Polyethylene (PE) has been the water industry’s material of choice since it was adopted for use across the UK’s pipeline network in 1980. Today’s PE pipes are are extremely sophisticated and capable of achieving a 200-year operating lifetime. But to deliver that level of performance, correct installation is vital.

Poor jointing, inadequate preparation and contamination put the pipeline at risk of leaks and breakages. In fact, research shows that over 90% of joint failures are caused by poor pipe preparation before welding, with common errors including:

• Not scraping the weld zones properly

• Introducing contamination into the weld zone

• Not clamping the pipes properly

Over the last 25 years, improvements to working practices have reduced the likelihood of electrofusion joint failures. However, the fact that they still occur is a major industry challenge.

The UK water industry took steps to rise to that challenge this year, by revising the standard relating to both electrofusion and butt fusion jointing.

So what does the new WIS 4-32-08 standard mean for the water industry? For eight2O working for Thames Water at least, it presented an opportunity to lead the field.

Malcolm Gilks is Head of Quality Management for eight2O, an alliance of 8 organisations delivering AMP 6 for Thames Water. Along with his colleague John Cooper, Malcolm is the driving force behind eight2O’s commitment to deliver a rehabilitated water supply service to Thames Water’s customers, via an initiative called “Project Zero Leakage”.

Malcolm describes some of the key drivers behind the project:

‘The initial requirement as defined by the standard was to provide the relevant electronic data to the project manager. However this data is virtually meaningless as, for electrofusion in particular, the operative must follow the correct procedures in order to maintain the integrity of the weld. These procedures were not being effectively monitored, a realisation which led eight2O to move all its contractors to “Bluebox” enabled welding machines, which is when we first encountered ControlPoint.

‘At this point we were in the same place as other framework organisations delivering AMPs to water authorities. We were getting data from ControlPoint which told us the percentage of electrofusion welds that achieved red, amber, green and blue status. There appeared to be no strategy within eight2O for acting on it other than gradual improvement based on each organisation’s desire to do better, improve their scores and secure the ControlPoint guarantee for joints that achieve “Blue” status. The cutting out of joints that were flagged as red did not appear to be properly managed or controlled. The data we were receiving showed improvements but we needed assurance that every joint in the ground would give us 200 years life expectancy with documented evidence that the joint was good.

Once the management team were able to clearly see the quality control issue, they were 100% committed to tackling it, and Project Zero Leakage was born.’

That commitment signaled the appointment of ControlPoint as eight2O’s Assurance Partner to provide training and technology to drive up quality and improve installation across the whole network. Malcolm describes the 2-prong approach they’ve adopted:

‘Firstly, we’re using ControlPoint to deliver on-site training to all operators, as well as a quick response, on-site coaching service. This has been well received in the field, as our operators are keen to make improvements to their own working practices.

‘Secondly, using ControlPoint’s quality control system for both electrofusion and butt fusion, we’ve implemented clear pass/fail criteria. If a joint falls below an agreed standard it is cut out, quarantined and sent to ControlPoint for testing and analysis, so that we can capture and benefit from as much data as possible. Of course, the rejected quarantined joints are not incorporated in the works.

‘We’re raising the agreed standard in incremental steps every 3 months, working towards all joints achieving “Blue” status as standard.

The new standard – what you need to know

The new WIS 4-32-08 standard contains the following key points:

• On each site where pipes and fittings are to be jointed in accordance with the requirements of this specification, a control system shall be established to supervise work affecting quality.

• The installer shall establish and maintain procedures to show evidence of analysing work practices, capturing jointing records, jointing practice, installer identification, quality records, service reports and customer complaints.

• Electronic records from the electrofusion control box data logging function, together with jointing quality evaluation, shall be recorded and delivered to the client with site records in a format that provides full traceability, identification and location of each fittings installed.

• In butt fusion jointing, the full length of the bead must be tested at intervals no greater than 100mm.

The ‘bend-back’ test

This last point represents a significant challenge for the industry. The most commonly used procedure for testing the integrity of a butt fusion bead is the manual bend-back test. However, testing at 100mm intervals, as specified by the new standard, is virtually impossible to achieve by hand. ControlPoint’s BDI tool offers a quick, easy and reliable solution which fulfills all the testing, reporting and data capture requirements of the standard.

In fact, it’s fair to say that through their unique combination of mobile technology, data capture, joint inspection, testing, training, reporting and on-site support, ControlPoint offer their water industry clients all the tools they need, not only to meet the requirements of the new standard, but to take quality to the next level.

ControlPoint Director Nick Mark offers his thoughts on the latest industry developments:

‘We welcome the requirements put in place by the new standard. By partnering with like-minded innovators such as eight2O, ControlPoint will continue to develop new products and services to help drive improvements across the whole industry, delivering safer, stronger networks and value for money for the end user.’

Malcolm concludes:

‘The introduction of WIS 4-32-08 has been a real catalyst for change in our organisation, but it’s just the start. We’re active participants in the continuous improvement process, and we’re constantly challenging ControlPoint to see where we can take this partnership next.’

For more information about ControlPoint, visit www.controlpoint.co.uk

To find out about eight2O and Project Zero Leakage, visit www.thameswater.co.uk