New CityJet Fleet Helping Northumbrian Water Realise Efficiencies

A recent collaboration project co-ordinated by Rioned is helping Northumbrian Water (NW) greatly improve the level of service provided to customers affected by sewer flooding. The project to deliver specialist jetter and CCTV vans has effectively created a “one-stop-shop” that enables the water company to respond to incidents and often resolve problems in a single visit.

Working closely with NW’s sewerage maintenance team and their vehicle management provider VLS, the project brought together CCTV manufacturer, SPX, and vehicle conversion specialists, Bott, to work alongside Rioned. The primary focus was to deliver highly customised new vans that would meet the technical and operational needs of NW whilst complying with vehicle to weight and type approval legislation.

This involved designing the layout and technical configuration of the vehicles to allow a crew of two sewerage maintenance operatives to undertake a range of tasks from the vehicle. In a single visit operatives are now able to use high-pressure jetting equipment to clear blockages and cleanse the sewer, before carrying out a survey of a section of sewer pipe with a remote-controlled camera. An on-board office area allows the team to then compile a sewer condition report to help diagnose the cause of the flooding and instigate remedial works.

Peter Rollins, NW’s sewerage team leader, explains that teams can often undertake all the work required with one site visit, when previously it could have taken three or more: “Being able to clear a sewer blockage and understanding what caused it in a quick time frame is great news for our customers and more efficient for NW as a business. Having this new equipment is also a real morale boost to staff, as our teams now have the tools to carry out the job right, first time, every time.”

The new Iveco Daily vans feature Rioned’s CityJets that have the same performance as their previous PTO machines but are more compact and lighter. Jetter features include an 180° pivoting hose reel with electronic locking mechanism and the new Rioned eControl + system for easy operation.

The new vehicles are fitted with a comprehensive on-board electrical system that provides trouble free power to SPX P350 Flexitrax CCTV, a versatile and portable crawler system for pipeline inspection. The CCTV system features both crawler and pushrod operation options with an intuitive interface and built-in Sonde system for drain tracing from the surface.

The bespoke vehicle conversion was undertaken by Bott, who have a wealth of specialist experience and wholly understand the complex legislative and compliance environment surrounding vehicle conversions. Work included complete installation of all interior fittings including electrics and heating. The vehicles were partitioned to include an office space for CCTV camera control via a laptop, with two screens to display the CCTV views and the rear of the van. The vans were also equipped with storage spaces for tools, PPE and signage, along with welfare equipment.

Since commissioning the first six vehicles in 2015, NW has made the new van configuration the standard specification, with another vehicle recently added to the fleet, and others set to be commissioned in the near future.

Jon Woods, UK Sales Manager at Rioned and Andy Guest Jetters, says the project is a great example of how the company can use its experience to work collaboratively: “Although our key expertise is jetters, we’ve worked closely with specialist companies in the industry over many years. This is a really interesting project to be involved in and we’re delighted that an innovative solution is proving a real success for Northumbrian Water.”