Digital Transformation

Using digital technology to address the quality and availability of water

We are currently dealing with a crisis of water scarcity, poor water quality, and water supply system limitations and failures caused by climate change. If we want to secure our future, we must address water sustainability along with net-zero goals. We have assumed that there is enough water for everyone for countless centuries. After all, more than 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered by water.

By Alain Dedieu

President, Water & Wastewater at Schneider Electric

However, just 3% of the water on earth is fresh - suitable for consumption and industrial use. Furthermore, just 0.5-1% of the earth’s freshwater is available i.e. not locked in ice caps, atmosphere or soil. Water has become so rare, that it recently became a traded stock exchange commodity, the ‘new’ oil or gold, as a result of the difficulty of accessing it in certain regions. Yet, this precious freshwater resource is being used in an unsustainable manner. Take the issue of non-revenue water, which is water that is produced and ‘lost’ before it reaches the customer, due to leaks and mains bursts. While 17% of EU territory is affected by water scarcity, globally, 40-60% of water is lost as non-revenue water. Aside from the loss of this precious water itself, non-revenue water results in greater carbon emissions, costs and inconvenience for all.

The impact of long-term sustainability

The demand for safe, high-quality water for industrial and domestic use is rising even as supply is becoming scarcer. It’s not just the increasing use of water within industrial processes that is an issue - it is what happens to the wastewater produced as a result of these processes. Just one gallon of paint leaking into the ground can contaminate 250,000 gallons of drinking water. A gallon of gasoline spilt can contaminate 750,000 gallons. It is essential to ensure that we can stop and reverse water pollution – keeping our impact on rivers, lakes and groundwater to a minimum. Not only is this issue of lost water affecting long-term sustainability, but with water services accounting for 30-50% of local authorities’ electricity consumption, the impact of this sector on broader net-zero goals should not be underestimated. 80% of all water withdrawn in the US is used for cooling power plants and irrigation purposes and in 2019 alone, EU wastewater treatment and discharge plants emitted 27 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Water suppliers and industry must focus efforts on measuring impact. Deploying sustainable solutions to these issues requires data transparency to recognise opportunities to reduce NRW, cut pollution and reduce the industry’s carbon emissions. Without insight as to where impact can be achieved, action is fruitless.

Face the challenge with a clear vision

With the help of digital technology, we can effectively manage all water sources, including groundwater, fresh water, and recycled water, to meet all demand needs. For example, data derived from digital technologies such as IoT, AI and cloud systems can help predict water demand, ensure the quality of supply and respond proactively to challenges. Today’s digital solutions can help to make the quality, quantity and impact of water visible by ensuring infrastructure works for us, not against us. When we can extract performance data from water’s physical infrastructure we can plug gaps. For example, advanced data analytics can deliver power monitoring systems that deliver energy savings up to 8%, while leak management systems utilise data from across various systems to detect faults and proactively mitigate leaks. Simultaneously pressure management systems use the information to control network pressure and alleviate stress on pipes. Such digitally enabled asset management not only reduces NRW but also prolongs the life of infrastructure to reduce costly repair and replacement.

The ultimate team: technology, data and knowledge

Digital tools and data analytics offer unmatched prospects to increase efficiency when considering the size of water usage, for instance by assisting in the reduction of municipal water leaks or assuring effective irrigation in the case of agriculture. However, this dream will only become a reality if we can build, operate and maintain sustainable and efficient water infrastructure, and manage it through the power of digital. As a global utility, there are enormous amounts of data, from varied sources that can be harnessed to realise a more sustainable vision of water in our future. However, it requires all involved in the industry to embrace data-driven solutions. Through greater industry collaboration, harnessing cross-sector data and sharing knowledge we can come together to innovate and set new standards for sustainable water supplies. Time is a crucial resource in the fight to achieve a sustainable future, and we mustn’t let it escape our control. The time is now to adopt cutting-edge digital water cycle management systems to speed up datadriven sustainability plans. Planning, running, maintaining, and optimising water treatment infrastructure through digital transformation will benefit suppliers, customers, businesses, and the environment.

Why the water industry needs to boost its cybersecurity maturity

Legacy technologies reaching end-of-life, increasing investments in digitisation and automation, and the growing prevalence and sophistication of cybercrime are creating a melting pot of risk for water utilities, says Marc Wren, OT Cyber Security Manager at Axians Cloud & Cybersecurity.

Ensuring the reliability and safety of water supply to homes and businesses are at the core of every water utility’s operations. However, these principles are coming increasingly under threat from the digital world. The number of cyberattacks around the world is increasing year on year, with attackers finding increasingly sophisticated ways to wreak havoc. Along with manufacturers, transport providers, and energy companies, water utilities are a common target. On Monday 19th August, South Staffordshire Water, which controls the water supply of around 1.6 million people confirmed it had been the victim of a ransomware gang attack. While the attack seems to have been focused on the IT network, the gang claimed that it had accessed the OT (operational technology) network, specifically the systems that monitor the levels of chemicals in the water.

During the current drought conditions across the UK, the water utility staff will be working extremely hard to maintain a safe supply and this attack will have certainly inhibited their ability to focus on this. Other attacks on water utilities hit the news in April 2020 when cybercriminals attempted to raise the level of chlorine at five Israeli Water Authority facilities and in February 2021 when a hacker attempted to increase the sodium hydroxide in a municipal water supply in Florida, USA, to dangerously high levels.

A multitude of challenges

Due to age, many facilities run on legacy technologies, designed for efficiency over security. At the same time, new investments in digitisation and automation, including the industrial internet of things (IIoT) and hyperconnectivity of systems for remote access or analytics, are creating new and greater surfaces for attack. While these produce fantastic opportunities for efficiency, they need to be installed with a security-first approach. Mindsets towards industrial cybersecurity and the protection of operational technologies are changing, but water utilities are juggling many priorities to address the risks alongside other investments they need to make amid a staff and skills shortage. Current operations staff often face the challenge of maintaining system uptime, while implementing complex design changes and upgrades, which leaves little time to focus on asset and vulnerability management. Others may have policies in place to superficially fulfil the requirements of the 2018 NIS (Security of Network & Information Systems) directive but lack the people capable of maintaining and actioning them.

Help is on hand

OT cybersecurity is most effective when paired with a deep understanding of the process and control systems. As the UK’s largest automation company – via the Actemium brand – and a major player in ICT – via Axians – VINCI Energies UK & RoI is uniquely positioned to help water utilities in the UK protect the safety of their assets and customers.

We work with water and wastewater companies to assess the impact of a potential cyberattack on their OT and implement cybersecurity measures in a phased way, according to the budget and risk level. Cybersecurity is simplest when designed into an OT system from the start, but we also support customers to successfully implement robust cybersecurity into existing water systems and treatment processes. The most important thing is to have visibility and monitoring in place, we can understand what is going on within the network and what needs to be protected. In either case, the technical solution is only part of the equation. An overhaul of company procedures may also be required, creating good governance and enforcing policies to support the technical controls.

We can supply an OT cybersecurity officer on demand to put legislation into layman’s terms or provide a complete managed service to fill gaps in both staff capability and capacity. Wherever you are in your cybersecurity journey – from audit, risk assessment, and developing good governance, to design and commissioning of cybersecurity defences – speak to us and we can help you take advantage of the latest efficiency-boosting digital technologies, while keeping your operations running safely and reliably. For a free 30 minute consultation with a VINCI Energies OT security professional, please contact ot@axians.co.uk.

Do you offer a fluid workplace experience?

Water companies are under immense pressure. The pandemic has caused industry-wide business challenges and with the current cost of living crisis, overheads are rising, but revenues are declining. Ofwat’s ODIs have not changed, putting pressure on already-tight budgets, and many companies are struggling to act quick enough to achieve the ever looming 2030 sustainability targets.

From daily operational tasks through to large-scale strategic plans, everything needs to be done smarter and more efficiently. Water companies must accelerate positive change to scale their businesses, achieve net zero targets and become more resilient.

The first step to achieving positive change is a human-centric workplace approach. Putting your employees first with a workplace experience (WX) approach can have a positive impact on your business, your sustainability goals and your employees and customers. Here at Avanade we’ve conducted a global workplace study to investigate how far organisations are going to put their peoplefirst and the difference their efforts are making to their business. The research reflects the perspectives of 2,100 senior business, IT and HR decisionmakers across multiple industries, from late 2021 into early 2022.

People first? Or people false?

When it comes to their people priorities, organisations talk a good game. 98% said their organisation has taken steps to transform their employee experience. 85% said their organisation is currently either committed to or testing a fully remote or a hybrid working model. But there’s a problem: the same organisations are failing to truly commit to their people-first promise. 62% haven’t taken steps to streamline their employee experience and application ecosystem to help their people access what they need more easily. 61% are failing to simplify knowledge management and sharing through cloudbased platforms, AI or automation. 66% have yet to implement a virtualised workplace environment, providing access to applications and data anywhere, from any device. 60% haven’t enabled seamless communication and collaboration for all employees via a cloud workplace platform. 55% haven’t embraced a security model that enables all employees to work securely, wherever they’re based.

Big benefits for a WX approach

Those who are embracing a WX approach are growing both their business and their people! 99% of organisations have seen an increase in performance across the following business metrics:

Productivity improvement - up 6.83%

Employee retention – up 6.70%

Customer satisfaction scores – up 6.92%

Costs reduced - down 6.34%

Revenue growth - up 6.72% Those are some encouraging and powerful stats when you consider the cumulative impact on business performance!

Three key steps to a successful WX strategy

1: A collaborative, holistic WX approach

Bring IT, HR and business leaders together to assess the suitability of your current workplace strategy in the context of your broader business strategy.

Learn from the rapid transformation experienced in the last two years - identify new working practices that have succeeded and those that failed.

Develop a business case to support your recommendations and outline key performance indicators.

2: Build your WX for specific employee groups

Review and update your employee personas, addressing the impact of rapid work transformation on each group.

Consider the people-first working practices that you want to maintain (or enable) for each group. Identify the necessary changes across platforms, workspaces, work processes and cultural drivers to enable hyperpersonalised experiences at scale.

3: Embrace a data-driven approach

A data-driven, insight-enabled approach is crucial to the management and evolution of your workplace strategy. Use analytics platforms as your barometer to continually evolve your WX so it stays relevant and attractive to employees.

Identify the workplace, employee and broader business data you have and how it can help you understand workplace shifts.

Develop a pilot scenario – including the metrics that will help you measure success.

Scale this model to embrace broader workplace programs and commit to dedicated review cycles.

Want to become a WX pioneer? Find out how

Our market-leading WX team can help you understand how to shape your future of work strategy to grow your business and your people. Discover how we’ve helped Dutch water utility, PWN digitally transform its operations. Talk to our team today to arrange your Future of Work Assessment or download our WX report.

Gas safety in the water industry – a connected future

Adam Pope, of, Draeger Safety UK, examines advances in Industry 4.0 gas detection and monitoring technologies with the potential to improve safety – and efficiencies – in the water industry.

Gas detection and monitoring has long been a key part of health and safety in the water industry and it is a topic that is rising up the agenda. A range of issues are bringing additional focus to the subject, including those associated with increased lone working post-Covid, as well as the UK wastewater industry’s growing deployment of anaerobic digestion and biogas facilities.

With growing scrutiny by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), it is widely expected that regulations in relation to gas safety will come under increasing – and stricter – focus in the future.

However, whilst critical to the safety of those working in the water industry, gas safety can feel like a complex and challenging issue, not least with recent advances in connected and digital ‘Industry 4.0’ technologies Industry 4.0

The concept of technological connectivity boosting outcomes is not a new one. The term Industry 4.0 can be traced back as far as 2011. More than 15 years later, the ideas and technologies that were prophesised as part of the fourth industrial revolution have indeed brought far-reaching benefits to many areas of industry. From big data and cloud computing, to predictive maintenance, Industry 4.0 has positively impacted many areas of the water industry. Yet safety is the one area within industry, including the water sector, where its full potential is yet to be fully adopted and embraced.

The possibilities for Industry 4.0 technologies when it comes to gas safety in the water industry are significant, and there have been some major advances in innovation within this area over recent months. From real-time monitoring of hazardous environments such as sewers, to interconnecting systems which communicate and respond to one another to safeguard personnel across a clean water site, the applications are wide-ranging. And early adopters are seeing significant benefits.

Connected gas safety in water operations

Gas hazards exist in a wide range of applications in the water industry, from treatment units, tanks, service reservoirs, chemical handling and storage areas, to pumping stations wells, sumps, overflows, boreholes, sewers and manholes. The most frequently occurring hazards are flammable gases such as methane and fuel vapours, toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide, and also oxygen displacement. But there are also risks of oxygen enrichment where oxygen injection is used for wastewater treatment, and chlorine, sulphur dioxide and ozone for clean water treatment.

Gas detection is therefore a critical and a life-saving measure to ensure the safety of engineers and other personnel, but also to ensure the safety of plant equipment. As part of a robust gas safety solution, portable gas monitoring devices would be issued to all field engineers – potentially several thousand individual devices. Using new innovation in this space, a connected smart safety system can now be created to link all of these devices.

This offers a number of key benefits, including live monitoring; whereby key information is displayed in real time via an online user interface. This interface is available to anyone who has the appropriate permissions, meaning that workers on site, or managers in a central location, can pinpoint the position of their colleagues and the status of their gas safety at any given moment. If an alarm is activated by any individual device, colleagues and managers would be immediately alerted to the risk, and receive the key information displayed on the management dashboard. Furthermore, emergency services can be granted access to the data which allows them to manage an emergency situation, if needed, and the data is also logged for later analysis. This means that hazards can be identified more quickly; countermeasures can be initiated faster, and correlations and anomalies can be analysed more easily to identify root causes. This is important in improving outcomes, not only in post-event analysis, but in real-time through live monitoring. Another key benefit of this type of digitisation is that it offers opportunities for more efficient asset management, simplifying a range of processes that were previously more complex, and centralising management, whilst decentralising execution. This makes device management and compliance far more straightforward, as data in relation to operational status, testing and calibration results can be collected and accessed from anywhere, with the ability for analysis to be performed directly. Device updates can also be distributed centrally with ease, notifications can be sent to users, and a complete documentation history for each gas detection device is automatically stored on the connected system. Increased transparency, easier management and reduced potential for human error are key outcomes of such a smart system, leading to significantly improved safety to life, and also cost-savings at the same time.

Adam Pope Driving digital innovation

In this example, as with so many others, Covid has served as a catalyst to drive digital innovation, with changes to working styles prompting an urgent need for remotely-accessible real-time safety data. At the same time, pressures on budgets across the water sector mean that any new safety solutions or technology must be able to prove itself financially. Savvy companies – including some of the leading names in the water industry – are increasingly recognising, however, that the cheapest up-front cost doesn’t always mean the highest quality product, or indeed the most efficient total lifetime cost. This is particularly true when you consider that digital systems allow for easier bolt-on of new or additional elements to an overall system. Well-designed and forward-thinking connected and digital safety can deliver on all fronts with the right planning and consideration of what is needed both now and in the future. But it is vital that good training, and a thorough understanding of such technologies is well-embedded as part of any new roll-out. Without this, there is a real risk that the full benefits may not be realised. With demand growing throughout the industry to generate better safety insight and information to better inform safety policies and approaches, there is a huge demand for safety data. And whilst this may feel challenging, advances in safety technologies are making this increasingly possible, and straightforward. As connected and digital safety is starting to become increasingly better understood and harnessed in the water industry, and alongside the range of operational benefits, this new technology heralds new potential to safeguard those exposed to gas safety risks in the sector. More information at draeger.com