Practical training for wastewater plants and anaerobic digesters
- Case Study: Bespoke training programmes for Yorkshire Water -
The issue
Finding the right training vehicles
can be hard. Some consultants
are good at teaching a set
curriculum, but their knowledge
of the subject matter is not strong.
Some institutions offer valuable
but academic and theoretical
learning. In-house training
departments, where they exist,
may not be up to speed with
current best practice. There is
a concern of the training going
stale – if they are running courses
using internal resources only then
how do they keep improving it?
Business-focused learning has
always been a priority at Yorkshire
Water, with recognition that
improved individual performance
contributes to achieving overall
business objectives. One of
the ways Yorkshire Water
demonstrates their commitment
is by investing in their people
so everyone develops to their
full potential. Yorkshire Water
was keen to move forward
with a customised programme
provided by a well-respected
training company that was deeply
entrenched in the subject matter
at hand; wastewater plants and
anaerobic digestion.
The solution
Aqua Enviro, a SUEZ company, is in
a unique position. It has extensive
knowledge and operational
experience, consulting across
the waste, wastewater, energyfrom-
waste industry. It is also a
training and conference company.
In recognition of the years of sector
experience, Yorkshire Water
approached Aqua Enviro to help
design and deliver customised
training to upskill employees.
Additionally, they wanted
these employees to champion
best practices within their
site operational areas.
The Aqua Enviro team worked
directly with the Yorkshire
Water Learning & Development
department to design a series
of courses aligned with their
business objectives and
operational challenges. Bespoke
course content was developed.
This took into consideration
their deployed technologies and
developing needs. The course
materials were reviewed by
the Yorkshire Water technical
team to ensure everything was
pitched appropriately and of
requisite technical standard.
The programme incorporated four delivery platforms, each targeting different employee groups, to ensure everyone
received the training they needed.
Delivery platforms
Foundation training
A highly targeted presentation
available to all staff with the aim of
facilitating conversations across the
business using common language
Specialised modules
Upskilling the operation’s teams on
new technologies and technology
platforms introduced at Yorkshire
Water sites, ensuring assets are
operating at peak performance
Remote technical training
Half day courses with tailored courses
on activated sludge and anaerobic
digestion
In-person courses
To help enhance scientific knowledge
and construct performance optimisation
strategies based on real world
experience on:
a. Thickening and dewatering
b. Energy management in operations
c. Inlet works and primary tanks
d. Laboratory tests including
microscopic analysis of activated
sludge
As part of the in-person courses
a series of improvement projects
around energy and chemical
consumption were identified.
These included:
TRIAD site-specific plans: learning how to reduce TRIAD
energy costs by understanding
and evaluating the process
risk of turning down or even
switching off plant items such
as blowers and pumps
Polymer make up, blending
and dosing optimisation:
After electricity the cost
of chemicals are the
highest. The teams were
taught how to optimise
blending, mixing and dosing in
order to save up to 10%
Biogas, gas bag and CHP
optimisation strategies:
Understanding how to manage
gas holder levels to manage
offset peak tariff electricity
consumption depending
upon storage capacity
Best practice in operations:
Operating machinery, such
as dewatering equipment
outside of peak tariff times
The results
The client was extremely satisfied
with the quality of training. The
employees rated their experience
highly; Matt Smyth, Technical
Director says “Close collaboration
has been at the heart of this project.
From initial scoping through
to delivery this has ensured
the training was on point, well
received and produced valuable
outcomes. I’m looking forward
to working further with YW to
help them achieve their vision
of maximising staff potential”.
What was particularly impressive
was the immediate and direct
impact of this highly interactive
training programme. Reallife
projects were brought to
the table by the attendees. In
collaboration the Aqua Enviro
trainers and Yorkshire Water
employees developed strategies
Differentiating factors
Aqua Enviro is a training company,
a conference organiser and a
hands-on consultancy all within the
wastewater industry. This allows
them to be up to date, at the forefront
of theoretical and operational
techniques that genuinely help
improve performance of individuals
and the client companies.
The regular training courses and
programmes are highly relevant
and they pride themselves in being
able to provide programmes in
multiple formats as well as ones
that are tailored and flexible to
meet the individual learning and
development needs of clients,
with a highly collaborative
approach in course design.
The collaborative and highly
interactive nature of programmes
also helps identify plant and
process optimisation opportunities,
which are a key value addition for
clients.
The future
Aqua Enviro - SUEZ offer a
range of regular and bespoke
courses. We look forward to
collaborating and hearing about
specific staff training needs
covering technology, plant and site
operations, to help build teams
that will deliver performance
and operational excellence.
It was an absolute pleasure to work collaboratively with Aqua Enviro, to help deliver concise training to our front line operations, helping their understanding of site actions and processes. The training was a great mix of...
Alan Ayliffe-Wastewater Portfolio Project Manager, Yorkshire water
The Aqua Enviro team worked
directly with the Yorkshire
Water Learning & Development
department to design a series
of courses aligned with their
business objectives and
operational challenges. Bespoke
course content was developed.
This took into consideration
their deployed technologies and
developing needs. The course
materials were reviewed by
the Yorkshire Water technical
team to ensure everything was
pitched appropriately and of
requisite technical standard.