Water & Wastewater Treatment

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Out of the 318 C-suite ('chief' level) executives surveyed, only 12% considered their companies as being highly effective in translating rich data sources into insightful information that can drive change in strategy, ultimately creating value and supporting significant business transformation. While companies such as Google, Amazon and those in the financial sector have gained tremendously from the business insights garnered from data, others, including water utilities, have only just started to scratch the surface in terms of the strategic value data possesses. Data has the potential to be leveraged to gain insights on customer behaviour, asset performance, operational effectiveness and availability of skill levels of the workforce. As UK water utilities prepare to execute their business plans, the challenge that lies ahead to meet customer, regulator (and shareholder) expectations in AMP6, is becoming ever more apparent. Operational efficiencies Improving operational efficiencies and customer services in a complex environment of demand, sustainability, competition, regulation and cost pressure needs a fresh approach that can guarantee results. This is also driven by the need for water companies to extend their focus from traditional 'effectiveness and efficiency' measures to one where they will have a greater ability to 'anticipate and adapt' to changing customer expectations and increased regulatory scrutiny. Ofwat is now gearing up to perform a risk-based review of the business plans produced by UK water utilities, scrutinising each one with a key focus on defined outcomes, costs, risk and reward, affordability and finance-ability. The outcome of this review will inevitably pose further challenges which are likely to lead to further reviews and the re-alignment of operational efficiency programmes and investment strategies. The realisation that traditional approaches of business 'incrementalism' will no longer be adequate will become very apparent. The answer to this issue lies in the massive untapped potential that is hidden in the vast amounts of existing data assets. The role of data in managing and operating a resilient and sustainable business has become every bit as critical as managing and operating the physical infrastructure itself. Smarter systems Much has been written about the promise of 'smarter systems' embedded into company-wide business processes' operating models. However, more than ever, the ability to know in advance where and when the next pipe burst is likely to happen, or which customer is likely to default on their payments, or which combined sewer outflow will spill and when, and how to optimally deploy the skilled field-force to the most critical service point, are all relevant examples of valuable insights that data analytics can provide. Forward-looking information is also exposing valuable operational alternatives to commissioning ever more capital expenditure on physical infrastructure. Business capabilities like predictive analytics, proactive customer experience, integrated asset management, single views of customer and work, and situational awareness are becoming key to enabling water companies to be more resilient. The strategic approach is now to become outcome-oriented, continuously creating value while seamlessly transitioning to new ways of working. Unlocking the value from information and data sources that often exist in silos, using available technologies innovatively and bringing in new technical capabilities will be imperative. Enhanced visualisation Advanced analytics with enhanced visualisation will power these new capabilities. It will combine structured data from business systems such as telemetry and SCADA, work and asset management, customer relationship management (CRM) and billing, network hydraulic models, GIS, metering, water quality and energy management systems with unstructured data from contact centre call records, text written up in the CRM notes, photographs and images of assets taken in different point of time. In addition, social media has emerged as a critical channel and valuable source of information for situational awareness and customer experience management. To many water companies this is the perfect storm, and as a result now is the time for companies to think about how they can develop competencies, solutions and outcomes that enables them to navigate this journey, driving real value, improving services, enhancing customer experience and tackling the big issues such as leakage, environmental compliance and service interruptions. The water industry is languishing way behind other sectors in leveraging valuable asset data. Global head of Indian business IT specialist Wipro, Sahadev Singh, says now is the time for water utilities to use data to deliver much needed strategic change Data: an untapped source Data priorities in AMP6 To meet the challenges of AMP6, it is becoming important for water utilities to focus their strategies across the following areas, each one having significant dependence upon the availability of high quality data: • Online customer services and operational integration - The ability to engage effectively with customers regarding their services, consumption and billing through a range of online and digital channels • Real-time monitoring of asset condition, criticality and risk - Using disparate internal and external data sources to assess asset performance, cost and criticality, with the ability to remotely manage and maintain assets using predictive analytics, enhanced telemetry and SCADA • Service resilience and business continuity - Satisfying the needs of board members and risk managers to ensure that the IT solutions and data now critical to 'keeping the business running' has effective business continuity service • Digital security and collaboration with business partners and alliance - Integrating all stakeholders into collaborative value chains to ensure compliance, improve services and achieve greater supply chain effectivenes • Competition – preparing for retail / wholesale - Using data to within a competitive marketplace and being differentiated by the services and information provided to contestable accounts

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