WATER INDUSTRY AND ITS FUTURE CHALLENGES

KEY PROBLEMS WE NEED TO SOLVE BEFORE FACING THEM

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1 Service and operational KPIs are based on partial and non reliable information

How can we improve when there’s no awareness of weakness? That’s what happens in most Water Utilities. Everyone knows that there are things that do not work properly ... but nobody knows. On the one hand there’s no previous business processes analysis that helps companies to design easy and simple pain points monitoring mechanisms. Furthermore, the mobile or not IT systems that supposedly are the responsible for an easy and fast data entry, have been designed to reduce bureaucratic work instead of create a consistent knowledge base to learn and take better decisions. The result is dramatic. We’re generating non representative KPIs from invented data. We’re making tricks playing to the solitaire.

2 Companies know how isn’t yet gathered in any digital format

Petabytes and Petabytes of data is being generated around the world every day. The percentage of daily non registered data is infinitely superior. Same story in Water Utilities. There are thousands and thousands of transactions, operations, emails, conversations and other ways of valuable communication that is not collected or registered properly. It has been happened for years which, in absence of historical data, does not allow Water Utilities learn from experience. But perhaps most egregious is that basic operational information about processes, systems or field operations are still in people’s brains instead of digital data bases. The risk and cost for companies is too high. What can not be shared easily, don’t exist…

3 Key transformational decisions are based exclusively on short term profitability parameters

We can know that something we’re doing is wrong. We can have a clear awareness of it and sane intention to solve it. But when we realize that solution implies an organizational change with a more or less significant impact on the budget or business processes, thing changes. Justifying past decisions or investments causes that solutions evaluation to big underlying problems were measured by tangible profitability. Result, a lot of small actions with an evident impact on spending relegate at the end of the list the real transformations. That is, it is preferred to treat the symptoms instead of ending with the disease. Thus it is very difficult to solve Water Utility real problems

4 Cost resulting from the high duplication rate of activities, projects, studies and tasks is really huge

The world is full of professionals with a clear desire for improvement. Unfortunately, the fact that they do not have a single source of information easily accessible and shared in their companies makes many of them work in parallel on the same problems rather than sharing and collaboration. And it's not a matter of will. It is a matter of coordination and put the right tools and organizational means to avoid sterile disputes between departments and lots of hours spent meaningless. Perhaps collaborating shortens the time needed between strategy and execution. Who knows…

5 Power without control is useless

Today there is not a single Utility in the world that is not thinking in predictive maintenance application in their operations. How can anybody consider such a thing when most of the thousands of blue collars who go out to perform asset maintenance tasks goes to change or repair something that is broken or don’t function properly? It's the “Run to failure” old strategy. If no data is extracting from the assets and our blue collars spend a very few percentage of their time on preventive maintenance tasks, how can Utilities think of learning about an asset data that is not available? Is not it logical to obtain such data before considering extract knowledge from them?

6 High level of specificity in municipal legislation hampers rapid adoption of technology

Today is the time of IT platforms. It’s IaaS, PaaS and SaaS time. The fast and easy setup process have beaten the high customization projects we used to do in the past. Natural software market trend has led a proliferation of tools that reduce dramatically implementation and go to market times. These tools have promoted the standardization of company’s business processes while they covered most of the needs. But the complexity of Water Utilities organizational needs is still focused on the way each of them contract, bill and rate the water service. The reason in most of the cases for this mess is derived from the local government continuous changes. The result, heterogeneity is high and the casuistry becomes alarming. While some coordinated effort to minimize it is not addressed, the synergy in the sector to leverage the use of technology will remain low

7 Past legacy is a heavy slab for Water Utilities

Unchanged ways to operate applied for years. Spending and investment strategies based on asset rehabilitation and renew. Full opacity in the way to operate, invest and spend at the eyes of end customer. The water bill as the only communication channel. Reputation often questioned. All these subjects might well deserve a post their selves. The inertia of many years is hard to beat when Utilities have to face and deal with dramatic changes that in many cases mean a substantial transformation of the way of understanding the Water "business".

WHAT’S BEHIND?

LET ME PROVIDE SOME DETAIL AND DARE TO MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS

Base data to generate the asset inventory don’t exist or are obsolete. Then it’s necessary to gather new information or review the existing one through field campaigns trying to avoid high expenses

Having available digitalized information to simulate/operate the network as soon as possible is very important for Water Utilities. But reality demonstrate they spend long time to do that

The quality level of existing data is uncertain. In best cases, they realize that these data is incomplete, incorrect or inexact according the operational or business rules defined by the Utility, when exist and are clear enough…

Normally it’s very difficult to access asset inventory data. IT systems and organizations are not oriented to share this crucial info. Instead of collaboration mechanisms we find data silos and duplicated data

Nobody knows the risk and impact related to the assets. Their criticality is calculated subjectively and only some of them are monitorized to obtain their performance. On top of that, this kind of info is not collected systematically (field work) or automatically

The final localization of any asset is not registered during the installation process. That makes impossible later traceability related with model, brand or any other asset specification

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ASSET INVENTORYHOW TO REACT…• Automatizing the edition of inventory and network elements according your

connectivity and business rules (laterals, connection services, manholes…)

• Creating a proper edition environment for operators (import from CAD, workflows, edition from sketching…)

• Implementing Smart design and follow-up tools for inventory campaigns• Smart segmentation/zoning• Real vs Planned• Progress control (per person, per contractor…)

• Analyzing data quality• Data completeness map• Data validity map• Data integrity map (Rules break control)

• Implementing easy mapping search and exploitation advanced tool for Asset Inventory

• Access to attached data (images, voice, video, specs docs…)• Access to historian data (operations, maintenance tasks…) • Access to Real Time data (control data, performance…)

• Analyzing asset cadaster• Condition map• Useful life map• Matrix risk/impact map

• Monitoring associated asset risk and criticality • Different risk typology• Different failure mode typology• Different consequence typology

Nowadays, 95% of asset maintenance field works worldwide are based on a “Run to failure” strategy. We send people once the asset is broken and the service is affected

There’s a very little space for preventive maintenance in a field worker’s journey. Most of the time is driving and responding to endless forms

Maintenance tasks are planned based on intuition. Only in a small percentage of the cases useful life related parameters are taken into account in the process

Foreman’s experience is the science used to plan maintenance routes. No Vehicle Route Planning, Network analysis or other logistic are normally used

In such places where data is collected automatically, the main purpose is remote control using SCADA technology. Data is not used to monitor or analyze asset condition or performance

Water utilities don’t know such a basic asset installed parameters as brand or model. So, they don’t know the risk or break impact associated. Even the criticality. Obviously, they can’t use these data to create maintenance plans

Normally there’s no culture of cost analysis regarding maintenance costs. Lack of information makes this impossible

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ASSET MAINTENANCEHOW TO REACT…• Visualizing and analyzing maintenance planning

• Maintenance frequency (fix, threshold, average point…) • Typology (Run to failure, preventive, predictive…)

• Implementing Smart asset search according specifications to easy create maintenance plans

• Calculating risk• Risk by asset map (mostly network)• Risk by years map

• Calculating impact• Different parameters (hydraulic, operational, commercial,

demographic…)

• Calculating criticality• Matrix risk-impact map (Hot Spots/Critical assets identification)• Historical evolution visualization

• Monitoring Service level of agreement compliance• Response times and SLA map

• Analyzing maintenance cost versus asset performance• Maintenance deviation map

• Prioritizing risk based inspections (RBI)• Calculation based on fail probability and consequences• Inspection proposal map

• Visualizing fail tree associated to critical assets• Geoprocessing to simulate affected areas/assets in case of failure

The ROA (Return of Assets) and optimum replacement time of their assets are completely unknown in most of the Water Utilities

Investment planning in replacement or rehabilitation projects is made attending to a non “technical” parameters and, in best cases, prioritizing areas with major neighboring pressure

Subjectivity is too high in all the phases of Capital Investment Planning. Most of the time the absence of a operational and critical network events database with which perform the mandatory geoprocessing and analysis leaves the subjective option as unique

Necessary data calculation and processing to obtain the right estimation in Capital projects are made with a less level of automation. This means long cooking times to integrate inside the Utility taking decision process

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INVESTMENTHOW TO REACT…• Obtaining the ROA

• ROA map• Thematic maps for asset rate

• Obtaining the optimum asset replacement time • Time-Type of asset matrix thematic maps• Replacement proposal (layer) by year

• Analyzing CAPEX & OPEX• Based on average costs and year replacement rules• Thematic maps by investment estimated costs by asset

Blue collar mobility is thought by office workers and for office workers. People on field have to deal with non easy and intuitive apps

The field workforce is, mainly, “digital illiterate”. The age of our workers is high and there’s a low rotation rate in Water Utility. Water is not too sexy for young and digital native people

Automation of data collection, remote or directly on the field, never has been a priority for Water Utilities. Now that is something “cool” they need to take profit of their past investments in technology for field workforce (apps, devices…)

The operations knowledge is still a matter of people. Field workers and operators retain the good practices and most effective processes. No real transference process to the IT systems is taking place nowadays, principally because these systems are not prepared to receive and manage such a “non structured” data

Bad user experiences in the apps promotes bad practices on the field. So, the gathered information is invented in a high percentage of the cases. The goal for the field worker on a corrective task is repairing. The rest is secondary…

Paper is still a reality. The time lapse between the data collection in field and his usage in office is extremely high. His usage for a operational decision is unlikely…

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WORKS AND INTERVENTIONS HOW TO REACT…• Analyzing work and interventions cloud of points

• From different points of view, segmentation and categorization• From a historical perspective

• Implementing smart Geo tools for sketching on the field• Attached high resolution media • Real time messaging and chatting

• Reengineering operation mobility to fit with blue collar real capabilities• User Experience analysis to define new journeys

• Adjusting view levels and accuracy tools to crew responsibilities• Inventory simplified view map• Inventory detailed view (CAD) map in different and focused apps

• Optimizing maintenance routes calculation and assignment• Different parameters beyond Geo (skills, availability…)• Recommendations based on location, availability and others

• Automating work planning• Smart task grouping and assignment

• Implementing fully operational awareness tools based on a real interoperability

• Including GPS tracking in operational awareness• Field workers location• Geofencing• Routing historical analysis (machine learning)

Manual meter reading is the way Water Utilities are obtaining the necessary data for billing. AMR and Smart Metering are still residual in front of the amount of meter readers daily walking by our streets

There’s a big space for error in manual type. Maybe is faster and cheaper than other types but the high volume of inspections and complaints derived from this process don’t balance out the potential benefits

The high dependence between reading and billing process makes entire process too rigid. The translation to reality is a huge lack of efficiency in the meter reading plan. While water billing rates structures were oriented to segment and penalize large consumers, the billing dates will continue being inflexible.

On top of that, manual reading is often subcontracted with the purpose of decrease operational costs. This means less control and influence on the process and technology subcontractors apply to the guarantee quality and feasibility. In front of this scenario, using geoprocessing to obtain meter reading routes is something unreal…

On the other side, Smart Metering is still immature. Water Utilities don’t see the benefits rather than obtain a data ready for billing. In addition, once they start to invest in that direction the infrastructure deployment is doing with the back facing geo technology and attending only to permission availability. Where’s the efficiency?

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METERINGHOW TO REACT…• Monitoring asset control data

• Real Time map (integrated with SCADA)

• Implementing Smart design and follow-up tools for meter reading campaigns• Smart segmentation/zoning• Real vs Planned• Progress control (per person, per contractor…)

• Applying Smart Geo for route calculation• Automatic generation based on multiple parameters• Automatic recalculation in case of incidences

• Learning from readers experience• Big Data and Machine learning application

• Analyzing meter readers provider’s SLAs• Best providers• Change proposals based on compliance levels

• Preparing the Smart Metering implementation• Antennas best location map (deployment proposal)

• Calculating tangible benefits of Smart Metering adoption

• Analyzing existing Smart Metering• Antenna criticality map • Redundancy level of communication network

• Analyzing meter inventory analysis• By age• By dimension• By consumer type

SCADA and hydraulic modelling is poorly integrated in the Water Utility IT ecosystem. In the same way, few Water Utilities has got a real integration between operational and commercial systems to assure the response in front of network critical events

Operational awareness is a difficult job for Utilities. Only the big ones have invested in Real Time Network monitoring and event detection. The rest have serious difficulties to obtain an integrated vision trough dashboarding

There’s no standard procedures to collect, treat, storage and analyze operational data. Under these circumstances is difficult for Water Utilities to face challenges like leak detection, sectorization and other techniques that make them possible to optimize short and long term operation.

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OPERATIONHOW TO REACT…• Monitoring events on the network to identify anomalies

• Real Time• Historical perspective

• Calculating hydraulic balances • DMA balances map

• Monitoring water quality• Monitoring points map• Access to analytics results (real time and evolution)

• Integrating data in water supply modelling• Water demand allocation• Fire flows• Water mix (sources mapping, homogeneous areas mapping…)• Water persistence

• Integrating data in sewer and drainage modelling

• Simulating water networks• Valve isolation trace• Upstream-Downstream trace• Flow accumulation

Water Utilities don’t have an unique historical vision to analyze the asset and network evolution. Traditionally different phases of projects and interventions have been registered in multiple formats and digital supports, making almost impossible to query the past.

Project tracking is made under a budget deviation perspective. So, a big percentage of the data generated during a construction is not “necessary” to register. It provokes that, when a deviation is detected, is hard to find the causes

There are different systems involved in the project management process. From CAD to budgeting tools, most of them have different responsible or different formats. BIM (Building Information Modelling) adoption is something still on the horizon…

Potential synergies derived from the resources location and continuous displacements between constructions in a organization don’t be leveraged. European laws make them complex to deploy apps based on GPS tracking for people or devices

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PROJECT MANAGEMENTHOW TO REACT…• Deploying smart tools for project management editors and analysts

• Network connectivity analysis• Operation simulation

• Building an historical project database• Different networks evolution map

• Implementing smart budgeting tools• Based on Geo tools• Connected to legacy/finantial systems

• Connecting project geodatabase with Project Management tools• Planning mode• Tracking mode• Budget deviation mode

Normally company’s customers are not properly represented on a map. Water Utilities, always influenced by their short term economic return obsession, don’t sense immediately a real benefit in geocoding

The billing process in usually complex and fully of casuistic. In addition, local government influence is high making almost impossible to share easily synergies, procedures and tools between companies without a good layer of customization

Regarding today’s reading and billing monthly and bimonthly frequencies , the analytical challenge for Water Utilities is huge. Smart Metering is coming so, the reality is that consumption forecast and billing period estimation are far from being easy to calculate today

Consumption analysis is still an unresolved matter. The representation, quality and quantity of customer’s data is not at the necessary level to take right decisions.

Business Intelligence are absolutely oriented to billing consolidation and report. Only few of them go further trying to cover the debt analysis. There’s still a long path along the way before these systems start to be really valuable…

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BILLINGHOW TO REACT…• Discovering our customers

• Thematic maps by age, connection type, consumption type, large consumers, criticality…

• Mapping our customer’s behavior• Consumption evolution• By segmentation (domestic, commercial…)

• Implementing Smart design and follow-up tools for customer cadaster reviewing

• Smart segmentation/zoning• Real vs Planned

• Discovering how debt evolves• Debt map• Cross analysis with customer data and demographics• Cross analysis with offices location• Cross analysis with digital channels

• Analyzing the anomalous consumption• Fraud identification map• Meter abnormal function identification

Traditional Customer Care strategies and IT systems used for years in Water Industry are not fully oriented to guarantee customer satisfaction. A change in Water Utilities sensibility towards end customers has took place in recent years. But there’s a lot of work to do prior to change customer’s poor image of water companies

Water Utilities don’t know who is their customer. The difficulty to obtain information from them beyond the strictly necessary to contract the service provokes a huge lack of understanding about end customer’s interests, behavior or needs

The paper water bill is mainly the communication channel with customer. Technology advances are focused on online offices and better IT systems for physical offices

Call center don’t have a 360º customer vision because the chasm between operational and customer care departments. In addition, level of digital transparency with customers is still very low. The customer interaction consuming or giving information through digital channels is something to wok hard

Water Utilities wants to share proactive recommendations, smart advises and good consuming practices with their customers. Unfortunately, processes and data are not ready for it. Analytics applied to Customer Care is nowadays just a desire…

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CUSTOMER CAREHOW TO REACT…• Understanding how our customer feel and trying to find disappointment

sources• Customer satisfaction map• Cross analysis between incidents and customer satisfaction

• Improving Call Center tools• Customer 360º vision• CRM integration

• Publishing information to the customer• Programed service shutoff• Network incidence map in real time

Usually, the power of consumption analysis, customer behavior, operational and maintenance tasks and other relevant info for Water Utilities is not conveniently leveraged in Smart City initiatives. The state and feasibility of data generate a huge volume of extra work before they can be shared with others at the same quality level

There are unexplored fields of analysis regarding consumption that could be highly valuable for the Smart City. A city behavior radiography can be easily done at different levels of aggregation hourly, daily or monthly. In few cases local census and demographic data are linked with data coming from Utility

There are a lot of opportunities to take advantage of Water Utility assets and field work force far from the current usage. In the innovation era this is a need…

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THE SMART CITYHOW TO REACT…• Exploring new possibilities for Water Utility assets

• Design thinking process

• Empowering current IT systems interoperability• Design of a powerful API strategy• Software platform adoption instead of custom developments

• Opening the doors to our City neighbors• Multiutility vision vs narrowed minds

Necessary data to generate Emergency Plans are poorly updated. This process is mostly executed manually without a proper adoption of new technology offering

Emergency is the natural field to GIS technology. Water Utilities are not using properly the powerful of this technology to prepare, predict, manage and evaluate the impact of natural disasters

Beyond large companies that have consistent strategies, Automatic Emergency Systems for severe rain events or flooding are not enough implemented on the territory. In addition, the high cost of maintenance and “non official” status make them so vulnerable to economic crisis

Emergency awareness or Decision Support Systems are not a priority for Water Utilities. Even necessary interoperability with other administrations are often not guaranteed in case of emergency

There’s no a well define broadcasting strategy towards citizen in case of emergency

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EMERGENCIESEvery day a huge amount of Water Utility field workers are managing risky tasks completely alone. The state of the art of the technology applied to HSE is growing rapidly but the adoption in the companies is still very low

There’s a real regulatory pressure that implies a lot of customization by state, region or municipality. Standardization is still to come…

The job of the HSE departments is titanic. They have to convinced the rest of the organization (mostly Operations) about the benefits of their job, saving life. But the transposition of this laudable desire to reality using technology is seen normally as an cost overrun

Risk and HSE information are not considered initially for Water Utilities as priority in the mobility strategy. The instant access to this crucial info at anytime on the field seems to be an extra in front of operational data collection.

In the same direction, vital signs monitoring or emergency calling apps are not conveniently represented in the field workers mobility

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HEALTH & SAFETY

thanks for your attention

Almost 20 years in Information Technology and

software profession

Many of them dedicated to Water Industry with different

hats

Passionate about Software, Business Analytics, Marketing

and Business Development

Runner, reader and sporadic blogger

Dani Cardelúsdanicardelus@gmail.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR