As part of Barhale’s work for Thames Water, the team carries out refurbishment of the Thames Water Ring Main (TWRM) valves. Hayward Tyler, the heritage business that manufactured the valves 35 years ago, is Barhale’s key supply chain partner in delivering the refurbs.

To increase the resilience of the critical assets, Barhale and Hayward Tyler have been working together since 2008, with some highly complex and challenging works delivered collaboratively along the ring main.

As the original manufacturer of the valves, Hayward Tyler was the first port of call when Barhale was awarded the refurb work. Through a collaborative approach to problem solving and innovating engineering solutions, the time required to refurbish each valve has been reduced by 75% over the intervening years – from four weeks to one.

Originally designed, manufactured and supplied by Hayward Tyler in 1988, all 22 HIGV ring main and ring main extension valves require refurbishment of consumable parts at the end of warranty to make sure they keep working as needed.

All valves need to be refurbished before any tunnel isolation, drain down and entry – all crucial to enable programmed inspection works that Barhale undertakes to keep the tunnel operating effectively.

99% of these huge valve have all be refurbished under live conditions, completely avoiding any disruption to London’s water supply.

Each valve is at the base of a shaft (which can be up to 70m deep and full of pipes to negotiate), weighs a total of 10 tonnes and is the height of a double decker bus. Once Barhale has enabled access to the valves for scaffolding, the internal valve gate and seals (weighing over 2 tonnes) have to be removed to be taken for refurbishment by Hayward Tyler.

Whilst these works often go unrecognised, they are a key element of maintaining the critical Thames Water asset that supplies London, and through collaborative working Barhale and Hayward Tyler have maximised efficiency and cost reduction across the AMP periods.

The longevity of this working relationship has fuelled innovation and development in both businesses, and is a real exemplar of the benefits that true collaboration brings.