Water & Wastewater Treatment

14 | january 2016 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk To take away 1. When it comes to adopting new technology, water utilities must be prepared to take some of the risks of innovation as well as sharing the benefits. Pilot programmes should be designed to reflect this. 2. Innovative SMEs need to research utilities' current needs in order to tailor their pitch effectively; trade associations can provide help with this. 3. A growing emphasis on data solutions at water companies will mean that data science and mathematics skill sets become just as important as those of engineers in the future. 4. Political backing and funding for innovation in the sector is crucial and the Netherlands is a prime example of what can be achieved when these elements are in place. 5. 'Small data' which is targeted and answers a specific business need, can o en be the right approach to take rather than wading through 'big data'. Events Innovators in water sector 'must be prepared to fail' I nnovators in the water sector must be 'prepared to fail' in order to take the risks that will lead to meaningful progress being achieved, experts told the WWT Water Industry Technology Innovation conference in Birmingham. Despite financial pressures and the targets of outcome-based regulation, water companies must also adopt a more open approach to risk in order for innovation to flourish, delegates heard at the conference, held on Tuesday Dec 1st and sponsored by Atkins. Mark Worsfold, Head of Wholesale Strategic Performance and Develop- ment at South West Water, presented the conference with a line graph show- ing how innovative technology enjoys an early surge of hype and attention, then a plunge in fortunes as it strug- gles to catch on in the market, before the line finally turns upwards as the in- novation gains traction. He referred to the bleak period in the middle as the 'Valley of Death'. "Not everything makes it through the Valley of Death. Sometimes that's for a good reason and sometimes not. But we want to make sure that more innovative technology makes it," said Worsfold. He said that effective piloting of technology by water companies was the key to ensuring the potential of the best innovations is realised; it should not be the case that water utilities push all the risk of innovation into in the supply chain, he added. Nick Cliffe, Lead Technologist for Resource Efficiency at Innovate UK, said that funding could help small, innovative companies bridge the 'Valley of Death' and that his organisation had up to £440M which could be accessed by SMEs in the sector. However, development work is crucial and innovators have to take the time to understand the needs of the water utility, presenting a business case, and to amend their offering should they initially be unsuccessful. Later in the conference Patric Bulmer, Head of Environment Strategy at Bristol Water, said that the fact that so many innovations fail to catch on the market should not be surprising, and neither should it be a barrier to future innovation. "Ninety per cent of innovation projects fail – and in some respects, that's the way it should be," said Bulmer. "We should be prepared to fail. The fear of failure should not stop us coming up with ideas, and testing those ideas." THE SPEAKERS "Everything is now mobile. There are more mobile phones in the world than toothbrushes." Saeed ahmad Business Readiness Manager, national Grid WWT Water Northern Ireland conference, 25th February, Belfast. Details: wwt-ni.net NEXT EVENT "Moving to a more analytic way of making decisions is a very difficult thing to do culturally." Stephen Herndlhofer Head of Information Services, yorkshire Water "Capex is the crack cocaine of the water industry, and many of us are still hooked on it." alison Hoyle Head of Strategic Planning, Southern Water "Design is a creative process, not a commoditized one." richard Weeks Chief Engineer, atkins Global James Brockett reports from Birmingham

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