Early engagement with AUMA drives better outcomes for electric actuator specification

Published: 18th June 2026 | Issue 105

As UK water companies prepare for the challenges of AMP8, the focus is on delivering resilient, efficient, and cost-effective infrastructure. While major civil and process elements often dominate project discussions, critical components like electric actuators play a vital role in determining whole-life asset performance.

The water and wastewater industry is moving away from traditional specification-led procurement towards earlier, collaborative engagement with specialist suppliers. This shift allows AUMA Actuators Limited to influence design at the stage where it can deliver the greatest value, helping to provide tailored actuator solutions that support long-term asset performance.

Paul Hopkins, Managing Director of AUMA Actuators Limited, notes that collaboration is key: “Engaging early in the design process allows us to work closely with project teams to ensure actuator solutions are fully aligned with operational requirements,” he says. “This improves performance while also delivering whole-life cost benefits for customers.”

Historically, actuator selection occurred late in the project lifecycle, focusing on meeting predefined specifications. While compliant, this limits opportunities to optimise performance, integration, and long-term efficiency. Early engagement enables AUMA’s specialist engineers to contribute during concept and Front-end Engineering Design (FEED), when key decisions remain flexible.

This approach ensures actuator solutions are engineered specifically for each application. A holistic review addresses factors like torque requirements, environmental conditions, control philosophy, and system integration, reducing the risk of overspecification and costly late-stage changes.

AUMA’s modular actuator design is ideally suited to this collaborative model. By combining standardised components into bespoke configurations, AUMA can deliver solutions aligned precisely with operational needs. Involving AUMA early in the design phase leads to greater optimisation in performance and maintainability. It also supports increased standardisation across asset portfolios - essential for streamlining maintenance and improving operational consistency - while ensuring individual applications are not compromised.

The benefits are comprehensive, extending to whole-life cost. With increasing scrutiny on capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational efficiency (OPEX), design decisions significantly influence asset lifecycle value. Early engagement helps project teams avoid common pitfalls such as oversizing actuators, unsuitable control interfaces, or overlooked maintenance, which minimises commissioning issues and ongoing maintenance requirements.

This strategy is reinforced by the AMP8 regulatory landscape, which emphasises efficiency, resilience, and environmental performance. Electric actuators enable precise control of water and wastewater processes, supporting leakage reduction, energy optimisation, and network resilience objectives. Furthermore, early collaboration supports the integration of digital capabilities, including remote monitoring and predictive maintenance, critical for adopting smarter asset management strategies.

AUMA's position in the UK water industry is cemented by framework agreements with all major UK water companies for the supply, service, and maintenance of electric actuators, confirming its role as a long-term partner.

Colin Borrows, Head of UK Sales at AUMA Actuators Limited, states: “By working closely with customers from the earliest stages of a project, we can help deliver solutions that are both technically optimised and commercially efficient.”

As the UK water sector evolves, early engagement with specialist suppliers is becoming essential for delivering high-performing, future-ready infrastructure.

AUMA Actuators Ltd