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12 | 27TH NOVEMBER - 3RD DECEMBER 2015 | UTILITY WEEK Policy & Regulation Analysis IS THERE AN INDIVIDUAL IN YOUR ORGANISATION WHO IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL INNOVATION ACTIVITY? YES 40% NO 60% HOW SIGNIFICANT ARE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING FACTORS AS BARRIERS TO INNOVATION IN OPERATIONS IN YOUR ORGANISATION? 100 80 60 40 20 0 n 1: Not at all significant n 2 n 3 n 4 n 5: Extremely significant Risk aversion WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING DO YOU EXPECT TO HAPPEN FOLLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF TOTEX? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 IMPORTANCE Average Score Automated systems 4.1 Remote sensors 3.9 Big data 3.7 New water treatment technologies 3.7 Social media / messaging platforms 3.5 New pump technologies 3.5 Advanced materials 3.3 Cloud computing 3.3 Internet of Things 3.0 EASE TO DEPLOY Average Score Big data 3.3 Internet of Things 3.1 Advanced materials 2.8 New water treatment technologies 2.7 Automated systems 2.8 Cloud computing 2.7 Remote sensors 2.6 Social media / messaging platforms 2.4 New pump technologies 2.5 ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW IMPORTANT WILL EACH OF THE FOLLOWING TECHNOLOGY AREAS BE IN ACHIEVING INNOVATION IN OPERATIONS WITHIN YOUR ORGANISATION? HOW EASY DO YOU BELIEVE IT WILL BE TO DEPLOY THE FOLLOWING TECHNOLOGIES IN YOUR ORGANISATION? Most important Least important Hardest Easiest 22% 48% 30% 11% 33% 26% 33% 22% 15% 19% 19% 22% 22% 26% 33% 37% 30% 41% 7% 7% 15% 7% 7% 7% 15% 30% 4% 4% 4% 4% Lack of senior buy-in Lack of frontline workforce buy-in Regulation Lack of funding / investment Lack of appropriately skilled employees It will make no difference to the way you/your org. approaches innovation Other It will set a prescriptive & limiting framework for innovation in operations It will put you under pressure to sweat assets beyond their useful life It will allow you access to a larger innovation budget It will give more freedom to champion innovation in operations It will make it easier to present business case for investment in new technologies SKILLS BLIND SPOT? Thirty per cent of respondents identified lack of appropriately skilled employees as a barrier to innovation. With this finding indicating that most respondents were confident of the innovation capabilities in their teams, Kate Davies, interim chief executive at EU Skills says she is "delighted" and congratulates leaders in the sector for their work in breaking "new ground" with the development of trailblazer apprenticeships, and regional work experience pilot schemes to foster new talent pools. However, she cautions that, "we can't afford to be complacent", and emphasises that work must continue to build a sustainable talent pool with skills relevant to the challenges of tomorrow. Experts from Arcadis agree with Davies' words of caution, saying that "with issues arising from an ageing workforce in the sector, coupled with increasing requirements for new skills sets related to the uptake of data-driven technologies, operations leaders should be wary of developing status quo mindsets. The near future will put pressure on operations teams to keep upskilling, as well as recruiting new talent".