Drought Sparks Ingenuity at Chubb

As Australia continues to experience the worst drought in recent memory, it is not surprising that water conservation is at the forefront of government, commercial and private interests.

A team of employees from Chubb’s fire safety business devised an ingenious solution to significantly reduce water consumption during the pressure testing of fire hoses. The system has already saved 150,000 litres of water from over 3,500 hoses that are tested each year.  

Instead of letting the water drain off after the testing was completed, the team took proactive steps to recycle and reuse the water to better preserve the dwindling resource. 

“The new system has also improved our efficiency. We have been able to increase the number of hoses tested in a 10 hour shift from 13 to 20 – without wasting any water!” said Michael Dirckze, Service Manager, Chubb Fire Safety, NSW.

To capture the water, the team developed a steel trough which houses the fire hose and drains to a nearby storage tank where the water is kept for future use. The water is fed back into the hose by a new submersible pump which has an energy rating significantly less than the previous petrol powered pump - so the Chubb team is not only saving water, but electricity as well!

Another benefit of the new system is that the steel trough is positioned to also collect rain water run off from the building’s roof so that no additional water is needed to fill the test storage tanks.

Water and energy savings are a priority at United Technologies Corporation, Chubb’s parent company. For information on UTC click here