Facility management: managing drinking water hygiene safely and economically

Many building operators are facing major challenges due to a skills shortage in facility management. At the same time, regulators have tightened legislation on drinking water hygiene and energy efficiency in buildings. To optimise personnel deployment while complying with the corresponding regulations, smarter and more advanced solutions are needed that can simplify the day-to-day work of the facility manager. An innovative and integrated solution is offered by the SCHELL SWS Water Management System and its SMART.SWS digital add-on: Together, these can work to reduce workloads, conserve resources and simplify compliance with legal requirements.

Keeping building operations safe: how to maintain drinking water hygiene

According to the German Drinking Water Regulation, operators must take action to prevent water becoming contaminated – by Legionella, for example. A full exchange of water must therefore take place across all tapping points in the drinking water installation – ideally simultaneously – no later than every 72 hours. This is a difficult task to achieve, especially in larger properties. While manual flushing is always an option, this is time-, cost- and labour-intensive. In contrast, the SCHELL SWS Water Management System presents a hygienic, resource-friendly and cost-effective alternative that enables the automated execution of stagnation flushes.

SWS – the intelligent solution for hygienic drinking water management

The SCHELL SWS Water Management System uses a central server to network together the SCHELL electronic fittings in a building. Hybrid wired/wireless connectivity is supported, which makes it suitable for both new developments and retrofits. In many cases, SWS therefore avoids the need for expensive renovations. Designed as a modular system, SWS can be easily extended by a wide range of other fittings. Each server supports a network that can consist of up to 64 subscribers. Programmed accordingly, SWS executes stagnation flushes automatically while logging these activities. Flushes can be scheduled or triggered in response to temperature changes, ensuring reliable protection for drinking water hygiene at all times. Full records are kept of all system processes. This guarantees a high level of transparency and record-keeping while providing building operators with key insights into conserving resources and optimising operations.

Other significant benefits offered by SWS when compared with the manual handling of stagnation flushes include time and personnel savings as well as a reduction in water and energy consumption, as only the absolute minimum quantity of water is used at all times.

Digitales-Wassermanagement_Digital-Water-Management — Once appropriately programmed, the SCHELL SWS Water Management System enables the automatic triggering of stagnation flushes to maintain drinking water quality. Up to 64 subscribers can be networked by each server.

Remote administration for even greater efficiency: the SMART.SWS digital add-on

To take facility management efficiency to the next level, SCHELL developed SMART.SWS. This browser-based add-on offers secure remote access to any and all buildings equipped with SWS, and all of the networked SWS systems, fittings, relevant system data and operating parameters. This smart cloud solution features visualisations of all key data from stagnation flushes, temperature trends, water quantities and battery levels. System messages such as low battery notifications are also visible at a glance in SMART.SWS, which ensures the predictive and efficient planning of on-site maintenance and repair assignments.

With SMART.SWS, building operators can keep tabs on all of their properties from a single platform and can organise their facility management processes efficiently, identify optimisation potential early on and significantly cut their administrative workloads.

The SMART.SWS GUI presents all of the relevant data in clearly structured lists and visualisations. This simplifies administration, the planning of repair and maintenance call-outs, and record-keeping to prove compliance with legal requirements.

All of the benefits of the Water Management System at a glance

Optimum support for maintaining drinking water quality
Full and complete networking of all relevant tapping points in a building
Maximises operating efficiency by reducing task time, costs and personnel requirements
Straightforward installation, commissioning and operation
New fittings easily added at any time
Suitable for new and existing installations End-to-end documentation and record-keeping

Additional benefits provided by the SMART.SWS add-on

Instant, real-time monitoring of all SWS systems
Visualisation of all system data
Easy remote monitoring and management
Facility management of all buildings from anywhere in the world

Future-proof drinking water management with SCHELL

The SWS Water Management System offers an integrated solution for maintaining drinking water quality in building operations. Focused on efficiency, this system not only provides first-class hygiene while significantly reducing related workflows but also offers considerable business value. Thanks to the savings on personnel costs plus reduced water and energy consumption, this investment pays its way in a very short space of time.