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Applied Engineering
2018; 2(2): 60-71
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ae
doi: 10.11648/j.ae.20180202.15
Research Article
Improving Operational Procedures in Riyadh’s (Saudi
Arabia) Water Treatment Plants Using Quality Tools
Yasser Alshammari
1
, Djamel Ghernaout
2, 3, *
, Mohamed Aichouni
4
, Mabrouk Touahmia
5
1
Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
2
Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
3
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Blida, Blida, Algeria
4
Industrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
5
Archetectural Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
Email address:
*
Corresponding author
To cite this article:
Yasser Alshammari, Djamel Ghernaout, Mohamed Aichouni, Mabrouk Touahmia. Improving Operational Procedures in Riyadh’s (Saudi
Arabia) Water Treatment Plants Using Quality Tools. Applied Engineering. Vol. 2, No. 2, 2018, pp. 60-71. doi: 10.11648/j.ae.20180202.15
Received: December 10, 2018; Accepted: December 22 2018; Published: January 22, 2019
Abstract:
In Saudi Arabia, as population growth increases, the need for safe drinking water is more and more increasing for
both human use and industrial applications. These requires highly efficient processing plants that meet the growing needs of
customers and their expectations of providing more service to all segments of the society at the lowest possible cost. On the other
hand, these stations consume high amounts of energy in addition to the high maintenance and operating costs due to emergency
breakdowns, which in turn result in lower production and the exit of some units from operation. This research aims to enhance
the operational procedures of the stations and to study the possibility of reducing the high consumption of electric power and
work to increase the performance of the plants by reducing the costs of maintenance and operation through the application of
Quality Tools (QTs). This work focused on: (1) collecting data, equipment inventory, maintenance and operation costs and
energy consumption rate of the equipment; (2) analyzing these data using the Seven QTs and the New QTs for Management and
Planning; (3) finding solutions and presenting the results using the Minitab software; and, (4) the obtained results will be then
generalized to the other stations in other Saudi Arabia regions.
Keywords:
Water Treatment Plant (WTP), Quality Tools (QTs), Operational Procedures (OPs),
NATIONAL Water Company (NWC), Minitab™, Cause and Effect Diagram (CED), Pareto Diagram (PD),
Scatter Diagram (SD)
1. Introduction
All know the importance of water in human life and there is
no existence of organisms except in the presence of water and
its sources [1-4]. However, around the world there are many
affected areas where many people are dying daily and at high
rates because they do not have access to safe drinking water
[5,6]. World desertification phenomenon is also evident;
caused by a large water shortage and increased pollution due
to various human actions, the excessive use of water, the
dumping of wastes into water sources such as rivers.
Saudi Arabia has made great efforts in the provision of fresh
drinking water. Indeed, the Government of Saudi Arabia paid
great attention and harnessed all its resources to preserve
water and ensuring that it is accessible to all. The water
authorities’ focus is on raising the quality of water in the
Kingdom and reducing waste through constructing
high-efficiency processing and desalination plants at the
lowest possible cost.
As such, the National Water Company (NWC) was
established as a wholly owned Saudi joint stock company to
provide all services related to water and sanitation. The NWC,
61 Yasser Alshammari et al.: Improving Operational Procedures in Riyadh’s (Saudi Arabia)
Water Treatment Plants Using Quality Tools
with its various components of stations, networks and wells, is
a vital service sector that primarily touches the needs of
customers, necessitating the maintenance of these facilities
around the clock. Indeed, such facilities are often exposed to
some unexpected breakdowns causing some station units to
arrest their functioning as well as a decrease in water provision.
In addition, operating these stations will result in high-energy
consumption and high costs in the maintenance and operation
process, which in turn increase the cost of expenses on the
company and raise the cost of production, where the cost per
cubic meter is about three Saudi Riyals (0.68 Euros).
The aim of this research is to improve the operational
procedures (OPs) of the stations and to study the possibility of
reducing the high consumption of electric power and work to
increase the performance of the plants by reducing the costs of
maintenance and operation through the application of Quality
Tools (QTs). In other words, it is expected that this research
would conduct to improving the OPs at stations, which in turn
significantly reduce the high costs of maintenance and
high-energy consumption.
2. Study Problematic
In Saudi Arabia, the energy sector is facing a major
challenge because of rising consumption, which is higher than
global rates in all sectors. Therefore, there must be a pause to
review and discuss methods to stop the waste of energy [7] in
the industrial and service sectors, led by the NWC. Because
the current phase requires concerted effort to reduce costs and
decrease spending, this vital and important issue needs to be
highlighted in exploring possibilities for diminishing wasted
power in water plants and reducing maintenance and operating
costs. The high consumption of electricity in these stations and
the high costs of maintenance and operation were noted. This
will increase the cost of production per cubic meter. Therefore,
the focus of this research will be on the collection of field data
[8] and operational reports for 2017 in ten treatment plants and
water production, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Ten water treatment plants (WTPs) and pumping stations in Riyadh’s region.
Electrical consumption rate for 2017 for the ten WTPs and pumping stations in Riyadh’s region (kW/m
3
)
Buwayb Station 1 4.96
Buwayb Station 2 3.85
Wasia Station 2.90
Salboukh Station 1 4.00
Salboukh Station 2 3.32
Manfouha Station
3
.
84
Malaz Station
3
.
55
Shemessy Station
3
.
11
Hunei Station
1
.
92
Hair Station
2
.
87
These data will be analyzed and manners will be discussed
to improve the OPs in these stations. The first and final
objective left is to reduce the energy consumption by energy
equipment’s, decrease maintenance and operation costs and
raise the quality of treated water using QTs.
3. Study Limits
3.1. Objective Limits
This study focuses on the use of the Seven QTs and
planning to improve the OPs in WTPs. These tools are scatter
diagram (SD), control charts (CCs), flow charts (FCs), Pareto
diagram (PD), brainstorming, cause-and-effect diagram (CED)
and finally tree diagram (TD). These tools were selected from
a set of seven core QTs as well as Seven New Quality
Management and Planning Tools because they are used in
production areas where numerical data [9-11] are available.
3.2. Spatial Limits
The limits of this study are the WTPs at the NWC in Riyadh.
The main objective of this study is to use and apply QTs to
improve the OPs in WTPs, and then to generalize the use of
these tools to any service or production sector in reducing the
high costs of electricity use and not only for the purpose of
generalization of solutions.
3.3. Time Limits
The data of this study were collected through the monthly
reports of WTPs in the NWC during the year 2017.
4. Previous Studies
This section reviews the most important researches related
to the subject of the study.
Feudo et al. [12] performed an assessment of energy at the
water pump plant using multivariate analysis, which aimed to
identify and apply approved measurements to assess the
energy consumed in the water treatment system. They showed
that global water consumption would increase by 55% by
2050. Groundwater sources are decreasing significantly, offset
by high-energy costs, estimated at 5% to 30% of the total
operating costs in water and wastewater treatments [13-15]. In
some developing countries such as India and Bangladesh, the
ratio is up to 40% of total operating costs. Therefore, this
dilemma must be addressed and the maintenance of
high-quality service standards must be imposed.
Castellet and Molinos-Senante [16] assessed the efficiency
of wastewater treatment plants [17, 18] in terms of analysis of
technical, economic and environmental data [19, 20]. They
stressed that the assessment of the effectiveness of water
plants, especially wastewater, has become necessary to
Applied Engineering 2018; 2(2): 60-71 62
compare their performance. Indeed, through performance,
best operational practices can be identified that can contribute
to cost reduction. They also noted that, in addition to
increasing operational costs, another element was the removal
of contaminants from wastewater treatment [21-23] and the
resulting costly costs to plants. The evaluation of the
effectiveness of stations is more important because it
identifies the stations that use their resources better without
reducing the quality of treated water. Accordingly, companies
can identify the best operating procedures that can be applied
in WTPs to help reduce operating costs.
In a report on water and energy, the United Nations World
Water Assessment Program [24] highlighted the close
relationship between water and energy management, and that
the links between freshwater and energy are essential for
sustainability and for advancing development [24]. Water is
crucial for producing, transporting and using energy; and
without energy, drinking water cannot be pumped. This
mutual link imposes the improvement of total benefiting from
them and their protection through their ideally optimized
using.
A report on the energy efficiency of water and sanitation
facilities [25], published by the US Environmental Protection
Agency [25], concluded that energy savings through energy
efficiency improvements cost little to generate, transport, and
distribute energy from power generation plants. It also offers
multiple economic and environmental benefits. By saving
energy, operating costs may be reduced and water departments
may be assisted to decrease additional investment in energy
efficiency [26]. On the environmental side, energy efficiency
helps in reducing pollution and emissions from power plants
[27, 28].
Daw et al. [29] noted that water treatment and sanitation are
important energy consumers with an estimated consumption
of 3% to 4% of total US consumption of electricity used in
water transfer and treatment. Energy is becoming increasingly
important in the light of acute water shortages and high-energy
costs. Making energy improvements in water plants is one of
the most important ways in which energy managers can
identify opportunities to save money, energy, and water at the
same time.
As shown above, the previous studies discussed in this
section are relatively recent. Studies on QTs are more
numerous than those focused on improving the OPs in WTPs.
This is due to the fact that researches on enhancing the OPs in
WTPs are relatively few. Moreover, to the best of our
knowledge, there are no studies that combine QTs and
improvement of OPs in WTPs.
This is an obvious indication that the use of QTs to improve
OPs in WTPs is of paramount importance in this study. It is
clear from the following: (1) the previous studies on QTs and
planning used the Seven Basic Tools for Quality as well as the
Seven New Tools for Management and Planning, the present
study focuses on employing the tools of these two groups
together. The previous studies also dealt with the definition
and explanation of QTs and how to use them without being
applied in practice through problem-solving or improvement
in processes or development. (2) Studies on the improvement
of OPs are very few, and all are looking for an energy
efficiency assessment that makes them consistent with this
study.
5. Methodology of the Study
This work relies on quantitative analytical method, where
the data were collected through the monthly reports of the
stations studied in 2017. The power consumption rates for
each station were also followed during this year; therefore, the
stations were compared with each other to see the higher
power consumption compared to the production per cubic
meter per station. The average annual consumption of all
stations studied is shown in Table 1. Figure 1 shows a diagram
illustrating the proportion of the most power consumption
stations. Figure 2 shows a diagram illustrating the average
station consumption compared to the approved indicator (2.75
kW/m
3
).
Figure 1. Diagram showing the proportion of the most power consumption stations.
Hunei
Buwayb1
Salboukh 1
Buwayb2
Manfouha
Malaz
Salboukh 2
Shemessy
Wasia
Hair
Category
Hunei
5.6%
Hair
8.4%
Wasia
8.4%
Shemessy
9.1%
Salboukh 2
9.7%
Malaz
10.3%
Manfouha
11.2%
Buwayb2
11.2%
Salboukh 1
11.7%
Buwayb1
14.5%
Pie Chart of plants on 2017
63 Yasser Alshammari et al.: Improving Operational Procedures in Riyadh’s (Saudi Arabia)
Water Treatment Plants Using Quality Tools
Figure 2. Diagram showing the average station consumption compared to the approved indicator (2.75 kW/m
3
).
An inventory and identification of the equipment that is
believed to have a major role in the high consumption of
electrical energy and assessment of the amount of public
consumption in all the stations covered by the study are
performed. A special focus was accorded the most important case
study, Buwayb Station 1, by assessing its energy efficiency. All
this was done using QTs to reach concrete solutions to improve
OPs in WTPs and discuss results using the Minitab program.
The study sample includes ten WTPs of the NWC in Riyadh.
These stations were selected in a simple sampling manner, as
these stations are the basis for water production at the NWC.
In addition, their number is very suitable for the application of
QTs selected in this study.
6. Results and Discussion
6.1. Identifying the Most Energy Consuming Stations
As seen in Table 1, showing the annual consumption rates
of the stations during 2017, and illustrated in Figure 1,
illustrating the proportion of the most power consumption
stations, it is observed that the Buwayb Station 1 is considered
as the most power consumption stations compared to the rest
of the stations, followed by the Salboukh 1 and Buwayb 2.
Therefore, the concern will be accorded to search for all the
reasons that led to high consumption rates of these stations.
A comparison of the average consumption of these stations
with the approved indicator of the kilowatts per cubic meter of
water production plants, which, according to an expert at the
NWC [30], is 2.75 kW/m
3
(Figure 2). As shown in Figure 2, an
increase up to 200% is noted for Buwayb 1 Station. This
unreasonable rise calls for its treatment and finding solutions
as soon as possible to avoid further waste of energy.
6.2. Identifying the Most Energy Consuming Equipment
By studying and analyzing the data of the equipment of the
stations covered by the study, as well as the application of the
dispersion or dispersion scheme as shown in Figure 3, a
positive and clear linear relationship is shown between the
total consumption of the stations and the consumption of the
following equipment and components:
Submersible pumps of wells;
High-pressure pumps;
Flushing pumps;
Booster pumps.
Since the above-mentioned equipment is the most
energy-consuming equipment in all stations studied, the CC for
variables is applied to assess the extent to which these equipment
affect the general consumption of the stations studied.
6.2.1. Submersible Pumps of Wells
Using observation maps for individual values on
submersible pumps of wells, as shown in Figure 4, all the
points of the submersible pumps of wells in the stations
covered by the search are found within the control limits and
that there is no indication of the out of control statistics.
Consequently, the process is statistically stable.
6.2.2. High-Pressure Pumps
By applying observation maps to individual values on
high-pressure pumps, as shown in Figure 5, not all the points
of the high-pressure pumps in the stations covered by the
search are within the control limits and that there is one point
outside the control limits. This is an indication of the state of
exit from statistical control. Accordingly, the process is
considered statistically unstable. The reasons for this should
be sought and plans and solutions should be found.
6.2.3. Flushing Pumps
By applying observation maps to individual values on the
washing pumps, as shown in Figure 6, not all the points of the
washing pumps at the stations covered by the search were
within the orbital boundaries and that there was a single point
outside the control limits. This is an indication of the state of
exit from statistical control. Accordingly, the process is
considered statistically unstable, the reasons for this should be
sought, and plans and solutions developed.
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
5
4
3
2
1
0
plants
Kw/m3
Chart of Kw/m3 for each plant on 2017
Applied Engineering 2018; 2(2): 60-71 64
Figure 3. SD to study the relationship between the total consumption of stations with consumption of equipment.
Figure 4. Application of observation maps of individual values to submersible pumps of wells.
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1000000
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900060003000 10005000 200010000
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1000000
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2000000
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Scatterplot of Total consum vs equipments consumption (Kw/day)
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
600000
400000
200000
0
-200000
plants
Individual Value
_
X=166104
UCL=523881
LCL=-191674
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
400000
300000
200000
100000
0
plants
Moving Ran ge
__
MR=134524
UCL=439529
LCL=0
I-MR Chart of Submersible pumps Of Wells for all plants
65 Yasser Alshammari et al.: Improving Operational Procedures in Riyadh’s (Saudi Arabia)
Water Treatment Plants Using Quality Tools
Figure 5. Application of CCs of individual values to high-pressure pumps.
Figure 6. Application of CCs for individual values on washing pumps.
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
400000
200000
0
-200000
plants
Individual Value
_
X=64133
UCL=344780
LCL=-216514
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
400000
300000
200000
100000
0
plants
Moving Range
__
MR=105523
UCL=344775
LCL=0
1
1
1
I-MR Chart of High pressure pumps of all plants
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
10000
5000
0
-5000
plants
Individual Value
_
X=1109
UCL=6955
LCL=-4738
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
plants
Moving Range
__
MR=2198
UCL=7183
LCL=0
1
1
1
I-MR Chart of Flushing Pumps for all plants
Applied Engineering 2018; 2(2): 60-71 66
Figure 7. Application of observation maps to individual values on booster pumps.
6.2.4. Booster Pumps
By applying observation maps to individual values on the
booster pumps, as shown in Figure 7, not all the points on the
booster pumps covered in the search stations are within the
control limits and that there is a single point outside the
control limits. This is an indication of the state of exit from
statistical control. Accordingly, the process is considered
statistically unstable, the reasons for this should be sought,
Since Buwayb 1 Station is the highest in the average energy
consumption, it will be taken as a sample for the application of
the study and identification of the potentialities for energy
savings.
6.3. Buwayb 1 Station
6.3.1. A Brief Description of the Buwayb 1 Station
Buwayb 1 Station was set up and introduced into service
in 1980, with a production capacity of 60000 m
3
per day.
The plant supplies water to the Riyadh area through the
wells field around the station. This field was created
specifically for the plant, with a total of 12 wells with
submersible pumps with a capacity of about 523 kW. After
pumping water into the plant, the processes of treatment
and purification of water are realized through several stages,
thus: (1) Cooling phase; (2) Sedimentation phase and
chemical dosage; (3) Filtering stage through sand filters; (4)
Reverse osmosis (RO) stage, which includes low pressure
pumps and high-pressure as well as RO units; (5) Finished
product stage; and (6) Pumping stage.
6.3.2. Energy Efficiency Assessment
In this section, the power consumption of the Buwayb 1
Station is assessed according to the operational data [9] for
calculating the average energy consumption during the period
from January 2017 to December 2017. As shown in Table 2, it
is apparent that the calculated power consumption of the
Buwayb 1 Station in the year 2107 is higher than the approved
index of 2.75 kW/m
3
. Therefore, it is necessary to know the
most important stages of this station for the consumption of
energy through the equipment used at each stage.
Table 2. Average energy consumption during the period January 2017 - December 2017 for the Buwayb 1 Station.
Month Energy consumption during the period January 2017 - December 2017 for the Buwayb 1 Station
Volume (m
3
) Energy consumption (kW) Average energy consumption (kW/m
3
)
January 1187355 6030000 5.08
February 1172921 5814000 4.96
March 1166471 5598600 4.80
April 1145555 5100000 4.45
May 1214396 6033000 4.97
June 1357757 6676000 4.92
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
1000000
500000
0
-500000
plants
Individual Value
_
X=168524
UCL=743986
LCL=-406938
Hair
Hunei
Shemessy
Malaz
Manfouha
Salboukh 2
Salboukh 1
Wasia
Buwayb2
Buwayb1
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
plants
Moving Ran ge
__
MR=216374
UCL=706955
LCL=0
1
1
I-MR Chart of Booster Pumps for all plants
67 Yasser Alshammari et al.: Improving Operational Procedures in Riyadh’s (Saudi Arabia)
Water Treatment Plants Using Quality Tools
Month Energy consumption during the period January 2017 - December 2017 for the Buwayb 1 Station
Volume (m
3
) Energy consumption (kW) Average energy consumption (kW/m
3
)
July 1401385 6819000 4.87
August 1267323 6268000 4.95
September 1317062 6482735 4.92
October 1218699 6171581 5.06
November 1019360 5073000 4.98
December 1075756 6030000 5.61
Based on the data collected in Table 3, PD is used to inventory the most energy-intensive equipment and to make plans and
solutions to them as shown in Figure 8.
Table 3. Comparison of the daily energy consumption by equipment to the general consumption of the Buwayb 1 Station.
Item Equipment name
Buwayb 1 Station
Average daily consumption (kW/day) Buwayb 1 Station general
consumption (kW/day)
1 Submersible pump of wells 138112.13
2
09308.3
2 Cooling towers 10065.56
3 Water return pump 134.58
4 Reverse washing pump 656.95
5 Air blower 725.88
6 Air compressor 739.16
7 Low pressure pump 10869.94
8 High-pressure pump 35753.70
9 Washing pump 90.74
10 Pumping pump 12159.71
Figure 8. PD for finding out the most energy-consuming equipment at the Buwayb 1 Station.
In PD, as shown in Figure 8, it is clear that the general
consumption of the plant is due to two main reasons:
submersible well pumps (62%) and high-pressure pumps
(18%). Therefore, these pumps are considered the most energy
consuming equipment. Through this analysis, it is also clear
that the focus must be accorded to improving these pumps
energy consumption.
Thus, appropriate plans and improvements should be made
in each of this equipment through the operation and
maintenance sections of the plant or through the company's
planning department and finding solutions for repairs and
modernization.
6.4. Results Discussion
In this Section, the obtained results are presented and
assessed through answering the questions presented at the
beginning of the study and discussing them as follows:
6.4.1. Question 1: Causes of Excessive Consumption of
Electrical Energy and Increase Maintenance and
Operation Costs in WTPs
In order to answer this question, the brainstorming tool and
Buwayb1 138112 35754 12160 10870 10066 2347
Percent 66.0 17.1 5.8 5.2 4.8 1.1
Cum % 66.0 83.1 88.9 94.1 98.9 100.0
Equipment
Other
Cooling Tower
Low pressure pump
Booster Pump
High pressure pump
Submersible pump Of Wells
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
Buwayb1
Percent
Pareto Chart of Equipment for Buwayb 1
Applied Engineering 2018; 2(2): 60-71 68
the CED are used. As mentioned above, these two methods
brainstorming and the CED - have very great benefits in
compiling the basic information and working to arrange it,
showing problems and reasons clearly and understanding the
dimensions of the problem in more than one point of view.
Indeed, six pre-selected members of the working group have
been asked to perform this task. In the beginning, the problem
was identified and a name was chosen, namely, "Reasons for
high power consumption and increased maintenance and
operating costs". Then, the team brainstormed and limited all
the reasons for the increase in power consumption in the
WTPs by writing all the ideas on the labels so that each reason
and the idea of the ideas are recorded on one card only. After
completing the writing of the reasons, the ideas were limited
and the duplicates deleted. The number of ideas and the
reasons written by the members of the team was 30 as listed in
Table 4.
Table 4. Main reasons for the high consumption of electricity and increase the costs of maintenance and operation using the brainstorming tool.
Lack of maintenance tools
Lack of specialized
technicians
Frequent maintenance
requests Delayed maintenance Not updated equipment
Weak coordination Lack of warehouses Equipment aging Communicating difficulty Hardware aging
Misuse of devices Non-compliance with
employment conditions
Simple problems not
solved Badness of some devices Malfunction notification
delaying
Assign staff to additional
work
Receive commands from
more than one destination
Non-rotation in
equipment operation Unfair distribution of tasks Non-conformity of
equipment during supply
Not updated the SCADA
system
Different qualifications for
work requirements
Difficulty in sharing
tasks Not calibrated devices No budget
Lack of training Poor hardware maintenance
Lack of experience Delayed availability of spare parts Lack of training courses
As shown in Table 4, the problems leading to high power
consumption and increasing maintenance and operation costs
are numerous and varied. These problems may be related to:
(1) the nature of the work itself, such as delays in maintenance,
poor coordination, late arrival of a malfunction or related to
(2) the personnel, such as the difficulty of exchanging and
assigning additional tasks, or because of
(3) machinery and equipment, such as aging of the vehicle,
the lack of modernization or non-rotation, the supply of spare
parts and the lack of maintenance tools required to maintain
the equipment.
After enumerating the causes and problems, the CED is
used in order to classify the reasons that the team extracted in
the brainstorming session into four main groups: machines
and equipment, materials, methods of work and finally
employment. Figure 9 shows the CED to classify the causes
and problems that cause high power consumption and increase
maintenance and operation costs in WTPs.
Figure 9. Reasons for high power consumption and increased maintenance and operation costs using the CED.
Figure 9 illustrates that there are four main reasons for the
increase in electricity consumption and the increase in
maintenance and operating costs, which, as mentioned earlier, are
machinery and equipment, materials, methods of work and
finally labor. On the other hand, these causes are subdivided into
other sub-factors, as shown in Figure 9. It is also noted that some
causes may be the result of other factors. For example, delays in
maintenance operations are due to poor communication and
coordination or due to orders from more than one destination. In
addition, spare parts were delayed due to insufficient budget or
69 Yasser Alshammari et al.: Improving Operational Procedures in Riyadh’s (Saudi Arabia)
Water Treatment Plants Using Quality Tools
lack of conformity of spare parts during the supply of equipment
at the sites, which resulted in the return of suppliers and the
waiting for identical parts to arrive.
6.4.2. Question 2: How Well Do QTs Affect OPs in WTPs
To answer this question, QTs are used to achieve a specific
goal, i.e., to improve the OPs in WTPs, which in turn will
clearly contribute to the reduction of electricity consumption.
As mentioned previously, QTs are tools that prioritize and
identify problems accurately and thus make it easier for the
enterprise or institution to reach concrete solutions that may
save them from collapse or loss. Ishikawa [11] stated that a
very large percentage, perhaps 95%, of quality problems in all
organizations could be solved by optimizing the seven QTs.
This has already been applied in this study. Indeed, after
identifying the causes, proposed solutions were developed to
improve the OPs of the studied stations using the TD as
described in Figure 10.
Figure 10. Proposed solutions to improve OPs in WTPs using TD.
Applied Engineering 2018; 2(2): 60-71 70
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
7.1. Conclusions
In this part of the study, the main findings of the study are
presented. The study showed a high consumption of electrical
energy in most of the water stations covered by this study.
Indeed, the consumption rate in some stations has reached 15%
of the value of the general consumption of the company, such
as Buwayb 1 Station, for example. This percentage is very
high, with a general consumption rate of 200% compared to
the approved index of kilowatt per cubic meter, which is 2.75
kW/m
3
.
In the course of getting to know the equipment that has the
most impact on the consumption of general stations,
submersible pumps and high-pressure pumps have the lion's
share in the value of consumption in all the stations studied.
Accordingly, a teamwork was selected to inventory and
record the reasons that are believed to be a major cause of
excessive consumption of electrical energy and increased
maintenance and operational costs. Indeed, the team members
have come up with some thirty reasons that may be a factor in
high power consumption (Figure 10).
7.2. Recommendations
Through this study results and discussion, several
recommendations are reached and summarized in Table 5.
Table 5. Recommendations obtained from this work to reduce electrical energy consumption through WTPs.
Recommendation Description
Recommendation #1
Establishment of a Department concerned with "Energy Management" to collect, analyze and follow up energy consumption
and work to reduce it and prepare the necessary periodic reports for decision makers to take the necessary actions in time and
to develop plans, strategies and policies to reduce energy consumption.
Recommendation #2 Studying the possibility of low-productivity stations and the implications thereof, with the preparation and study of possible
alternatives with specialists.
Recommendation #3 Implementing the procedures necessary to improve the OPs referred to above in this study, especially with respect to updating
the operating procedures of all sites in accordance with the operational requirements.
Recommendation #4 Follow up the implementation of preventive and corrective maintenance procedures, review maintenance plans and develop
their operational plans.
Recommendation #5 Increasing the level of integration between the maintenance and operation departments and assets and to link activities and
coordination among them, by linking them to a clear and understandable automated system.
Recommendation #6 Updating the technical specifications of the equipment in coordination with the Asset Management and Operation and
Maintenance Department to take into consideration the energy efficiency of the equipment.
Recommendation #7 Preparation of technical regulations according to international standards, taking into account the efficiency of electric power
and work on the application of the International Standard for Management of Energy ISO 50001.
Recommendation #8 Updating, developing and replacing SCADA automation systems and control systems with changing and replacing precision
devices, instrumentation and control.
Recommendation #9 Updating the technical specifications of the SCADA system to take into consideration the consumption of electrical energy for
equipment including flow, pressure, voltage, ampere and finally energy consumption.
Recommendation #10 Organizing the management and operation of SCADA systems and addressing the imbalance in the development of
operational requirements, specifications and inputs in coordination with the concerned departments.
Recommendation #11 Asset valuation "All Company Equipment" through preparing and implementing procedures for replacement of less efficient
equipment, inventory of less efficient and productive assets and development and modernization plans.
Recommendation #12 Fully upgrade and develop Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) with a time plan.
Recommendation #13 Establishment of mechanisms and programs to encourage site workers in the event of savings in electricity consumption.
Recommendation #14 Activating the role of energy coordinators in the stations and establish procedures, work tasks and training plans suitable for
technicians and workers.
Recommendation #15 Modifying the operational status of the equipment, so that it operates in the medium term design, this gives the highest possible
efficiency of the machine.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Saudi Ministry of
Education under the framework of the National Initiative on
Creativity and Innovation in Saudi Universities. The authors
gratefully acknowledge the support of their research
program.
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