WATER & WASTE TREATMENT A DIGITAL ADVANTAGE IN WATER


In the water industry, digital ‘tools’ are now being fast-tracked to deliver new data insights that help optimise


performance, save costs and achieve compliance. Hannah Bailey, Intoware’s business development director explains...


D


igital disruption in the water industry has been bubbling under the surface for some years, but successive covid-


lockdowns have now accelerated the digital transformation of utilities. During the crisis, frontline utility workers


ensured the continuity of essential services, with digital technologies providing a critical lifeline. Technologies such as advanced metering infrastructure, ‘real-time’ collaborative working and digital asset management enabled utilities to run large parts of the infrastructure remotely, avoiding costly downtime, protecting staff and supporting customers. As the sector navigates the uncertainties of


the ‘next normal’, digitalisation requirements will be driven by both the need for great operational resilience and competitiveness. Since digital ‘tools’ have the potential to remove inefficiencies and revolutionise the sector beyond the crisis. By providing utility managers with ‘real-time’


and predictive insights on the performance and the potential for their existing assets, digital workflow systems enable utilities to optimise levels of service while reducing the costs associated through maintenance optimisation. But those utilities that have yet to invest in


digital platforms, relying on spreadsheets, paper-based and legacy systems, will mean they face significant challenges. Digital technologies that were once seen as luxuries are increasingly recognised as a critical components of asset management strategies.


44 OCTOBER 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL


Collaborative real-time working By digitising previously paper-based processes, utility managers can proactively manage and automate operations, it means that data can flow in ‘real-time’ across the entire system to maximise performance and mitigate risks. When these digital processes are then


integrated with wearables, IoT and assisted reality (AR) technologies, they can enhance communication between managers and frontline utility workers; helping them to prioritise and manage daily tasks and audits while also encouraging greater collaboration and problem solving. Prior to the pandemic, Intoware developed


its digital work instruction platform, WorkfloPlus using smartphones, tablets and assisted reality headsets from our partner RealWear to digitise compliance and asset management processes. By switching to digital instructions water companies can build a huge bank of data so they can predict when system failures may occur. WorkfloPlus ensures better compliance by


providing a thorough audit trail of ‘who’, did ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘when’, by cataloguing every decision point and action there are fewer errors, and at the same time it enables improved productivity.


The speed of change is rapid too, a change to an operational process is sent by WorkfloPlus to all users instantly, providing a “single source of truth”, so everyone is working off the same version. This means it’s easier to schedule essential repairs, rather than relying on spreadsheets where a single repair could


take days to arrange. Successive lockdowns have accelerated the


digitisation of field operations and reinforced the need for frontline workers to have reliable and easy to use mobile and contactless wearable devices. Compliance, health and safety, asset management and the allocation of work and resource processes have to all be run remotely. Government restrictions on social


distancing and safer working practices meant an increase in lone workers to complete jobs guided remotely by experts back at HQ. These requirements affected the efficiency of field operations during successive lockdowns, particularly asset management schedules. Water companies are looking to maintain


productivity by embedding digitisation to provide real-time updates for both workers and customers, so they know when a frontline manager is likely to arrive on site. A forward-thinking utility company that is


looking to improve the efficiency of its field force operations, thanks to integrated real- time digital workflows for its water meter replacement process, is Welsh Water.


Digitising water meter replacement With over a million domestic boundary boxes across Wales that require locating and changing, Welsh Water Dwr Cymru had been searching for an efficient means of managing its water meter replacement process. Changing a water meter is a complex


process that requires specific steps to be carried out in a certain order. Intoware’s automation platform, WorkfloPlus, was chosen


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