When You Arrive At The Job
Best Practices – 2nd in the Series
You were called to address a leak or a sewer back-up. That’s the main concern your customer has on their mind. If you start out talking about replacing their water heater or replacing their kitchen faucet with the latest model, don’t be surprised if your reception is less than stellar. Concentrate on the problem at hand, the clogged drain or the drain pipe leak. Be sure you have a CCTV camera with you. If you’ve arrived with a cable machine only and no way to know what the source of the problem is that you are there to fix you can’t come to definitive conclusion to the problem. You can’t paint a house successfully with a blindfold on and you can’t clear a drain or find a leak without the tools necessary to do so. So, a best practice is to show up with CCTV equipment for inspection of the problem.
The CCTV camera equipment is as important as any of the tools you have in your tool box. It not only gives you the answers to the problem you are fixing it gives a good visual explanation to the property owner. Operating and recording the problem is as important as having the equipment with you. If you only show the customer a finished job without showing them the problem first, you’ve lost their confidence in what you did. A best practice here is to show the customer the problem that you are proceeding to fix. If the customer can see a crack in a pipe or roots penetrating their sewer line, they can understand the problem and are more inclined to accept your recommendations for fixing the problem.
Let’s discuss the “best practice” to attack a leaking drain pipe. We see a visible leak location in a wall or ceiling and investigate fixture locations that may be the culprit. Your CCTV camera can trace the lines internally to investigate and locate the source of the leak. If your pipe is scaled with tuberculation, showing your customer the problem and discuss the costs of removing the scale to find the problem is the next part of the process. The best practice here is to get a commitment from your owner before spending time and money performing work you won’t get paid for. Once you get a commitment, you can move forward with cleaning the pipe. A “best practice” here is using dry equipment to clean the pipe. High Speed cable machines equipped with a chain knocker and a centering axel to maintain the alignment of the chain knocker in the center of the pipe. DO NOT PERFORM WORK FOR FREE THAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY CHARGE FOR. GET A COMMITMENT FIRST BEFORE COMPLETING THIS PART OF THE WORK. Upon completion of the chain knocking in that line another “best practice” is to push the debris down the line and out to the main. If you’ve located the leak, using a jetter after this defect location will let you push the scale out. You’ve found the source of the leak and the next step is to determine which process is best to fix the pipe. Your choices are opening the wall and cutting out the section of pipe that is leaking or coating the pipe or a combination of both. If the leak is caused by a structural defect, a point repair or replacement may be called for followed by an optional coating of the length of the run to prevent further scaling. You can line over the point repair with coating material. You may elect to open a portion of the wall, replace a section of pipe, patch the opening and offer a coating option. If the defect is a non-structural opening in the pipe or a pipe joint leaking, coating the pipe will correct the defect. You will need to discuss impacts with your clients regarding remaining in the space and using facilities while the repairs are made or will they need to find temporary quarters during the repair as well as how long the temporary quarters are needed.
Follow our “Best Practices” Weekly Blogs to educate yourself and your staff These are meant to help you become a better resource to your customers. A person who calls you instead of your competitors.
For more information regarding these methods call us at +1-888-354-6464 or write to info@pipeliningsupply.com. Next week we’ll discuss the best practices options for the CIPP process to repair defective pipe.
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