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NETWORK / 22 / MARCH 2018 D ata can allow our clients to be more proactive to asset maintenance, rather than reac - tive. As a technol- ogy based engineering provider in the energy, water and trans- portation infrastructure sectors, data helps us to understand the value clients gain from their assets and with this insight, al - lows them to be better decision makers and ultimately improve the lives of consumers. The transition from discrete sectors to a multi-vector, cross sector ecosystem in which our transport, utility and city infra - structure are interconnected and create a co-dependant, smart eco-system requires sectors to work together in ways that they haven't done before. This will result in connectivity not just being confined to one industry or organisation, but will require sharing of assets and data in a new unexplored way. The emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) also means increased connectivity between devices and the reliance of 'big data' solutions across the whole infrastructure network. Patrick Agese, a Costain PhD researcher has been investigat - ing the evolving complexity of the connected network due to increased renewable generation, the impact of electric vehicles and the requirement to identify the best solution to these new energy assets to the traditional network. "What we are seeing" com - SMART INFRASTRUCTURE & CONNECTED ASSETS Urban energy rhythms Data allows us to understand depreciation, asset health, how the asset is used, how frequently the asset is used and how and when it should be maintained writes Kim Faithful-Wright, a technology BDM at Costain and Phil Proctor, an operations manager at Costain in the power sector. ments Agese, "is a real need for a more flexible energy system capable of managing various smart energy assets. These energy assets will require robust data management platforms and IoT innovation for secure and efficient data transfer. Electric vehicles and energy storage devices are examples of new energy assets which can provide benefits to the network, how - ever network operators need to provide access to market and robust data management solu- tions need to be put in place." As business pressures for driving efficiency and connectiv- ity supersede technology secu- rity concerns, there is a silent requirement; cyber security. As infrastructure becomes smarter, it also becomes less secure and more prone to attack. We need to have robust cyber security strategies but this is further complicated by the need to consider standardisation and open protocols for certain ap - plications. A new skill set There has been a rapid shi‰ in skills and competencies required for consultancies in the utility, infrastructure and transport sectors. Internally, organisations are having to de- velop new skills and capabilities that were not seen as core, such as technology and systems inte- gration, cyber-assured design, data and analytics, intelligent systems and UAV capability (just as a start). As we enter a new era of infrastructure we need to strengthen our cross-industry ties to solve issues such as interconnectivity, infrastructure ownership, planning, integra - tion, commercialisation and future-proofing. If we take smart connected assets as an example, how do we decide who owns and maintains the devices, data and networks? Take a wire- less sensor on an EV charging point – who is responsible, the equipment supplier, the local