Approach

Our service engineering team, in collaboration with sales and application specialists, promptly mobilized to investigate the issue. Initial test runs were conducted using compound standards mixed in solvents to determine the extent of the sensitivity drop. These tests confirmed that more than half of the peak areas had significantly reduced responses compared to the TQ-XS instrument.

The team then conducted comprehensive adjustments and fine-tuning of the instrument settings, including optimizing detection parameters, adjusting probe positions, and replacing key instrument components. Despite these thorough efforts, performance still did not match the levels achieved during the original demonstration.

Meanwhile, our application team maintained continuous communication with Waters’ application team in Singapore, exchanging results and seeking technical input. Following Waters’ guidance, our engineers conducted additional diagnostic checks, confirming the system met the basic performance criteria. However, further optimization and retesting of specific analytical methods still showed no noticeable improvements.

One earlier workaround involved doubling the ion energy in the quadrupole to boost sensitivity, but this approach was not viable across all compounds and lacked long-term sustainability. DKSH identified a crucial internal component, the Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) detector, as the likely cause of the issue. The team promptly replaced the customer’s detector with one from our own instrument and carefully recalibrated the equipment to restore optimal performance.

Finally, additional testing with the customer’s analytical methods showed consistent and stable results, closely matching the original demonstration performance at Waters Singapore. These tests validated that the instrument was now fully functional and ready for routine operation, greatly enhancing the customer’s confidence in the system.