In our previous article (PART 1), MWI Pump’s Gary Evans outlined some of the initial steps when construction dewatering, as well as the first three factors to consider when executing a dewatering job. Continued here are an additional three steps to consider while dewatering a jobsite:
- Factor in redundancy and monitoring systems.
Potential redundancy must be factored into the equation along with telemetry monitoring to ensure the job keeps moving ahead safely and efficiently with the least amount of time lost.
During certain stages of a job, such as when the customer needs to lay concrete, no one wants downtime and MWI offers redundancy, which provides backup support. Part of that equation is developing a plan to monitor it. If it is a big job, we may offer onsite service professionals to keep the pumps running and workable through consistent monitoring. Telemetry helps us to do that from afar when onsite service isn’t required. Telemetry is a system that is set up so that if a pump goes down it sends us an alert to let us know there is a problem. We can account for that problem by sending out a field technician to get the pump back up and running. The redundancy allows us to switch to a backup pump while the primary pump is being repaired to keep production rolling and save any site delays.”
- Advise support methods.
It is important to ensure that your equipment and service provider is advising ground support methods to slow water in certain areas using metal sheet piling or sheet and trimming (sheet piled with a trimming slab at the bottom).
“This will be established early in the process,” Evans says. “Sometimes we are only the dewatering company and sometimes we must advise on whether sheet piling or sheet and trimming is needed. The deeper you must go the more water you’ll be facing, and you can run into problems like hydrostatic pressure where the ground bubbles up the water faster than we can remove it.
- Provide solutions and problem solving, not just equipment.
When it comes to finding dewatering solutions, look for a specialist not a generalist, Evans recommends. “There are a lot of companies out there that rent pumps,” he says. “They rent the pump, drop it off and then say ‘See you later. Give me a call when you need me to come and pick it up.’ That is a generalist. They don’t have the level of expertise required. Pumps are just one piece of equipment in their armory.”
MWI is a pump company that specializes in dewatering pumps. “We don’t generalize in this market. Typically, you are working with MWI Pumps, we are doing everything to support the customer. We deliver the pumps, perform the installation, provide servicing where needed and provide a much higher level of support than most. We are a support network and not just a delivery service. We work the job and take pride in the job.”
A turnkey provider can solve problems for customers. “Some of our customers have a lot of dewatering experience and can often just rent the pumps from us. They know what they are doing and have it under control,” Evans says. “But typically, on the bigger jobs where we deal directly with general contractors who don’t have the dewatering expertise, they want more skilled support and knowledge. They will contact a company like MWI Pumps to support them through the entire process of dewatering from planning through completion.”
