Samotics has been selected by Thames Water Utilities as its sole supplier for electrical signature analysis (ESA) technology through at least 2025. Under the agreement, the former is tasked to provide ESA monitoring technology and services for Thames Water’s equipment fleet, with an option to renew for another five years at the end of the initial term.
The award is part of Thames Water’s strategy to achieve cost-effective reliability through the condition-based maintenance (CBM) of its critical equipment. To that end, three tenders were issued, for three different CBM technologies – vibration, thermography and ESA. ESA is the company’s technology of choice for its fleet of submerged assets, whose location makes it hard to acquire high-frequency data. Because the electrical data used in ESA can be captured remotely in the motor control centre, it eliminates the need to install sensors on or even near the equipment.
The use of electrical data is said to have two other advantages for Thames Water’s overall monitoring strategy. All CBM technologies detect a broad range of mechanical faults, and ESA is “the only one” that can detect electrical faults, which cause up to 30% of equipment failures. CBM technology can also report on energy efficiency, which Thames Water will use to help achieve its goal of net zero carbon by 2030.
Tim van Leeuwen, head of sales at Samotics, said: “Thames Water did an incredible amount of groundwork for this initiative, so they could install working technology at scale from the start. We are honoured and delighted to be their long-term partner for electrical signature analysis.”
