Water & Wastewater Treatment

12 | JANUARY 2016 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Events Round table: embedding effective asset management Water companies seek long-term vision in their asset decisions THE SPEAKERS "It is the criticality of the asset that will decide whether we move towards a proactive or a reactive space." Mark Worsfold Head of wholesale strategic performance and development South West Water "The dynamic within the water industry is that every single treatment works is different, so having a consistent approach to how you manage them is a real challenge." Helen Samuels Engineering director United Utilities "I think the bottom line is that the industry is changing, but it is too early to say it has changed." Graham Fulton Head of asset planning Anglian Water F or water companies in England and Wales, outcome-based regulation and the new emphasis on Totex has made asset management in AMP6 a very different proposition from what has gone before. Delegates at WWT's round table 'Embedding Effective Asset Manage- ment', held in association with Hydro International, Siemens and Black & Veatch, gathered in London to discuss the impact of these trends on water companies' asset management prac- tices, and how the asset management function within utilities will have to evolve. The consensus was that while some change is happening, the indus- try still has a long way to go. There was an agreement among participants that uncertainty still lurks over regulation in the future and organisations are slow to believe that 'whole-life' really means 'beyond five years'. An element of cynicism has therefore contributed to companies failing to reach the desired point. Against this background, "making a decision for 20, 25 or even 40 years and beyond is tough", said Graham Fulton, "Just because the book says you need to do four services a year doesn't mean you need to do them once a quarter." Keith Hayward UK sales and marketing manager Hydro International Round table participants: Helen Samuels (United Utilities), David Widdowson (Yorkshire Water), Keith Hayward (Hydro International), Mark Higham, Steve Hanslow (Siemens), Graham Fulton (Anglian Water), Peter Martin (Black & Veatch), Mark Worsfold (South West Water), Andrew Ball (South East Water), Clive Norfolk (Thames Water), Neil Wilson (Wessex Water). "Many of us have let the pendulum swing too far and said 'our framework consultants can do that, we don't need to." David Widdowson Head of asset programme management Yorkshire Water "The challenge for asset managers is to understand where you're spending money that you don't need to, and where you're not spending money that you do need to." Clive Norfolk Strategy and business planning manager Thames Water

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