[Andrew McCann]

Matt.

I got driven almost crazy by customers ringing up saying things along the lines of "I can't undertand how to set the RO thing up"

They were supplied FULLY ASSEMBLED.. no prefilters or membranes to put in.. all pipes connected..  colour coded and easy and I do mean easy instructions to follow. Even went to the lengths of removing the 1/4 inch piped inlet into the prefilters and replacing it with a !/2 inch barbed fitting with jubilee clip so all they had to do was push hose on and tighten up jubilee clip.

Send out a kit with a full 40 inch RO system with in tank circuit breaking float valve to fit and a solenoid valve along with the wiring... NO THANKS!!  Im almost insane as it is 

And that is just part of the story I promise you.

Andrew

Oh here is a classic for you..  just remembered it. 200 RO sent out fully assembled with instruction etc. Get call from customer.. "Was I meant to take the wrapping of the blue filters in the top plastic things"?  Eh.. what do you mean? they were already installed... "Oh.. I opened it up to see what was there .. took them out and took the wrapping off"..  I am at a loss then.  OK send it back and we will have a look for you...  Guess where this is going?   YUP..  the membrane blue outer coating were pulled off completely... I give up!!!

[mr D]

Matt.

I got driven almost crazy by customers ringing up saying things along the lines of "I can't undertand how to set the RO thing up"

They were supplied FULLY ASSEMBLED.. no prefilters or membranes to put in.. all pipes connected..  colour coded and easy and I do mean easy instructions to follow. Even went to the lengths of removing the 1/4 inch piped inlet into the prefilters and replacing it with a !/2 inch barbed fitting with jubilee clip so all they had to do was push hose on and tighten up jubilee clip.

but you have been working with these for years andrew. some like my self have never seen 1 b4 buying. i didnt even know what a 1/2 inch barb fitting was which end the water goes in and where it comes out. 

if i sent you a law 94mm anti tank missile and one sheet of a4 paper with very basic instructions on it you would phone me for help.

dont get me wrong you were a great help with mine but faulty parts dont help also.

and i agree factory fitted system would be much better. at least then you and walk and talk buyers through what they have bought.

[Andrew McCann]

   I do know what you mean Mr D... honestly.

You don't mind a quick call from those just checking that they are doing things as per instructions..  mostly it's just for a bit of reassurance. That's part of a suppliers job.

As Alex pointed out earlier with "Off the shelf" systems they have been (Or should be) fully tested. By doing that any faulty parts are identified and rectified but if you are sending out a collection of all sorts of components to put together a system this can't be done.

Also a lot of experience has shown me that the briefer and more to the point instructions are the better they wor for the customer...  in our field anyway.

Andrew

[matt]

Matt.

I got driven almost crazy by customers ringing up saying things along the lines of "I can't undertand how to set the RO thing up"

They were supplied FULLY ASSEMBLED.. no prefilters or membranes to put in.. all pipes connected..  colour coded and easy and I do mean easy instructions to follow. Even went to the lengths of removing the 1/4 inch piped inlet into the prefilters and replacing it with a !/2 inch barbed fitting with jubilee clip so all they had to do was push hose on and tighten up jubilee clip.

Send out a kit with a full 40 inch RO system with in tank circuit breaking float valve to fit and a solenoid valve along with the wiring... NO THANKS!!  Im almost insane as it is 

And that is just part of the story I promise you.

Andrew

Oh here is a classic for you..  just remembered it. 200 RO sent out fully assembled with instruction etc. Get call from customer.. "Was I meant to take the wrapping of the blue filters in the top plastic things"?  Eh.. what do you mean? they were already installed... "Oh.. I opened it up to see what was there .. took them out and took the wrapping off"..  I am at a loss then.  OK send it back and we will have a look for you...  Guess where this is going?   YUP..  the membrane blue outer coating were pulled off completely... I give up!!!

i do wonder sometimes, i know im a practical bloke who doesnt struggle with practical issues, but then again its not hard for some1 to follow instructions

[RSWindows]

Matt, arn't you the one with all the IKEA furnature thats built upside down?   

j/k mate.

well you would think that it should be simple enough to be honest, especially if there is detailed instructions and i would guess that the not so practacal people wouldn't even consider trying a DIY system but then again theres always someone who will jump in at the deep end and then shout for help.

As it stands i am buying a new pre-built system from one of the supplyers that are on here.

[matt]

Matt, arn't you the one with all the IKEA furnature thats built upside down?   

i followed the instructions, honestly i did 

[dd]

Not questioning the fact that you could get injured or killed by your tank, it could happen!

But vans are designed to carry a heavier cargo weight all day everyday.

Wfp systems manufactures for some reason have decided to build more upright tank systems that would topple over if you just drove around a corner so have to be bolted.. Rather than make a flat tank system with bigger footprint and lower centre of gravity fully baffled throughout the tank not just in part, having the tank so it cannot slide and is strapped should be enough?

Traffic accident is the death trap! But your wfp system should be secured.

Completely agree. This is why most off-the-shelf systems are inherently un-safe.

Seem to me there is a very good opportunity for wfp systems manufacture, if they move quickly they could get a good head start on the competition.

Can’t be too difficult to lay the tank flat, and work out the rest from that starting point.   

You can already buy a flat tank, fitted or DIY. Whilst they are more stable it can sometimes be akward to pump the water when it gets low and means you have to e.g. park one side of the van up on kerb.

[Mick (UHPS)]

i went wfp 3 months ago. i opted for a diy system. wish i hadn't now. dont get me wrong its great but if you work out the time spent putting it all together making mistakes un thought of extra exspences and loss time i'd of been much better off going up north and getting one of the few factory fitted systems done. serously doode i lost money from having my van off the road due to tank fiting in etc etc.

That's why i went for a Tucker system. 

Drop the van off & picked it up 2 days later & started working her the next day. Only had 1 problem & that was with the varistream that they came out & sorted. I went for a 2 man system for back up.

i tell you what, if you cannot fit a system in a van in 2 days ( a weekend ) then its not for you, but lets say, 2 days in plenty to fit a system, we all know it

i do wonder sometimes, i know im a practical bloke who doesnt struggle with practical issues, but then again its not hard for some1 to follow instructions

Matt

You keep going on about how easy it is to build and install your own system.
I was Chief Engineer at 'blue chip' company's for about 20 years before I set up my own cleaning business. Yes, I could have sourced all the components readily and installed them in a van. And as a result of my background, I will stick my neck out and say I could probably have installed it better than most. I have made quite a few mods to my system and continue to do so to improve quality, productivity and H&S. But to be quite honest, I wanted to get a good quality proven system fitted in my van as quickly as possible, whilst I was concentrating on other parts of my business. I also wanted a system that I could get insurance cover for. Two insurers, and I've had three now, have stated that the wfp system needs to be professionally installed and had a list of companies that were acceptable to them. The other, the first one, had insured us as if the wfp system was cargo, then a few months into the insurance period called us to say they had got the policy wrong and the system could not in fact be insured as such.

A few weeks ago a local trad window cleaner called at my house and asked for some advice on an RO man system he had bought and was struggling to set up. To me it was easy, simple, a five minute job. For him it was like platting water and he was close to packing in all together. Its all working now and he has a lot better understanding how it all works. This guy, no disrespect to him, doesn't do tools and never will.

The point I am making: Good on you for getting stuck in and building a system, yes it is easy for some people, to others it may as well be rocket science or thermodynamics and fluids or whatever.

May I ask for your thoughts on OEE, tack time, swot analysis etc etc within your business?

Mick uhps

[David Slater]

Not questioning the fact that you could get injured or killed by your tank, it could happen!

But vans are designed to carry a heavier cargo weight all day everyday.

Wfp systems manufactures for some reason have decided to build more upright tank systems that would topple over if you just drove around a corner so have to be bolted.. Rather than make a flat tank system with bigger footprint and lower centre of gravity fully baffled throughout the tank not just in part, having the tank so it cannot slide and is strapped should be enough?

Traffic accident is the death trap! But your wfp system should be secured.

Completely agree. This is why most off-the-shelf systems are inherently un-safe.

Totally agree.

You could buy yourself a £40,000 set-up and it would still only be impact tested "safe" up to 30mph - anything more, and its untested and therefore unsafe (unproven).

Without going over old ground - are you going to limit your vehicle to 30mph???

You'll build yourself a HOT system for less than £1,500...I know because I've done it 

With a bit of planning and input from a friendly engineer, you'll build a HOT system which beats the 30mph set-up...and save yourself a considerable sum of money in the process