Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | MARCH 2019 | 17 I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H CASE STUDY – INNOVATION SHOP WINDOW Anglian Water's Innova on Shop Window is a real-world loca on where the company seeks to drive innova on through collabora on across its business, supply chain and the en re man-made water cycle. According to the company, the Newmarket site allows it to improve customer service, environmental stewardship and the effi ciency of the business at a much faster pace. Adam Brookes, technology and innova on programme manager at Anglian Water, describes the Shop Window as a microcosm of what a future water company looks like. "Our Innova on Shop Window in Newmarket is an industry fi rst, real-world test-bed that allows the organisa on to trial the latest technology, systems and processes to create the water company of the future, today," he says. Anglian Water is working with a range of organisa ons including universi es, chari es, small to medium sized businesses, large mul -na onal companies and suppliers inside and outside the water sector to test products and services within the Newmarket catchment. As part of the ini a ve, the company has set out seven goals to tackle the key challenges facing the water industry: 1. Water consump on of 80 litres per person per day 2. Zero leakage and bursts 3. Building a circular economy that eliminates waste 4. Energy neutral 5. Zero pollu on and fl ooding 6. 100 per cent compliant and chemical-free drinking water 7. 100 per cent customer sa sfac on. u li es is the digi sa on of systems and the prolifera on of data across businesses. The UWL survey showed that data analy cs is currently considered as the technology with the biggest impact on the industry. Respondents were asked to rate technologies on a scale of 1 to 10, with data analy cs receiving the highest average score of 7.6. Across all the technologies tested, the average pping point for mass take up is expected to be 2027. For data analy cs, take up is expected to be ahead of the curve in 2023. But many energy fi rms are already taking great strides to streamline their data processes. Casey Cole, managing director at Guru Systems notes that the feedback loop for obtaining system and asset informa on has become much ghter in recent years, and expects the industry to con nue on this trajectory over the next decade. "We used to rely on manual collec on of data from energy systems, some mes in hand-wri en form," recalls Cole. "Now, as u li es are digi sed, data can fl ow from a huge number of sensors on a u lity network into the cloud for machine learning analysis, with results available within seconds. "Decision-making cycles that used to take months or years can now be completed in days or even hours." While new technology has made it increasingly easier for companies to collect data rela ng to everything from asset condi on to consumer behaviour, this informa on is impotent if it is of poor quality or is not used eff ec vely and securely. The Na onal Infrastructure Commission's (NIC's) report on data highlighted the crucial func on of data in s mula ng innova on. Data for the Public Good outlined the important role for regulators in improving the quality and sharing of infrastructure data to support innova on. "There just needs to be a stronger focus on innova on across the sector, and – as set out in our Data for the Public Good report – the quality, consistency and availability of infrastructure data needs to be driven up," says Philip Graham, chief execu ve at the NIC. "But another important issue is that there's limited understanding of the poten al and benefi ts of new technologies. We're keen to see that where a new technology improves a service or reduces costs for customers, that informa on is shared so that all u lity companies can roll it out, which would help tackle this issue." DATA DEBATE The use of "big data" systems to monitor, analyse and automate produc on, management and demand is not a new concept for the energy industry. In addi on, the rise of customer-centric products and services for energy monitoring and automa on provides u li es with further data, capabili es and insights. Similarly, there is increasing recogni on in the water sector that be er u lisa on of big data tools, such as smart metering, AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), is essen al to transi on to a more sustainable and reliable water network. According to the UWL survey, the water sector rated water metering (8.1 out of 10) and data analy cs (8.3) as two of the top technologies currently having the biggest impact on the industry. IoT and AI follow closely, according to water respondents, scoring 6.8 and 7.3 respec vely. However, Stephanie Hurry, head of water effi ciency and customer par cipa on at Waterwise, insists there is s ll a