How to get results from water equipment rental and services

Top water rental operators and service teams ask the right questions.

Water is a substantial resource at a petrochemical site. From cooling to process reactions, washing and scrubbing, fire suppression, and wastewater processing, managing water is a major responsibility for site engineers and facility managers. They rely on equipment such as pumps, filtration, and waste processing for maintenance bypass, handling excess wastewater and sludge, leak-testing pressurised containers, and numerous other use cases.

To accomplish such tasks while staying within reasonable expenditure and not excessively maintaining standby systems, they use the services of water technology vendors and rental partners, says Chetan Mistry, Xylem’s Strategy and Marketing Manager – WSS (Africa, Middle East, Turkey, India).

“There is a point when maintaining onsite water services or additional capacity becomes uneconomical. That’s where water service teams and rental operators close the gap quickly and professionally.”

Service teams and rental operators match requirements, manage limitations such as budget and site accessibility, and provide clear communication. To test a rental operator, expect them to ask and deliver around the following:

• Operation conditions: Good rental operators don’t make assumptions about operating conditions. They look at site conditions, space limitations, power availability, and variability in flow, solids content, and pressure requirements.

• Pump selection: Reliable providers emphasise factors such as a pump’s dynamic head, duty point against resistance curves, and not taking “close enough” shortcuts.

• Support infrastructure: How accessible is a site? Are there forklifts or cranes? What are the piping and integration requirements? Rental operators who ask such questions are thinking in systems, not components.

• Project duration: How long is the rental duration? What happens when extensions are required? Are there early termination clauses or upgrade paths? Understanding project duration is crucial, and serious rental providers should ask such questions.

• Site-level support: Good managed rental services are about presence. Rental providers should fill the gaps where the site cannot, such as equipment operators, field support technicians, and maintenance staff.

• OEM partnerships: Leading rental operators have close partnerships with water technology OEMs. These relationships ensure technical and business professionalism and integrate the renting agent with the OEM’s resources, such as parts delivery and specialised personnel.

Likewise, water service teams ask specific questions and focus on important priorities:

• Change management: Service teams pay attention to what is different and what has changed since their last visit.

• Sampling trends: Today’s data says little; what are the trends from the past few months? Good service teams know those differences are very important.

• Equipment condition: From unusual vibrations and seal weeping to fouling and corrosion, diligent service teams look for signs that point to problems.

• Downtime tolerance: Interrupting production is unacceptable. Service teams should ask about downtime tolerance, offer options to match budget limits, and learn about upcoming audits or inspections.

• Customer priorities: Service teams should tailor their recommendations based on factors such as energy costs, asset longevity, regulatory compliance, or minimizing chemical spend. Those who ask about these upfront are not just walking in with a sales script.

Diligent rental operators and service teams help petrochemical sites manage cooling, feedwater, and treatment chemistries. Don’t take rental and service teams at face value. Expect them to ask good questions and provide contextual options. It’s prudent to work with a respected water technology OEM and its rental partners, says Mistry.

“A company like Xylem has decades of experience garnered across the globe and enforces tested standards through highly trained personnel, such as our Aqua pros and vetted rental partners. Water should give you productivity, not headaches, and the right partner brings that difference.”