Cleansafe Flooring Replacement on an EWK 900/15 Cooling Tower

We recently replaced the Cleansafe flooring on an EWK 900/15 open-circuit cooling tower for a long-standing client at a UK food ingredients manufacturing site.

The challenge

Over years of service, the tower’s internal flooring had worn and degraded. On removal, the extent of the deterioration was clear: the flooring support members had corroded, bent and cracked.

Flooring in this condition becomes harder to use safely, and that makes it harder to keep up the cleaning and inspection regime a well-run cooling water system depends on.

What we did

• Planned the works in full and issued site-specific RAMS.
• Safely stripped out the existing degraded flooring and supports, protecting the fill media for reuse.
• Installed new Cleansafe grating flooring throughout the tower.
• Completed the works with minimal disruption to the client’s operations.

Flooring is easy to overlook, but it supports almost everything else that happens inside a cooling tower: safe access, effective cleaning and reliable inspection.

The result

The tower is back in service with a secure walking surface throughout. The fill media was protected during strip-out and reused, and the works were completed with minimal disruption to site operations.

Why it matters to facilities managers

• Safe access for maintenance teams: worn or damaged flooring is a slip and fall risk in a wet, enclosed environment. New flooring gives operatives secure footing during inspections and cleans.
• Better compliance with L8 and HSG274: cleaning, disinfection and inspection only work if every area of the tower can be reached properly.
• Less risk of biofilm build-up: degraded surfaces trap debris and sediment, which encourages biofilm and makes Legionella control harder. Intact flooring is quicker and easier to clean.
• Protection for internal components: a proper walking surface keeps foot traffic off fill packs and other internals, avoiding costly accidental damage.
• Longer asset life at a modest cost: targeted refurbishment keeps an existing tower in safe, efficient service and defers the much bigger cost of replacement.