Automated Legionella Compliance System

Save time and money with automated flushing and water temperature monitoring

As an employer or anyone in control of business or residential premises, it’s your responsibility to take the right precautions to reduce the risks of exposure to Legionella.

Knowing the temperature of the water coming out of the taps weekly (or even daily) is a key requirement, along with flushing the water at different parts of the system to ensure accurate testing. In practice, this traditionally means running all taps in the building for two minutes, recording the temperature, keeping these records for years and running this test regime indefinitely⁠—a significant cost in resources, administration and management.

Read more about your obligation to control Legionella risks.

Using the Orion Data Network, Smarter Technologies has developed an automated Legionella compliance system that carries out remote flushing and temperature testing, dynamically controlled on a bespoke dashboard.

This first-of-its-kind technology allows you to schedule automated temperature testing and flushing according to your needs. All reports are generated automatically.

The system removes human error from the testing, record keeping and reporting process, significantly reducing the costs associated with maintaining your business’ Legionella risk assessment and monitoring.

Automated Legionella Compliance System Features

automated legionella testing dashboard - Smarter Technologies Group
  • Real-time monitoring and reporting of all required water outlets
  • Automated routine flushing at required intervals
  • Scheduled testing according to needs
  • Automatically-generated, configurable reporting
  • Immediate alerts if temperatures within the system exceed thresholds
  • Five years of historical data on an interactive platform
  • Output to both CSV and PDF historical records for compliance and audit
  • Automatic time stamping and creation of ‘further action required’ documentation
  • System works over the Orion Data Network

Benefits of Automated Legionella Compliance Systems

  • Meet all health and safety requirements

  • Meet all food hygiene standards

  • Cost-effective and simple to run

  • Remove the margin for human error in testing, record keeping and reporting

  • Immediate alerts to enable preventative maintenance

  • Improve workforce utilisation by freeing up their time to work on other tasks

  • Secure lower insurance premiums

  • Simple installation

  • Significantly reduce the costs associated with maintaining the business’ Legionella risk assessment and monitoring

Unit installed on a toilet system

Unit installed on a sink

The cost-benefit of automated compliance

The unit price, either purchased or leased, costs less than the labour rate to do the tests manually over a year. In addition, data is recorded and stored automatically. This removes errors and immediately profiles the raw data to look for alerts that should be sent on, saving more time and money.

How it works

Smarter Technologies’ compact automated Legionella compliance system is available in two formats:

  • Smaller unit for one 15mm copper pipe

  • Dual unit for two pipes

Both are designed to fit any sink, shower or designated sentinel tap using simple, ready-to-install industry standard fittings.

The system reports in every fifteen minutes and does a flush test once or more a week, depending on the schedule set (the testing times and flushing schedule can be controlled from the secure, cloud-based application). It is battery-powered, with a long-lasting battery pack that is easy to change.

If any temperatures within the system are not correct, alerts are sent out by email to the relevant people. The server also automatically monitors the individual units and alerts on their battery status and communications quality.

The diagram below shows a typical installation:

automated legionella testing diagram - Smarter Technologies Group

Wireless tank temperature sensor

To keep track of the temperature in your water tanks, simply drop in one of our weighted, waterproof sensors. The sensor will continually monitor the temperature of the water in the tank in real time, alerting you immediately of any changes within pre-defined parameters. Automated temperature recordings are logged and stored on your cloud-based dashboard that can be accessed at any time, from anywhere.

Automated Legionella compliance system process flow

FAQs

Legionella is a type of bacteria that can get into the water supply of a building and multiply.

The bacteria cause Legionnaires’ disease which is a severe form of pneumonia. Symptoms of the disease include muscle pain, headache, fever, coughing and shortness of breath. It can lead to severe chest infections and can take up to ten days to develop. 

Unfortunately, no vaccine exists for the disease, but the UK government is very clear on the legal responsibilities that business owners must adhere to.

According to duties listed under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) on Legionella, an employer or the person in control of a business or residential premises is responsible for taking the right precautions to reduce the risks of exposure to Legionella. Executing regular Legionella risk assessments will ensure that you do not receive heavy fines or are held liable under the law. 

Key requirements include monitoring your water temperature at regular intervals and flushing both hot and cold taps for two minutes. The results must be recorded and retained for five years.

If you are an employer or someone in control of premises (including landlords) you must understand the health risks associated with Legionella.

  • water is stored or re-circulated as part of your system
  • the water temperature in all or some part of the system may be between 20–45 °C
  • there are deposits that can support bacterial growth, such as rust, sludge, scale and organic matter
  • it is possible for water droplets to be produced and, if so, if they can be dispersed
  • it is likely that any of your employees, contractors, visitors etc could be exposed to any contaminated water droplets.

It is necessary to keep hot and cold water systems clean. Hot water should always be above 50 °C; cold water should be below 25 °C and ideally below 20 °C. A further measure to prevent the spread of the disease includes flushing unused taps in buildings on a weekly basis.

In the UK the control of hot and cold water temperatures in buildings is seen as the preferred method for controlling Legionella and other waterborne pathogens.

If the water used in a building, by accident or design, sits between 20-45 degrees Celsius, Legionella and other potentially dangerous bacteria can breed and spread through the water system. That’s why regular temperature monitoring of a water system ensures that the water temperatures stay within a safe range.

  • Automated temperature test schedules 
  • Automated flushing schedules
  • Real-time monitoring
  • Real-time reporting
  • Observe all required water outlets
  • Five years of historical data on an interactive platform
  • Records in both CSV and PDF formats
  • Real-time alarm notifications if temperature thresholds exceeded minimum or maximum values

The units are accompanied by a dashboard that can be accessed through any smart device, putting a full overview of your installation into the palm of your hand. You can schedule your flushing and temperature tests with ease, and your weekly reports are automatically generated and uploaded to your personal dashboard.

The customisable dashboard and the compliance units are all connected via the Orion Data Network, which provides real-time data and will alert you of any issues connected to the flushing and temperature testing routine.

Your World, Smarter.

Smarter Technologies’ automated Legionella compliance systems take the hassle out of compliance checking and monitoring and help you keep your business, employees and clients safe.

Contact us today to see how the Orion Data Network can benefit your business.

Our experts are on-hand to advise you on the most efficient and cost-effective smart technology solutions for your business’ needs.

Book a free consultation.