Consultancy And Training

Consultancy Services

ECHA's consultancy and advisory services primarily relate to microbiological spoilage and corrosion in the petroleum, aviation, engineering and marine industries. A look at the Microbial Problems pages will give an indication of the specific technical areas in which we have expertise.

Services may range from telephone consultancy to on-site attendance on a world wide basis at refineries, tank farms, ships, airfields and manufacturing facilities to investigate microbial incidents, identify possible causes and where necessary supervise decontamination. Consultants also conduct document reviews, act as expert witnesses and perform microbiological quality audits.

Our technical expertise is the core to the success of our business and our reputation has been long established on the basis that all advice we give is independent and confidential. Our clients receive fully impartial advice that is the most appropriate for their technical needs. We are generally happy to sign confidentiality agreements where our clients feel this is necessary.

Charges for our consultancy services vary according to the type of work undertaken, whether travel is involved and the member of staff undertaking the project. Most consultancy is provided directly by one of our senior consultants, Ted Hill or Graham Hill. Estimates for consultancy work can be provided in advance of our receiving instruction.

Technical advice which relates directly to the use of our testing services, test kits and other products is, within reason, provided free of charge. For example this could be recommendations on:

• Selection and use of appropriate test methods
• Interpretation of test results
• Recommendations for further testing / adjustments to monitoring programme
• Sampling procedures
• General recommendations for biocide dose levels, contact times, requirement for pre-treatment tank cleaning and biocide application strategies
• Recommendations on Health & Safety issues related to use of test kits and biocides and exposure to microbial contaminants (as indicated by our laboratory analyses).
  
  

Training & Courses

ECHA periodically run short courses for engineers, chemists and managers, which cover general industrial microbiology or are tailor-made for specific clients or for specific subject areas. Courses are run at Cardiff or can be run at client's premises anywhere in the world.

Generally we keep delegate numbers at ECHA small (usually a maximum of 7 people). We can run much larger courses at other venues; for example a course arranged for the Institute of Marine Engineers in London was attended by over 100 people.

• Typical subject areas include:
• Microbiology of Aviation Fuels
• Microbes in Fuels, Lub Oils and Bilges (for Marine Engineers)
• Microbiological Contamination, Spoilage & Corrosion in Oil Production and Offshore Process Water Systems
• Monitoring & Identification of Microbes of Industrial Significance
• Microbiology of Metalworking Fluids

On most of our courses we assume that attendees have little or no background in microbiology. However, more technically based courses can also be arranged, for example with emphasis on laboratory testing.

If you have a specific training requirement or would like details of upcoming courses please contact us.

For information on our up-coming courses see our Latest News.