Phil Gray, installation supervisor at Quality Air UK, says that before his trial of the compression joint solution for refrigeration and air conditioning applications, he wasn’t convinced of its value. “I was initially concerned about the cost, but actually, when you take everything into account, it’s cheaper than brazing. There’s a significant saving on labour because ZoomLock is so much quicker to use, both in terms of the jointing process itself and because there’s no need for purging or for a fire watch. And there’s cost reduction relating to bottle rentals, hot works permits and insurance, too,” he explains. “Also, we found the system’s speed helped us exceed our customers’ expectations in terms of turnaround and minimizing business disruption, and of course fit in more jobs without having to expand our team and raise our labour expenditure.”
As well as offering a more efficient way of working, Phil has found ZoomLock to be a key selling point of Quality Air UK's services. “It puts us ahead of the crowd when we’re discussing jobs with potential customers. For example, because we could offer a compression joint solution, we easily secured a contract with an ophthalmic surgical equipment manufacturer who was concerned about the impact of dust and hot works on their clean room environment,” he explains.
“We also found it helped us win a contract at a Regent’s Park office block,” Phil continues. “Space was tight, and there was only one access hatch, so if we were brazing then we’d have needed to take the ceiling down. Using ZoomLock we were able to complete the job within one day, without removing the ceiling, and we got the job done at a weekend so there was no impact on the tenant’s working week. If we had been brazing, the job would have taken six or seven days, taking into account the brazing and the ceiling works, which would have been both more disruptive and more expensive.”
The ZoomLock system has also been invaluable for securing work at sites with specific security requirements. “For example, we were asked to quote on a job where the fire systems had to stay online as there was a large quantity of money and gold on site. We won the contract easily, because we explained there was a way to complete the project without any hot works,” says Phil.
“The consultants for all three of those projects have since given us repeat business, precisely because we can cut out the complexity, risk and cost involved in hot works,” Phil explains. “So the ZoomLock system has really helped give our business a boost.”
Adopting ZoomLock as their go-to jointing method has also opened up new markets for Quality Air UK. “We didn’t previously take on work at airports, for example, because the high cost of the hot works permits and insurance meant it wasn’t really worthwhile. But all that has changed now we use ZoomLock; our potential markets have really opened up,” Phil explains. “With a ZoomLock tool in every one of our vans – and more planned as we expand our business with additional engineers – we’re ready to service our growing customer base.”
www.zoomlock.co.uk