Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 31ST AUGUST - 6TH SEPTEMBER 2018 | 25 Customers Main sponsors for 2018 awards: T ellingly, when we sat down to consider the question "Why should we be celebrating Technological Excellence?", we thought about all the major innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs over the years who haven't even considered what they do "technology". Indeed, I believe the description most used was "the invention". Henry Ford invented the car, and the Wright brothers invented the aeroplane. It struck us that for each of these fantastic inventions to be successful they had to display technological excellence. If Henry Ford's car had failed and proved hazardous, how long would it have been before building another internal com- bustion engine was attempted? If the Wright brothers plane had crashed and been destroyed, significantly injuring them, who would have been the next peo- ple to take up the mantle? We can look at these cases now and thoroughly understand the way that new inventions, new directions and new solu- tions only really work if they are technologically excellent. For us, the fundamental ten- ets of technological excellence are described in three main areas: challenge, innovation, and application. Challenge describes the prob- lem that we are trying to solve. Innovation, more than any- thing, describes the approach to solving the challenge. Application, as the examples above demonstrate, means that the correct use of technology in solving problems is vital. So in the utilities industry why does technological excel- lence matter so much? For us at Enzen it's about safety, reliabil- ity and sustainability. In our ever-changing energy and utilities world, technological excellence is the cornerstone of any disruptive transformation on the road to digitilisation. The applied use of technology has always been a way of delivering safe power, pressurised gas and clean water into the UK's homes and businesses. In any of these utilities, badly installed or poorly maintained technology can cause damage or injury, and in the worst cases death. We are fortunate that over the years, and thanks to continuing advances in technology, we have been able to reduce and almost eliminate the significant hazards in our industry. Now, challenges are changing and thanks to digital technology we can meet and exceed the expectations of the people we supply. With growing demand, diminishing resources and a focus on value, Enzen is proud to see digital and physical technology working in harmony. However, at the scale we work at in this industry, the requirement for technological excellence is higher than ever. The challenges are now not just physical but digital as well, with new elements such as protection against viruses, hacking and cyber-attacks genuine issues. For these reasons we are proud to be the sponsor of Technological Excellence at the Utility Week Awards, celebrating the very best achievements in our industry. Enzen is a premium partner of the 2018 Utility Week Awards Opinion Manish Jamthe CEO, Enzen UK HOW TO CATCH THE ATTENTION OF THE JUDGES "The IT initiative of the year will be characterised by innovation and delivery of tangible benefits. IT initiatives that can show how customers and wider stakeholders benefit will be particularly welcomed." IT INITIATIVE AWARD LEAD JUDGE TONY CONWAY, FORMER STRATEGIC PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR, UNITED UTILITIES "I will be looking for entries that can show they are seeking excellence in environmental stewardship, through initiatives that are customer centred, targeted and sustainable." ENVIRONMENT AWARD LEAD JUDGE NICK ELLINS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF EU SKILLS AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF WATER "I'll be looking for partnerships that go above and beyond the remit of the contract and what would be expected. In today's world you need to be flexible, agile and take on views from the supply chain." SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE LEAD JUDGE STEVE JOHNSON, FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ELECTRICITY The 2018 awards categories in full • Capital Project Management Award • Community Initiative of the Year • Customer Care Award • Customer Engagement Award, sponsored by KPMG • Diversity Award • Environment Award • Health & Safety Award • IT Initiative of the Year • Staff Development Award • Supply Chain Excellence • Team of the Year, sponsored by CGI • Transformation and Innovation Award, sponsored by Microso • Utility Partner of the Year • Utility of the Year, sponsored by Capgemini "Why should we be celebrating Technological Excellence?" KPMG International's Trademarks are the sole property of KPMG International and their use here does not imply auditing by or endorsement of KPMG International or any of its member firms

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