A Guyanese engineer attached to the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) departed the country last week to undergo training in India that will result in the water utility being better able to measure water leaks.
In a statement, GWI said Process Control and Instrumentation Engineer Duane Tobin departed Guyana for India on Tuesday for a training programme on ‘Flow Measurement and Control Techniques/Software in Industrial Process and Water Distribution System.’ The training will strengthen the company’s capabilities with regard to flow measurement and control techniques, the statement said.
The programme is being sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC)/Special Commonwealth Africa Assistance Plan (SCAAP) and TCS of Colombo Plan at a cost in excess of US$4000 and will be held at the Fluid Control Research Institute, India, from March 25 to May 25, 2016.
“The objective of the training programme is to equip technical personnel in Mechanical, Instrumentation, Civil and Hydraulic sectors with knowledge of industrial instrumentation and control of fluid flow. This would assist GWI in managing bulk meters and domestic meters,” Tobin was quoted as saying.
“Bulk meters record the flow of water from GWI water production facilities including well stations and water treatment plants…this aids the company in measuring the amount of Non-Revenue Water, that is water which cannot be accounted for; the training programme will also build the company’s capacity for leak detection through the use of flow meter devices,” he explained.
GWI said the programme will also introduce the engineer to new technology and software that can be used to improve processes involved in flow measurement and control techniques. “New technology is pivotal to reducing leaks and controlling Non-Revenue Water…armed with this knowledge, GWI can significantly improve techniques used for leak detection and measuring Non-Revenue Water,” Tobin was quoted as saying.
The statement said that the training programme will specifically encompass the selection and application of flowmeters, performance and calibration of flowmeters, calibration of auxiliary/secondary instruments for flow measurement (pressure, temperature, density, viscosity, mass, etc), performance and quality aspects in flowmetering systems, flow network/System parameters, water transition and distribution systems, electronics/instrumentation data acquisition systems and valves.
“The overarching aim of acquiring this knowledge is to build GWI’s ability to improve the efficiency of its water distribution networks…by acquiring knowledge of new technology that can be used to detect and reduce Non-Revenue Water and leaks, the company is on stable path towards providing improved service to customers country-wide,” Tobin said.
