Client Testimonials
John Robins, Scottish Water’s team manager for the Inverness area, said: "We're pleased with the success of this important piece of maintenance. It ensures we can continue to supply Inverness & Nairn with clear, fresh drinking water 24/7.
“The use of submarine technology was brilliant, as it helped keep disruption to an absolute minimum."
Graeme Connor, Scottish Water's operations team leader in the Dunoon area, said: "We were delighted to work with Panton McLeod as part of our efforts to tackle the problem of manganese in the network.
"We chose to work with them because of their expertise in tank cleaning and because this novel way of carrying out the work helped minimise disruption to our customers in the area.
"The tank cleaning has now been completed and we are very pleased with Panton McLeod's work. We have worked with them before and look forward to doing so again."
Mike Lynch, Scottish Water, said: “We were keen to use the ROV and VR600 at Alva. The tank needed cleaned and due to distribution issues we could not bypass the trunk main.
“The work was completed without us affecting any of our customers, water quality or the environment. Our local network support officer was so impressed he wants to use this system every time we clean the tanks.
“I would like to thank Panton Macleod for their help – they are valuable partners who help us deliver the best service possible to the Scottish people.”
John Rae, General Manager of Water Operations, Scottish Water, said: "We are proud to continue our working relationship with Panton McLeod. The cutting-edge processes that the firm has developed to clean water tanks are an excellent example of innovation in the water industry.
“The robot technology that Panton McLeod is using enables thorough maintenance of our water tanks to ensure we are always delivering clear, fresh drinking water to customers across Scotland."
Oswyn Parry, Public Health Scientist with Yorkshire Water, (who saw the VR600 machine in action at a single-compartment tank at Bridlington) said: “Of course, doing the job while the reservoir was still in supply, we did get a bit nervous about the possibility of it churning up any sediment. Any increased turbidity would be a worry, particularly close to the outlets.
“So we put in continuous turbidity monitoring and we did not pick up anything at all. I have to say we were very impressed by that. There are greater costs, but it is swings and roundabouts because being able to keep the reservoir live was crucial for us.
“The machine is a very useful tool and we will be looking to use this kind of service again. I would certainly recommend that anyone in this line of business should have a look at them.”
Nick O’Hara, Senior Adviser Clean Water Planning at Frankley Water Treatment Works in Birmingham (Severn Trent Water), said: “Most water professionals would expect problems if you place something in a reservoir which might conceivably disrupt the sediment, but we have never seen any evidence of that.
“We have used continuous turbidity monitoring while using the robot and have not seen any drift. The machine has an extremely powerful motor on the bottom for removing the sediment without causing turbidity and from that point of view it is very impressive.”
Severn Trent Water spokesman: “I would like to pass on my thanks to Jim and his team for helping us restore our plant to full output so effectively. I know this took some considerable organisation – and an impressive work rate from the team on-site.”
Kelton Bennett, site agent WITH construction giant, MJ Gleeson, said “Overall we were delighted with their performance. They did exactly what they said they would on site, properly and safely and all without a single water quality failure. We could not have asked for anything more.
“There will be further cleaning and disinfection work to come as part of this project and it will be extremely difficult to see past Panton McLeod to carry it out.”
Paul Taylor, the INEOS ChlorVinyls Site Utilities Asset Engineer, said: “The cooling tower cleaned by Panton McLeod is one of the main one cooling water to the chlorine production plant. If this was taken out of operation it would have a dramatic impact on our chlorine production.
“We have carried out other ways to clean the tower without shutting down production but this is by a very long way the most impressive and effective. There was absolutely no down time, it required very little manpower from us and it is definitely cleaned to standards to satisfy the HSE.
“For our point of view it has been excellent. I have already spoken to Panton McLeod about coming in next year to do another tower for us and have no doubt that this will be of huge interest to anyone who has cooling towers that cannot readily be taken out of production without causing major and costly downtime. We are delighted.”
Steve Dodwell, project manager for Service Reservoir Inspection and Refurbishment scheme at Wessex Water, said: “Very few people realised service reservoirs even exist, yet they are absolutely crucial to the water supply network and to our everyday lives. All water companies have to meet the strictest modern standards on safety and cleanliness so it is vital we ensure our service reservoirs are in prime condition.
“This series of inspections has allowed us to see very clearly that our assets are indeed in excellent condition and, by using the mini-sub, we have been able to establish that without any impact on our customers.
“By using technology like this we can build up a detailed picture of our assets. That allows us to plan cleaning and repair work in a far more efficient and cost-effective way, with the absolute minimum impact on customers.
“Panton McLeod is very well-regarded in the drinking water industry, where the importance of public health means the standards are incredibly high. I have been very impressed with the expertise of its staff and quality of work.”
John Davison, Northumbrian Water Team Leader said “Without the swift response, expertise and hard work of the Panton McLeod team in very unpleasant weather conditions we would never have been able to return the tank to service as quickly as we did.
“Their assistance was pivotal in ensuring the supply of excellent quality drinking water was never comprimised. On behalf of Northumbrian Water and our customers I would like to pass on our thanks.”
Katy Duke, curator at The Deep (Aquariaum-Hull), said: “We were very impressed with the team from Panton McLeod when they came to The Deep. They have a glowing reputation in the water industry for their underwater inspection services and we could quickly see why.
“Our main aquarium tank is the centrepiece at The Deep, but it is a challenge to inspect all of the inlet pipes for blockages or damage. Panton McLeod’s team were able to use special underwater cameras to inspect the tank while it was still in use, meaning that there was no disruption to our business.
“I would highly recommend their services and look forward to working with the team again in the future.”
Morrison Construction have used Panton McLeod recently on several Scottish Water projects in the North West area of Scotland. We have always found the company very professional in their outlook, from the head office staff to the men on the ground carrying out their works.
Their attitudes to safety, quality and programme, and their willingness to participate pro-actively in site discussions to resolve issues, have been recognised by our site management teams as a real benefit.
We understand that Scottish Water operations staff also hold the same high opinions relating to the performance of Panton McLeod.
Morrison Construction looks forward to continuing our good working relationship with Panton McLeod on future Scottish Water projects
Alistair Fraser
Project Manager
Morrison Construction