Utility Week

Loosening the chains T he importance of the rela onship between u li es and the supply chain has long been recognised, but is now more vital than ever, or as Andy Clark, head of procurement and contract management at Yorkshire Water puts it: "The challenges faced by, and expecta ons placed on, supply chain management have never been greater." Cost and efficiency pressures on u li es are being passed on to the supply chain. Combined with a fast-changing regulatory and policy environment and the evolving needs of customers, it's clear that tradi onal models of opera on will no longer cut it. However, through these changes, Richard Hepworth, director, digital transforma on, at PwC says there is a huge opportunity for u li es and plant owners to embrace technology, and par cularly the Internet of Things (IoT). He sees that poten al being realised to a great extent in the supply chain, notably with regard to predic ve maintenance for cri cal assets such as wires, pipes, meters and pumping sta ons: "GE has produced its own IoT pla orm, Predix, for example. If you get into that automa on of devices around the supply chain, it saves millions of pounds and enables people to be much more predic ve in theory, extending asset lives, improving designs through clever analy cs like digital twins and the like," he says. GE isn't alone in crea ng technology that will prove disrup ve to the supply chain. He also points to BoilerIQ from Bri sh Gas, which enables the boiler to be managed more effec vely and prevents breakdowns with condi onal services instead of boiler breaks that necessitate sending an engineer out: "It enables be er scheduling of engineers and be er customer service to the end user. Every part of the u lity supply chain will be affected by IoT in one way, shape or form." At U lity Week Live 2018 (22-23 May), disrup on is the headline theme. Held at the NEC in Birmingham, the exhibi on and seminar sessions will gather industry intelligence and spark debate on themes including the IoT and other game- changing technologies, u li es innova on and new solu ons. U lity Week Live at the NEC on 22-23 May will be scru nising 'disrup on' in all its forms. Here, we list the top disrup ons rela ng to the supply chain – as iden fied by you. U t i l i t y W e e k L i v e Every part of the utility supply chain will be affected by IoT in one way, shape or form. P R E S E N T S 6 | 20TH - 26TH APRIL 2018 | UTILITY WEEK P R E S E N T S

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