Many businesses, especially those in the water utility sector, face the challenge of transitioning from being asset-centric to becoming service-centric. With ever-growing pressures on service delivery, quality and cost, managers of infrastructure and service delivery utilities are constantly challenged to do more with less.
Furthermore, with rapid advances in technology disrupting the norm, and the Internet of Things (IOT) making information and knowledge readily available, customers are expecting more from service providers. The demand for improved service levels, and justifications for cost of service are notionally at an all-time high, driving customer-centric approach to service delivery, asset management strategies and investments.
diverse disciplines work together to improve service delivery
This theme set the agenda for GHD's latest Technical Conference in Sydney, which attracted more than 90 professionals from nearly 40 offices across the world. The event brought together a diverse mix of disciplines and backgrounds, spanning asset operations, water treatment & desalination, wastewater treatment & recycling and instrumentation & control, with the participation of executive leaders and regional technical service line leaders, complemented by a client panel.
Amongst a series of topics, the theme of helping businesses transition from an asset-centric into a service-centric approach emerged.
Supporting this theme were discussions on:
- Global Asset Management (AM) standards and alignments to ISO55001
- helping clients build and improve AM capacity
- effective management of water and wastewater facilities and treatment, using innovative instrumentation systems and controls
- The Internet of Everything
- Cyber security of physical and information technology infrastructure
- Digital engineering aided by machine learning, virtual and augmented reality and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
These discussions resulted in specific plans and thought leadership on:
- Decisions to investigate cybersecurity audits
- Formalising Asset Management knowledge into a toolkit
- Building advanced control algorithms for fully automated, intelligent controls of water and wastewater treatment plants, using artificial intelligence
- Enabling real-time process adjustments thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted predictive analytics for plant operations
- Integration of leading-edge asset management principles into the design and operation of water and wastewater treatment plants
Key challenges and trends
It was recognised that rapid advances in technology are easing access to asset information and fuelling drives for more improved service levels, as well as requiring justifications for cost of service.
Asset owners and managers are therefore obligated to demonstrate further diligence in development of responsive strategies to meet these demands, and adapt an appropriate management systems mindset. Furthermore, they are becoming aware of 'cyber security' not just being a niche business threat anymore, but a core challenge to objectively deal with and manage.
Service optimisation and asset utilisation, are some of the challenges facing managers of critical water infrastructure. Water utilities and other organisations with large asset portfolios are increasingly being asked to show regulators and stakeholders that they are delivering services in the most sustainable and efficient manner.
What needs to change
There is more recognition of the role of asset owners and managers (i.e. utilities and essential service providers) in creating liveable communities while protecting the environment for the long term. In this context, asset managers are at the forefront of driving and influencing change that will benefit not only our current, but future generations.
One of the most important change transitions that needs to occur is in understanding asset data and data-related issues across the industry. With exponential growth in information systems over the last two decades, the water sector is inevitably experiencing data-pollution, and information systems overload. Eliminating data over-collection, generating useful insights using analytics and rationalising integration of enterprise systems towards a customer-centric approach are imminent.
Global standards for management systems are encouraging increasing levels of executive ownership. At the same time, disruptive technologies are drive change from the norm, and governments are pushing for formal accountability frameworks. In this context, transitioning from asset-centric to customer-centric approaches in managing assets - and thereby increasing the safety, reliability and quality of services - is no longer an option - it needs to become business as usual!
GHD views the transition from being asset-centric to customer-centric as one of significant importance to the water sector. Our innovative approach in bringing together professionals from different backgrounds is designed to help our clients achieve these leaps in performance, rather than incremental improvements.
For more information, contact:
Wayne Francisco
Service Line Leader, Asset Operations - North America
T: +1 704 342 4912 | E: Wayne Francisco