Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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18 | JUNE 2017 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk major focus for AMP7. Since 2015, Kier has worked across three Anglian Water alliances, including Integrated Maintenance and Repair (IMR) Water with Clancy Docwra, which handles water network pressure management, ƒ nding and ƒ xing leaks, lead replacement and repairing burst water mains. For AMP7, the IMR alliance has been handed additional responsibility for leak detection as Anglian seeks to meet a stretching 17 per cent reduction target by 2025. "We're challenging ourselves along with our clients to ensure we can drive real eŠ ciency in the end-to-end process of managing water networks, and leakage detection is a core part of that," Dyer says. "Historically, that business was out- sourced to another company, but that's been brought into the alliance so that Kier and Clancy Docwra can be account- able not only for ƒ xing the leaks but also detecting them in the ƒ rst place. "We're looking at a whole range of things. We're installing a substantial num- ber of noise loggers, and we're looking at opportunities for how to use ƒ bre technol- ogy to make sure leakage detection is more accurate. We're doing quite a lot of work with a number of organisations just to explore where the emerging technolo- gies are coming from." Dyer, who returned to Kier in March 2018 a" er a spell as CEO of Thames Wa- ter's Infrastructure Alliance, emphasises the need to ensure the ƒ rm has a work- force capable of handling the industry's evolution. "Gone are the days where we just employed people to dig holes and ƒ x pipes," he says. "We need a greater level of digitisation and automation in our business. We're moving towards that, but that demand requires a di˜ erent work- force and a di˜ erent skillset. "That's something my team are work- ing on right now – how we encourage people to work in our sector and give them the right skillsets to operate emerg- ing technologies and the complexities of water networks, as well as a sense of ca- reer value in what is a very exciting area." Kier is working with clients including Anglian to gain an understanding of how best to engage with local educational establishments and businesses to identify emerging trends and connect with the next generation. The aim is to coordinate e˜ orts to in- vest in a training academy that can teach people not just traditional operational skills relating to the industry but also digitisation skills. "It's about engaging with people and raising the level of interest in our sector," Dyer says. "Hopefully that'll spark their imagination and their interest to come and join us." Kier is currently working to secure further frameworks for AMP7, in addition to its work for Anglian's alliances and a contract on Severn Trent's civils-led capi- tal delivery build-only framework. "From a Kier Group perspective, utili- ties has historically been seen as a core market for us and water is a cornerstone of that," Dyer says, highlighting the utilities and rail businesses' £550 million turnover. "We understand the market very well. We've been part of it for quite some time now. That's one of our strengths – that we're able to recognise the challenges and pressures that water companies face and we're able to work collaboratively with them, in the true sense of partnership, to support their aspirations and goals." "We're challenging ourselves along with our clients to ensure we can drive real effi ciency in the end-to-end process of managing water networks." The Talk: Interview