the field of high- pressure testing, Sean explains. “We knew Resato had the knowledge to build a system that covered our pressure testing range, from two bar to 2,000 bar.
six months. This is our third brand and we won’t be deviating from it.”
The new rig really is something special, according to Sean. “Resato had never made a rig to test all ranges in one like this before,” he says. “They said there were rigs to test this or that, but not one single rig that could carry out all of the functions. “We’re testing 15 bar, 250 bar, 2,000 bar. You couldn’t get a rig to do it all, which is why we specified a bespoke unit.” Having worked with two other Resato units, Sean was convinced of the reliability of the equipment.
It’s not just the hose testing rig that is specialised. At the heart of the hydraulic system is a powerful compressor. “This compressor just ticks along silently,” Sean says. “Even if the three or four hundred litre tank is empty, it will run the rig on its own. You can’t be left waiting. “It is not just your normal compressor, your normal fit-out pipes, your normal refrigeration units, normal driers and the rest,” Sean says. “Absolutely everything is high end.”
“There are loads of test rigs out there – one of the brands we tried lasted us just
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Cork – Marine support
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M A G A Z I N E
Pirtek Cork makes good use of its location in a port city to generate work in the maritime sector. The franchise attends to the Port of Cork’s vessels, cranes and other machinery; ongoing contracts include working for clients such as the Irish Naval Service, shipping companies, marine services providers and Mainport Group. The franchise also services ships berthing in the harbour short term, from pleasure craft through to oil tankers. Franchisee, Greg Cummins explains, “I used to work on oil tankers as a marine engineer for Shell International Shipping so with Cork being a port city, when we first opened up we looked into the marine sector. “The most important thing for marine work is our 24-7 service because the shipping industry doesn’t stop. A shipping company can ring us at three in the morning and know we will have a van there within an hour. “Technically, there’s nothing particularly different from any other hydraulic application. It’s just that we’re used to ships and shipping – it’s not like working on dry land.” Irish Mainport Holdings Pirtek Cork has been working with Irish Mainport Holdings for at least 14 years, increasingly so for the last six years.” The Cork-based company has a fleet of vessels. Two of these, the Mainport Pine and Mainport Cedar, support seismic survey ships serving the oil industry. Seismic vessels pull streamers at sea with each cable up to 10 or 12 kilometres long. To recover and deploy the cables can be a three or four day process so the vessels remain at sea continuously.
BACKUP: Mainport Holding’s seismic support vessel, Mainport Pine
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“Normally, surveyors would be working for a client, which could be someone like BP or Total although they may do the survey work themselves and sell their findings.”
happen, a breakaway valve – in this case a Todo dry break coupling – shuts off the fuel. Pirtek Cork was asked by Mainport to install the hydraulic pipework and control station for a new hose reel and Pirtek did the installation in Cork dry dock. Vincent says, “We had sourced hose from a very well established supplier in the Norwegian sector, but it had been damaged in transportation so we weren’t willing to use it.” Greg continues, “Mainport’s Norwegian supplier couldn’t get the part to them on time so they phoned us on the Friday afternoon. We’d done a similar project on a seismic boat, so we knew what we were doing. “For anything involving fuel at sea, pollution is a huge consideration. So the 4” hard wall hose is quite specific. The pressure rating is specific, the test pressure is specific.
Mainport Holdings’ supply vessels support the survey
‘We knew what we were doing’
ships by delivering fuel from shore. “We would
be employed by the owner of the seismic vessel,” says Vincent Gallagher, Technical Manager at Mainport. “This could be one of a few big players such as WesternGeco, CGG Veritas, or PGS (Petroleum Geo-Services).” Mainport Pine The Mainport Pine is rigged up for in- line refuelling. This is where a distance line is passed to the mother vessel, it is connected and then the fuel line is passed back to pump fuel. As this process is carried out underway, there is always some risk that the distance line could break, putting the tension on the hose. If this should
SAFETY: The dry break coupling
“Given our experience we could say, ‘Yes we can supply the breakaway coupling, the 4” heavy wall hose and couplings, on time,’ and we were able to locate these with the help of Tony Spencer on the Network Support team at Pirtek UK. “Pirtek UK’s suppliers got to work on it on the Friday and worked through the weekend. They got the hose to Mainport on Tuesday, whereupon it was landed on the vessel on the Wednesday, fitted, tested and signed off,” says Greg. “It was a great success for us and for Mainport, in that they were able to meet their scheduled departure for Las Palmas.” Vincent agrees. “We needed the hose fast and Pirtek came up trumps, meaning we got the vessel away on time.” Total Hose Management: “Our bread and butter is black hose out of the back of a van,” says Greg, “but over time we’ve developed Total Hose
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Management and tubular manipulation for specific and marine applications.”
and certain companies have a very strict privacy policy.”
“A development of this service has seen us include a number of commercial shipping companies in our expanding list of surveyed hose management customers, as well as a number of privately-owned super yachts.”
Navy “One of our top customers would be the Irish navy, which is based in Haulbowline,
Pirtek Cork is flexible with its THM customers Greg explains. “We have something like 50 vessels on some degree of Total Hose Management and we adjust the dataset to suit their needs. “Once the initial survey is processed, we could get four to five email orders a week. It’s a lot of work to do the survey but once you have done that and established the database, it becomes a seamless process. Customers contact you, place the order and you make up what they need. “We don’t control the preventative maintenance schedule. We advise but customers make their own decisions. We do have a shared database of exactly what is on board, however.” Shipping companies can be private in controlling their maintenance schedules. “You can advise customers to change components every five years and most
Cobh, near Cork. We have a very strong
‘Pollution is a huge consideration’
Commercial shipping Shipping companies may have a number of vessels in the same class and could have differing needs depending on the size
relationship, especially with the engineering and planning departments.
“Approximately 10 years ago they asked us
to start a Total Hose Management project. We won the contract to manage all eight vessels in their fleet and they now have their own in-house database supervised by us. Every hose is tagged and they can order a hose anywhere and at any time. Each piece of equipment on the ship is surveyed individually and the hoses listed. “They get two hardback copies, which are kept in the engineer’s room, and there’s one in the planning office. Each vessel also keeps an electronic copy on the ship’s computer.
and type of the vessel concerned.
Pirtek Cork works with shipping companies to provide the right Total Hose Management to suit each ship, be it a total hose register or just an essential spares register consisting of the hoses they need for the ship to work, mainly drive hoses for the CPPs (Controllable Pitch Propellers) needed for the ship to get from A to B. The ability to order and have a hose delivered anywhere in the world with just an email or phone call gives the engineer great peace of mind.
shipping companies will do, but at the end of the day the customer
controls their own service systems.
“It can depend on the engineers they have on board,” Greg says. “Some will want 50% spares of any piece of machinery on board. Others will just keep an essential hose kit. It varies according to their needs.” The shipping companies tend to look after the IT side themselves, Greg explains. “They want to keep control of that
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The pipe bending machine Pirtek Cork has invested in a pipe
“On a boat with cranes and winches, the fact that we can manipulate steel tube into any shape required is invaluable,” says Greg Cummins. “Using hydraulic seamless tube gives you the perfect bend radius for the application you need.
“We made the investment for one shipping job and the success of the decision has been clear because we’ve expanded to include customers across a range of different industry sectors,” says Bob. One such customer is Value Tech Ltd, a local engineering company that makes a range of equipment for the construction and concrete sectors. “The tube kits that we supply them carry hydraulic oil on concrete conveyors. We keep a set of technical drawings on file and when they need something, they ring through an order and we make it up and deliver,” says Bob.
bending machine for hydraulic steel tube from 6 mm up to 42 mm, allowing it to service hydraulics in applications that place a premium on rigid, immoveable conduits such as on ships and certain road vehicles. “Pressure rating of steel tubing is similar to hoses, depending on wall thickness,” says Bob Spencer, Centre Manager of Pirtek Cork, “but the beauty of tubing is that it doesn’t sag as much. This means you can run six metres of tube, use fewer brackets but it’s securely fixed in place.
“The ability to do this on site sets us apart from our competitors,” Greg concludes.
Investment “Buying the pipe bender was a serious decision,” says Greg, “because we had only one job for it and one member of staff able to use it.
MANIPULATION: Bob Spencer at the pipe bending machine
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“The tube manipulator has also helped us to expand into forestry, chemical plants and more,” says Greg. “We took a leap of faith with the marine work because we have the expertise and the experience in house.” “We worked on Winthrop engineering’s installation of a biomass burner for GlaxoSmithKline. They were delighted with our service, particularly the ability to do it on site. “We did the power pack and hose and steel tube installation on a £7m biomass plant for GP Wood, a major forestry timber exporter. We were only able to take that on because we had the tube manipulator,” Greg concludes. “Once you’ve done the installation, you are more likely to tie in a maintenance contract,” says Bob. People and skills “The pipe bender is a simple enough machine to work,” says Bob, “as long as you have the technical knowledge to get the bends in the right place, and there are formulas to do that. “Take a compressor pipe on a truck. It might have a 90-degree angle followed by a 45-degree angle followed by a thirty-degree angle in another direction. It may
would have a knowledge of pipe bending,” he says. “My expertise meant we could expand that part of the business. “Previously we only had one MSST able to use the bending machine. Since Dennis and Dwayne, who are both ex plumbers, joined the team we have the skills in-house to go out on site, making my life much easier. on-site work. We’ve put pipework onto a number of ships for cranes and we’ve been able to work much more easily on site because we can send two guys with the machine to do it.” “Because of this, we’ve been able to do more
Trade Counter Business is expanding, says Bob. “It’s only a small part of the business but it’s building up. “Once people know you can do something, word gets round. People start to say ‘Take it to Pirtek, they can do that.’ In the past couple of years we’ve got a lot more trade counter work. “People come in with, say, a compressor line off the underside of a truck. They give you a four metre length of 15mm tube with nine or 10 bends and say ‘Can you make this up?’ “Previously we would have had to have said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do that but I can do it in a hose.’ Now we simply say, ‘No problem.’”
Bob believes there are always transferable skills and always something to learn from others. “We’ve got the two plumbers, a mechanical fitter and an agricultural contractor as MSSTs and they all bring
different skills and knowledge that’s useful to the business. “Alan, who has just started as a depot assistant, is a trained heavy goods mechanic and brings something from that to Pirtek
‘We took a leap of faith with the marine work’
look complicated but you basically just start from one end and work your way through.”
Bob has been with the franchise for around five years and having had a variety of roles earlier in his career, brings a range of skills.
Cork. It makes us a stronger team. Our combined knowledge is far greater than the sum of the parts, and everyone is happy to share their particular skills and experiences.”
“I had a background in plumbing and mechanical installations and as such
“Pipe bending is just a part of our 24/7 hydraulic service”
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Basildon – Dynamic deals, soft service Transition Since taking on the Pirtek Harlow franchise, Colin May Franchisee of Pirtek Basildon has been building a collaborative atmosphere, working with his two centre managers, Greg Foxon and Graham Pearce to apply an even greater can-do working culture at his second centre. I caught the team of franchisee and centre managers as Greg made his first visit to the Harlow centre. Colin’s foray into multi-centre ownership began earlier
this year when he purchased the Pirtek Harlow franchise.
Colin says, “You ask yourself, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ I’d always said a second centre would be on my target list so when one came up, and a neighbouring centre at that, it seemed… go for it. “Yes. there’s fear. Yes, it feels like you’re taking a leap, but I got home the evening after I’d spoken to the then licensee and I said to my wife, ‘Look, this has come
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TEAM: (Left to right) Centre Managers Graham Pearce and Greg Foxon with Franchisee Colin May
up. Of course there are reservations but, you know what, I’m going into it and my mindset will be, let’s see what hurdles present themselves.’” It sounds as if there would have been a slim chance of holding Colin back as he said to his wife “If we manage to clear those hurdles, then we’ll be there.” “From that conversation until eight and a half weeks later, no great hurdles had presented themselves that I couldn’t get over and we were set to go.” That was in April. In that time, Colin has made a big impression on his new centre manager and MSSTs. Team effort Graham Pearce, who has been Centre Manager at Pirtek Harlow since
mid-2017 says, “It’s great to have a positive force behind us, driving us all – from the managers, to the admin staff to the engineers.
Greg Foxon, Centre Manager of Pirtek Basildon says, “The transition has been very smooth – and I think that’s down to
Colin, his positives filter down through me to the guys. I’ve spoken to a couple of people here in Harlow and they’ve said it’s a great environment to be in already.
‘The transition has been very smooth’
“We’ve put changes in place here, meaning we work in exactly the same way as Basildon. Anybody could step straight out of Basildon
into the Harlow depot and it would run the same way. Accounts and ordering now work in the same way over both centres, we work as one – almost like a six-van enterprise.” Graham is more ambitious than that, however. “I’d like to see four vans running out of both centres. I think the work’s there, you’ve just got to go and find it.”
“It feels like a family business. It’s a close-knit team we’ve got, with both experience and new blood. The way Colin’s built the business at Basildon, he’s made everyone’s little bit of the business their own. The MSSTs have their vans. That’s what they take care of and have pride in.”
Responding to his centre managers, Colin chips in, “I think it’s really important
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