Have you ever noticed a valve in the pump room that’s not quite closed and not quite open and wonder….is that the position it’s supposed to be? Any answer other than “I have all valve positions listed in my operations manual” may mean you need to pay closer attention to your pump room. In this short series, we will look at setting up a “baseline”.
What is a Baseline?
In a mechanical room, a baseline (as defined by TMI training) can be boiled down to “What Normal Operation Looks Like”. This is when everything is running properly. All valve positions are in the correct positions for day-to-day operation, all pressure gauges are where they need to be (for example: after a good backwash), all flow meters are in the correct range, and much more. It may even involve senses other than just sight, such as hearing. The sound of a good pump motor, no whining bearings. All these items combine into a well-maintained aquatics pump room.
Why Does it Matter?
It is one of the most common issues seen in a pump room. Every piece of equipment, every valve, gauge and fitting. Too often a single operator has all the knowledge. This single operator sometimes knows that there’s a valve on the suction side of the pump that must be kept at 20% for the smoothest operation. Too often does no one know why a certain valve is in a certain position. Too often do operators not know what their flow rate should be to meet the minimum turnover rate required by regulation.
Staff turnover is a fact of life and making it as easy as possible for someone else to pick up is key to keeping the pools open and the swimmers happy.
Knowing what “normal” looks like can save time and money. A heater may fail because it’s receiving inadequate flow which could have been avoided if only we knew that a particular bypass valve should be kept at 60 percent, not 80. The inspector may shut the pool down because the flow rate is not meeting the minimum required. An operator may spend additional hours tracking down an issue that could have been solved by referring to the operations manual.
When and How
The best time to establish this baseline is immediately upon completion of a new facility. That is when deciding what good operation looks like will be the easiest. The second-best time is now.
In a nutshell: Record data. Record all the data of a pump room in the condition it should be in. This varies by facility, and we cannot tell you every single value that can be recorded. We can provide examples aplenty, and many of the items mentioned will be in every pump room, and some may be analogous to something else in your pump room. If ever in doubt if some information is important, record it anyway (But sort the data, see next part for more info). It may be a lifesaver later on. Information hoarding takes up very little space.
Once this data is recorded, it is then used by operators to maintain, service, and troubleshoot.
This series will break down into several general areas to help establish this baseline:
- Part One – The Operations Manual: Before deciding what relevant information should be recorded, it’s important to decide where to record it.
- Part Two – Tagging Valves: Not just knowing what position a valve should be in, but what each valve is for.
- Part Three – Gauges and Meters: What is each gauge/meter for and what good or bad values looks like. Includes flow meters and more.
- Part Four – Everything Else: Equipment, sound, leaks and more.
Lastly, a word on training in regard to baselines. TMI Sustainable Aquatics includes thorough training for every new project. Not just a one-and-done session. We find that human memory and turnover make that unviable. After all, how much information do we retain from a single lecture? Instead, we train in increments and constantly. Often, there is in-person training that discusses some of the values mentioned in this series and that is also followed up by a second training to help cement that knowledge. Beyond that, we offer constant remote training to help establish and maintain this baseline to ensure that the pump room is always running smoothly. This baseline is not something that is one-and-done either. It must be added to as “normal” conditions change.
Other Blogs You Might Like:
- Establishing a Baseline in the Pump Room: The Series Introduction
- The Safety Gap: Why Most Pools Meet Code but Still Miss Risk
- Why Doesn’t My Pool Water Look Clear?
- From Bird’s-Eye to Dog’s-Eye: A Smarter Way to Judge Pool Safety
- Integrating Aquatics into a Building Management System with BACnet, Modbus, or Other Protocols