Oslo Airport chooses Oras again - Quality and reliability crucial

Touchless solutions from Oras Norway were chosen when Oslo Airport was extended 20 years ago, and chosen again for Terminal 2 when it was officially opened 27^th of April 2017. “We are indeed very proud, that goes without saying,” says Country Manager Lars Erik Fossum at Oras Norway.

Oras was chosen to supply touchless fittings when Oslo Airport, the new principal airport, took over from Fornebu in 1998. And now, 20 years later, the old facilities have been refurbished and new ones have been added. And again, Oras faucets were the fittings of choice.

“Of course, we are very pleased and proud to have been chosen to supply fittings again,” says Fossum.

Quality and reliability

Oras has been chosen to supply more fittings after 20 years of demanding service at the second largest airport in the Nordic region, and that says a lot for the quality and reliability on offer.

 “We have a huge amount of traffic through the airport, and choosing touchless faucets was a visionary move back in 1998. Choosing just single lever faucets would have increased operating costs by a potential amount of up to one full-time equivalents just to operate the faucets,” explains Works engineer Jon Henning Kristoffersen, who is responsible for site sanitation.

Some 500 faucets, the majority of which are touchless Electra models, are in use in various bathrooms at both Terminal 2 and the original terminal building.

A good choice

Oras has been supplying excellent hand hygiene and saving vast amounts of water over the years since the airport opened in 1998. One of the major advantages of touchless solutions is the hygiene aspect and the opportunity to reduce water consumption. Making the most of the advantages of the Oras Electra series has saved both time and money for Avinor, which owns and runs the airport.

"We expect to save one full-time equivalent, and in the long run touchless solutions are far superior to the conventional models when it comes to durability,” explains Kristoffersen.

 “We transport pre-mixed water out to the faucets. Allowing users themselves to adjust the temperature would cause far too much wear and tear,” says Kristoffersen.

Pioneering Norwegian enterprise

Oslo Airport at Gardermoen was one of the first really huge projects involving touchless faucets in Norway. Then, as now, the faucets simply had to work, that was key. There is no time for hassle or delays at an airport terminal.
“We were incredibly proud to have been selected as the supplier to the airport development project 20 years ago,” says Fossum, “but now, almost 20 years later, having been selected again to supply Gardermoen Terminal 2, we believe this is clear proof that our touchless faucets offer a durability and quality that simply allows them to go on working year after year despite heavy usage.”

“Touchless solutions were quite unknown when the airport opened in 1988. We were early to market with touchless solutions, and we saw that there was a lot of fumbling among users at first. But now I think nobody wants to go back to using levers on faucets,” smiles Kristoffersen.

Quality and safety

Surveys of usage frequency have been carried out in the toilets. There are 12 ladies’ toilets in the old departure hall. 600 visits an hour have been recorded, with peaks of up to 1200 visits an hour. It is estimated that there are 24 million visitors to the airport each year, so quality is crucial if things are to keep flowing.
“Of course, this is a demanding task. We have also learned over the years what works where. Most of our faucets are from Oras, but we do use other suppliers as well. Electra 6100 faucets account for 75 per cent of the total,” says Kristoffersen.

Great features developed over three decades at Oras

When servicing is required, for example, there is no need to shut down an entire row of faucets. The faucet in question is simply removed and repaired or replaced, and the other faucets work as usual. Faucets that are not used for a period of 12 hours, for example, are flushed through automatically for about 30 seconds. Clean, fresh water must always be available in all faucets to meet the needs of passengers.
Efficient operation and adaptation to the client’s specifications are possible here. Lars Erik points out that this product also offers some particularly great features when it comes to long-term operation. 

A matter of trust

“This project shows that our technology can be relied on for projects of all sizes, and that we are a secure supplier that people can count on for decades to come. “We are modest about the enormous trust shown in us, and we are pleased to have completed the project in a way that maintains hygiene for passengers while also making the solution economical for Avinor to run,” says Lars Erik Fossum.
More information and technical specifications can be found at oras.com