Case Study: Waterford IT

During the month of August 2021, Power Washing Ireland was tasked with cleaning the exterior surfaces of the Waterford Institute of Technology before they opened for the new semester.

During the month of August, Power Washing Ireland was tasked with power washing and cleaning the exterior surfaces of the Waterford Institute of Technology.

Nature of Works

Waterford IT needed a power washing service provider that could clean the exterior surfaces of the college. This included the treatment and removal of micro-organisms that had built up on the exterior brickwork, blockwork and the exterior facade. On top of this, they required all these works to be completed before the end August of that year.

The buildings that needed this work were the T&L Building, Luke Wadding Library, Health & Science, Engineering & Science and the Sports Hall. This was a large volume of work, that required a great amount of equipment.

Waterford IT decided to go with Power Washing Ireland Ltd to carry out the works. We showed WIT that we are more than capable of completing the works before the next semester, and have previously completed large scale works of this caliber to great effect.

Equipment Needed

Power Washing Ireland Ltd is unique due to our state of the art power washing tankers. They are able to contain over 15’000 litres of water each, allowing us to bring our services to any site, regardless of water availability.

Along with Power Washing Irelands tanker, we required a number of MEWPs (Mobile Elevated Working Platforms) in order to reach the walls and roofs. These cherry pickers included a 23 metre Cabstar (van mounted lift), a 25 metre Spider Lift and a 32 metre Bronto (truck mounted lift).

The amount of man power needed at this site was substantial. We needed to dedicate at least 2 crews at the works, with each crew made up of 2 power washers, a lift and a power washing tanker. “The scale of works required for Waterford IT presented an interesting challenge”, our sales manager John Macken said after viewing the site. “Thankfully we have the equipment and experience needed to finish the works on time”.

"The scale of works required for Waterford IT presented an interesting challenge. Thankfully we have the equipment and experience needed to finish the works on time"

A Tight Timeframe...

The first challenge was time. We were required to start works only after July as repeat exams were still occurring until then, and were tasked with completing all works before the first semester started. This left us with a tight timeframe, as power washing works is mostly desired during the Spring/Summer months, and we had to dedicate a substantial amount of man power and equipment towards this project whilst also completing our other customers tasks.

We tackled this by pre-planning each building, observing what was needed to be washed, how bad the condition was and what equipment was needed to effectively remove it. Afterwards it was a matter of planning the time needed to transform the campus to its original state. There was also the issue of possible breakdowns or mechanical issues. While it’s rare that this occurs, we didn’t want to leave anything up to chance.

Not your average works...

On top of the timeframe we were given, we also had a sizeable scale of works to complete. There is a wide variety of buildings and surfaces within the Waterford IT campus and we were tasked to complete works with the same high standard that we hold to for all our jobs. From the pathways and ground works to cleaning out the gutters and roofs and everything in between, it all had to be left in an as “good as new” condition as possible.

The logistics of this task can be a nightmare for most companies to tackle. Fortunately for us, we have full access to a variety of cherry pickers and 3 to 4 power washing tankers with crew members to man them. This allows us to tackle several different areas in one large site.

Challenge & Solution: Distance

Another challenge was the distance away from our main site. With the works being carried out in Waterford, it’s an over 2 hour journey to get there. This meant a number of things: Our crew members would have to get up extremely early just to get there at an appropriate time, and then they would leave early, thus extending the timeframe of the job, which we couldn’t afford to do.

We decided that it was best to organise hotels near the campus for the crew members who were doing the works as it reduced the delays from travel and let the crew members to be better slept for the works of the day. We had to find appropriate hotels for them. They had to be as close to the campus as possible and had to have space for our truck mounted lifts and our power washing tankers.

Conclusion of Works

After a month of power washing works, Power Washing Ireland was able to complete the works lined out for them by Waterford IT. Despite the required equipment, manpower and volume of works, Power Washing Ireland were able to tackle this challenge to great effect.

Elaine Greenan, the Estates Manager for Waterford IT, had this to say about our results:

“Power Washing Ireland approach to the works was very professional. They took the time to visit the site and get a better understanding of the works, the health and safety requirements and the expectations from the Client. From the beginning they knew what equipment and the number of crews were needed in order to complete the power washing works before the deadline. When additional sites needed cleaning, Power Washing Ireland were only too happy to accommodate WIT. We are very happy with the end result and plan on using Power Washing Ireland Ltd for any large scale power washing works in the future.”

If you’re not sure, just look at the results below!

Before After

Before After

Before After

Power Washing Ireland is a power and pressure washing services provider with 30 years experience. From domestic driveways and cobblelock to cladding for commercial businesses, we have a high record of customer satisfaction and clear results.

Join our newsletter today to be informed about any offers we have coming up!