CASE STUDY to analysis . It shifts now to how to analyse the data that you have . In the beginning , this is merely by simple reports , but later on it evolves into in-depth analytics and an ability to forecast . You have the data and you look at the historicals , but then when you have enough you need to be able to forecast so that ’ s the whole evolution that we went through .
What is the importance of having a single source of truth in terms of data ?
It ’ s really important to have that single version of the truth . In our company we have really two main sources . One is the data warehouse , which really contains mostly data on sales , consumption , finance and logistics , and then we have an IoT platform which contains technical data . So both are important and the key is keeping the data clean .
You need to have the data clean so that you can trust it . Now that ’ s simple to say , but it takes a while and it ’ s more a technology management concern . It ’ s all about having people responsible for the data having a buy-in , in terms of their role , and making sure that when they validate the data that means that the data there that is loaded is good . From there you can build whatever you want – that ’ s the essential .
Your organisation operates an integrated IT and OT setup . How does that work ?
It sort of happened by accident . I wish I could say it was better planned but in a previous life I had experience in OT . I worked at the plant so I had experience with plant automation .
We have a lot of plants . We have more than 200 plants all over . In fact , we service about 9 million people in our concession area so we ’ re a pretty big outfit .
There was some void in terms of who is in charge of the automation of these plants because during that time they were starting to get fully automated .
I was volunteered for the work by my boss so that ’ s really when it started .
Looking back I think there ’ s huge advantages by having an integrated IT and OT . There are a lot of companies trying to do this but again , it ’ s a political challenge because usually you have two groups , and nobody wants to give up control so you end up not being able to really fully integrate and fully utilise everything .
So I always say that my advantage is I can ’ t argue with myself , I ’ m responsible , so I just make it happen . The OT data really is very valuable for management , but it has to be presented in a way that is meaningful . That means it usually has to go through IT tools to do that . So that ’ s really the benefit , we have the data in the OT side and then once you put it into the IT systems , you process it , and then either by means of reports or analysis , that actually becomes meaningful to management .
What part does real time analytics play in running a water company ?
We don ’ t have everything automated – to have everything automated is very expensive . So , for example , we don ’ t know how much each individual customer is consuming in real time , we still read the metre every month . But we do know for our larger industrial customers how much consumption they have and what is the profile of consumption ( because there ’ s certain patterns ). We also know the pressure and the flow of water by sectors . We call them DMAs ( District Metering Areas ) so that ’ s actually near real time . Every 15 minutes , we get the data and so we can see exactly what is happening and we can react .
For example , if there ’ s a pressure loss in one area that means that people will stop receiving water , and , of course , we ’ ve got to investigate why . At the same time you can do something about it and divert , for example , water from one area to another or increase the pressure with the pump so that you ’ re still able to deliver the intended pressure . So it ’ s actually very important to us .
How far do you see IT as an enabler that allows you to provide other people within your organisation with the tools they need to succeed ?
I would say that our business is a bit special and difficult . We ’ re a private company by the way so that means my boss looks at the bottom line .
That means increasing revenues or decreasing costs . In a highly regulated environment revenues are limited by what can be approved by the regulatory office .
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