Tackling The Challenges Faced By Multi-Site Pool And Spa Operators
Large-scale operators across the pool and spa sector face numerous challenges when managing water testing operations.
Rigorous and consistent testing regimes must be followed across multiple sites to protect pool and spa users and infrastructure, and maintain water quality. This includes monitoring pH levels and disinfectant residuals such as chlorine, testing for alkalinity, total dissolved solids, calcium hardness and water balance, and eliminating the risk of recreational water illnesses through microbiological testing.
Pool and spa operators also need to ensure they comply with regulations and can demonstrate this internally and externally.
In addition, in order to identify potential problems within a chain of leisure facilities – for instance major differences in water quality across a group, or increases in contamination in particular sites following a change in maintenance regime – testing data needs to be easy to analyse and interrogate.
Operators need to have confidence in the accuracy of their data, and they need quick access to it, in order to be able to make informed decisions on the safety of their swimming pools and spas.
However, maintaining paper logs and manually collating results can be time consuming. Plus, there is a risk that human error can lead to inaccuracies in the data. Manual reporting and data management can also divert skilled staff away from their core roles.
So how can these challenges be overcome?
Palintest provides a solution which integrates instruments, software and technical support that can help large-scale pool and spa operators to address many of the challenges they face in water testing and managing testing data.
Palintest’s Lumiso Pooltest Expert (link to Lumiso Pooltest Expert product page) – a multi-parameter benchtop photometer with over 30 tests available – has been developed specifically for the pool and spa sector. It has an IP67 waterproof design so it can be used in situ (for instance poolside, outdoors and in humid environments) and has a large touchscreen interface.
In addition, Palintest has developed a range of waterproof handheld photometers for use by pool and spa operators: these include Lumiso Pooltest 3, which is used to test for chlorine, pH and cyanuric acid; Lumiso Pooltest 4, which is used to test for alkalinity, bromine, chlorine and pH; and Lumiso Pooltest 6, which enables a complete water balance calculation, with tests for alkalinity, bromine, calcium hardness, chlorine, cyanuric acid and pH.
These Lumiso products are compatible with Palintest Connect, Palintest’s cloud-based data management software, which allows operators to upload, view and manage data on water quality easily (link to Palintest Connect product page).
A combination of Palintest’s innovative products, software and technical support gives pool and spa operators confidence in field data quality, saves them time and resources, and improves efficiency.
Accuracy, Speed and Simplicity
Lumiso Pooltest Expert and the Lumiso Pooltest 3, 4 and 6 instruments are designed to be easy to operate with little prior training, and provide quick, accurate results. They allow testing to be easily carried out by multiple staff members in an organisation, from pool managers to maintenance staff.
Compliance and Traceability
Using Lumiso products in conjunction with Palintest Connect software enables pool and spa operators to demonstrate compliance more easily. Palintest Connect automatically creates an auditable data log, when a user is uploading data. Results data is fully traceable and is stored on a secure database for eight years.
Improved reporting and greater visibility
Palintest Connect makes it easy for operators to view test results and create reports, which can be monitored over time.
In addition, Palintest Connect centralises data and enables multiple users to be connected – for instance, data from all of the facilities across a pool and spa chain can be centralised. This allows operators to create heatmaps and identify problem areas and trends more rapidly. The software also enables operators to set up alert notifications which can be triggered when certain levels are reached or specific data patterns emerge.
These capabilities mean that operators can take immediate action when necessary (such as temporarily closing a facility) and help them make informed decisions on areas such as contamination control, equipment, staff resource and maintenance.
Through Palintest Connect, operators can create collaborations groups to share and monitor test results. This helps them gain a full view of water quality across their pool and spa facilities.
In addition, data can be accessed any time, anywhere, from any device.
Greater efficiency
By using Lumiso instruments with Palintest Connect, pool and spa operators can reduce the need for the manual recording of data on paper logs, freeing up staff resource.
In addition, the speed at which tests can be carried out using our Lumiso instruments means that testing can be carried out more quickly and frequently across an organisation’s sites.
The limited training required for these products also helps organisations to save on time and resources, as well as giving them valuable flexibility over which personnel carry out water testing.
All-round support
Pool and spa operators also have the confidence that by working with Palintest, they can access remote technical and product support. This enables them to tap into troubleshooting support, which helps them keep operations running and avoid disruption. In addition, it ensures that their instruments are always up to date with the latest firmware, through automatic updates.