Water + Tech = Future

With AMP 7 on the horizon, how are the major utilities going to deliver high expectations with potentially less than desired budgets? After meeting with several water companies recently customer centricity continues to be at the forefront of everyone’s agenda. Innovative ways and strategies are being proposed to boardrooms throughout the UK to gather a broader spectrum of customer feedback, which highlights the positives and is not just based on complaint data. This is allowing the results to be recognised and replicated across the organisation. In this competitive market, tracking employee satisfaction and more importantly acting on the information is also paramount for any attraction and retention agenda, ultimately benefiting the customer base.

There are many signs that the water sector is embracing digital transformation, adopting technologies including remote sensing, nanotechnology, predictive analytics, asset optimisation and management tools, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, drones and cyber-security. Many companies have recently brought in dedicated digital experts to build teams and deliver initiatives, some whom have been appointed to the board, which is a testament to their commitment on the subject. Although investment is needed upfront for related hardware, software and skills, the long-term rewards should take precedence in the strategy with a ‘prevention over cure’ mantra.

Digital is about using data to make informed decisions. Water utilities are now dealing with larger volumes of data, some being unstructured and coming from disparate sources such as software add-ons provided by product manufacturers to retrieve behaviour data for insights, optimisation and automation. A good example being the use of smart remote sensing products placed in manholes to provide early detection and prediction on sewage conditions, other technologies include satellite imaging for efficient leak detection. Machine learning takes this one step further with smart systems becoming more and more self-sufficient with minimal human involvement.

Asset management and optimisation is a focal point for both water companies themselves and their supply chain with asset lifecycle, reliability and reduced risk being key for when the purse strings tighten, especially for companies who may be slow tracked into AMP 7. Looking globally, Suez has greatly improved mobility technology for employees, providing access to data and critical applications from anywhere by anyone who has permission. This has resulted in increased productivity and the empowerment of teams. Soon, virtual and augmented reality will be the norm when approaching training, asset assessment and maintenance.

The energy sector has embraced digital technology with smart cities and renewables becoming common place, being achieved through strategy, following the vision and by attracting tech savvy leaders, who onboard with digital agendas. With the water sector heading the same way, UK infrastructure overall is moving in the right direction which is largely reliant upon having the right people and in turn the right mindsets within businesses. Those who can take a previously patriarchal industry through the final phase of change to become revered and create an aspirational career journey for fresh talent, as opposed to a big brand stepping stone on the CV, will remain ahead of the curve.