Helping a Community with Service Issues and Call-Out Expenses
Franklin Electric worked with the East Cedar Creek Fresh Water Supply District (ECCFWSD) to offer a more reliable grinder pump solution that could be used throughout their system, which included 3,600 individual grinder pumps for residential and commercial use as well as pumps for 10 to 15 lift stations.
Customer Challenge
The ECCFWSD is located about 50 miles southeast of Dallas, and serves about 6,500 water customers and 5,000 sewer customers adjacent to the north and east banks of Cedar Creek Reservoir. Most of the District’s 20 square miles of service area consists of municipal and rural residential subdivisions that were developed in the mid to late 1960s and early 1970s following construction of the 1,000 square mile reservoir.
While the equipment had been upgraded over the years, the number of nuisance calls related to pump issues continued to increase. The current pumps would get bound or burnt up, breakers were tripping for no clear reason and service issues were becoming the norm. In fact, in one weekend alone, the District recorded 28 hours of overtime on repair work. Time was adding up – and so were the costs associated with repairing pumps that weren’t grinding efficiently enough.
The Solution
Franklin Electric invited engineers from the ECCFWSD into their local lab to see first-hand what more efficient Franklin Electric pumps could accomplish. Grinding was the main concern, and Franklin put several products to the test, including the IGP-A Series and IGP-M Series – both designed for residential or light commercial sewage needs. These automatic and manual 208-230 volt/single phase pumps are 2 HP, but perform closer to a 3.5 or 5 HP – assuring they could easily handle the demands of grinding domestic sewage. The cutter system on the units is designed not to bind up even if the pump stops running at the end of a cycle. The heavy-duty shaft also helps prevent the pump from binding up at the start/end of a run cycle.
For the customer, Franklin Electric’s solutionfocused approach and customer service also exceeded expectations. Franklin Electric’s ability to troubleshoot issues over the phone – and their availability to be on-site quickly – made the product even more appealing.
ECCFWSD liked what they saw, and specified the pumps for known problem areas. Now, the pumps are considered the preferred pump for the District’s grinder applications and will be installed as-needed as issues arise with the current equipment.
The Results
ECCFWSD reports rarely having to return to locations where the Franklin pumps are installed. Overall, callouts are down significantly and failure rates have improved. The result is reduced expenses due to service calls and overtime work – delivering significant ROI for the customer