Opinion piece: How the pandemic has altered the priorities of compressed air users by Precision Pneumatics Sales Director, John Massey

I think we can all agree that the last year has been difficult for many.

People in all industries have really had to shift their priorities, an we have seen this a great deal with compressed air users in the North West of England.

Firstly with safety.

I’m pleased to say we’ve been asked more questions regarding the processes and practises that keep our clients and our employees as safe as possible. We have rigorously assessed our procedures to ensure we have a “Covid-Safe” operating environment and communicated this to our clients. By following their on- site requests stringently, it has allowed us to continue providing the excellent service we are renown for.

Secondly, remote Monitoring has leapt up the list of priorities.  

Regarding the technical interest, I believe the Covid restrictions have highlighted the importance of remote connectivity solutions.

The benefit to Smartlink remote monitoring seems to be gaining a wider audience. The challenge engineers face is to maintain a production facility with as little human contact as possible. Our most recent example of how remote monitoring achieves this is described here:

Our client has had issues in the past with condensate drains freezing due to extreme weather. The effect ambient conditions have on a compressed air system are considerable. The measures to combat the changeable temperatures have been introduced, but the PPL service team routinely monitor the ambient temperature of the compressors without stepping foot outside. The advice is then communicated via email or telephone to the end user if anything actionable is required. Production continues, breakdowns are avoided and crucially, human contact is minimised.

Will this be a passing trend?

I don’t believe it will. The circumstances have only highlighted the capability and quality of the Smartlink offer. This will be a change that becomes an expectation, rather than desirable for a large number of UK manufacturers.

Finally, I am happy to say that Precision Pneumatics continues to remain open during these difficult times and we’re here to support all our customers, as always.

If you require any assistance with remote monitoring, compressed air solutions, industrial gases or pneumatics, please call us on 0151 546 6689, and our friendly team will be happy to help.