Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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14 | JANUARY 2018 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Water companies take small steps into digital world H ow are digital technologies and the use of real-time data transforming water industry operations – and what are the barriers and risks to be overcome before the 'smart water' vision can be realised to its full extent? These and other questions were the subject of the WWT round table debate 'Digital Transformation and Operational Efficiency' held on November 29th in association with Siemens. The participants were unanimous about the benefits and importance of carrying out a digital transformation: in an age of instant digital communication, customers expect their water companies to know what is going on with their assets and to keep them informed in real-time, just like other companies they receive service from in their daily lives. Furthermore, there was a consensus that for any area of potential improvement – whether it is leakage or energy use – accurate measurement is the first step to understanding the problem, and that digital technologies allow a step change in the way that the data from that measurement can be transmitted, analysed and harnessed to increase performance. However, there was an acceptance The Talk: digital transformation round table that building a business case for specific investments in digital technology is not always easy, because it is difficult to predict what the real-time data will reveal or what you will be able to do with it. A parallel was drawn with the development of the internet: it would have been difficult to write a business case for investing in the web at the outset because its full possibilities only became clear once the capability was in place. Perhaps for this reason, and because of natural caution, utilities are preferring to take small, limited steps into the digital world rather than a 'big bang' IT rollout. These can take the form of intensive use of digital technologies in a specific geographical area – such as Anglian Water's 'Shop Window' initiative in Newmarket – or a concentration on a particular type of asset, such as sewage pumping stations. Other utilities which are less advanced on the digital journey are focusing on putting in more sensing technology in their networks, and improving the quality of their data, with the intention of building in more advanced analytics later. These limited initiatives provide organisations and individual teams with confidence in the technology, overcome cultural resistance and allow rollouts of approaches that work to the wider organisation. However, it was noted that this piecemeal method of turning digital was oŒen at odds with the wishes of some senior managers in the sector – and the supply chain - who instinctively prefer a large capital project which takes place within a defined timescale. Just as the industry is attempting to shiŒ its thinking from a Capex to a Totex mindset, some experienced water professionals struggle to get their heads around the fact that digitalisation is about gradually building up operational capability, rather than a single project that will see the company put in a new IT system which will improve everything at a stroke. Indeed, there was a suggestion that digital transformation may be an ongoing situation from now on rather than something which will ever be completed. One participant complained that the speed with which new versions of technology are released makes IT work a bit like painting the Forth Bridge – no sooner have you rolled out one solution, than it is out-dated and you need to start again. Other workforce challenges were highlighted. Some participants felt that the ageing workforce was a barrier to the use of digital technologies at front line level; however, others disagreed, pointing out that smartphone use was almost universal amongst older workers. One participant felt that the biggest problem was with middle managers, who are most comfortable with e-mail and Excel spreadsheets, and fail to bridge the gap with the younger generation who have been brought up using Snapchat and WhatsApp. It was observed that some digital technologies may be relatively inexpensive but require companies to spend more on training to accompany their roll-out to bring about true behavioural change. Building capability for the long-term requires overcoming short-termism among staff, who only want to deal with the here and now; it will also involve paying higher salaries to recruit and retain data experts who are seriously in demand in other sectors, participants said. There is a trend towards openness when it comes to data, typified by 'hackathon' events where data is opened up to third parties to see what insights and new threads of investigation might emerge. Participants felt that there was a growing awareness of both the power of data, and the importance of A digital transformation is taking place in the UK water sector, but the process is more about incremental steps than the revolutionary change many expect By James Brockett