
Sanitation Systems Technical Course
On February 16th, the headquarters of Dahlberg SA hosted the “Course on selling and repairing toilets and sewage systems” given by professionals from the company. The company, a pioneer in Spain in giving courses on this subject, wanted to share its knowledge and years of experience in the installation, repair and maintenance of this type of system. The event was attended by around twenty professionals from the sector who greatly appreciated the contents of the course, which was divided into three main thematic blocks: marine sanitation systems, vacuum and electric toilet technology and service.
The different speakers spent more than four hours reviewing the characteristics of waste on ships, how to work with it, its storage system, how to solve the problem of bad odours and how to advise their clients on the correct use of this equipment. They also instructed the attendees on the operation of the toilets of the Sealand, Sanimarin and Matromarine brands. The majority of this first block was led by the company's Sanitation Project Manager, Rosa Dahlberg. They also received a brief talk on the management of social networks in their companies by their Marketing Manager, Pedro Palou.
The last part was dedicated to the service, focused on the practical part. The company's technicians Toni Lopera and Pau Más presented the main complaints that customers usually have, where to obtain technical information quickly in case of need, how to solve breakdowns and warranty issues. They reviewed, among other things, the characteristics of Sealand's Vacuflush toilets. The kits created by Kjell Dahlberg to significantly reduce the noise of Sealand pumps were also presented.For those who are not very knowledgeable about the subject, it may surprise you to learn that there are many differences between the normal toilets found in every home and those found on boats. The former rarely cause problems, mainly because they handle large amounts of water and the diameter of the flush is three times larger than the discharge hose of a boat toilet. The special characteristics of a boat, such as the lack of space, the constant movement and the need to have tanks to channel waste, require more specialized work. Also, unlike those in our homes, they require regular maintenance to avoid unpleasant problems such as blockages or bad smells.
Based on decades of experience, Rosa Dahlberg, a lecturer at the course, tells us that “quality equipment is not usually given the importance it deserves.” She explains that “when a boat is equipped, the last part of the budget, what is left over, is dedicated to toilets. Sometimes people are more concerned about having a plasma TV than having a decent sanitation system.” And that is where the problems arise: bad smells, blocked hose lines, overfilling of the tank… And all this translates into repairs that, as a whole, are more expensive than having invested in quality equipment and a good installation at the beginning. She also tells us that “people who have already had serious headaches due to a poor installation or equipment that was not up to par are the ones who invest the most in the sanitation system.”
The installation of these devices is a highly specialized job. Many companies are dedicated to the maintenance and repair of sanitation systems, but few are specialized in this and Dahlberg is one of them. And it is because of this advantageous situation that they wanted to take advantage of this experience to train other professionals. Rosa explains that “we realized at the beginning that almost no one offered this type of training in Spain and we decided to share our experience with other professionals.” She assures that “many of those who come are our distributors who want to update themselves with the new toilet models and expand their knowledge on various topics that we deal with here.”
The response from those attending the course was, in the opinion of the organisers, very satisfactory. Within a few days of announcing that the event was going to take place, the places were already filled, just as happened in previous editions, where they also received a good response from those attending. According to the satisfaction survey carried out afterwards among the participants, the majority of them gave the highest score to all the sections of the course.
At Fairline Ibiza, one of the companies that attended, they know perfectly well that toilets often cause quite a few problems. It is the first time they have come and they tell us that they have to work with this type of equipment from time to time and they are grateful to be able to attend a seminar that clarifies their doubts. They also laugh and say that it was too short for them, although they recognise that the information and documents provided digitally will allow them to further expand their knowledge and consult when they have any doubts.
Another of the attendees, a mechanic by profession, corroborates the opinions of his colleagues and explains that it is necessary to know how to deal with such complicated equipment as toilets. “Maybe you don’t work with them regularly, but sometimes you have to and you have to know how to handle the situation,” he says, and “that is why I came here today, what they do is very good and the knowledge and experience they share is appreciated.”