Pipe up: how cloud computing can give the water sector a boost

“How can cloud computing help the water industry transition to excellence in asset operations?”

With the arrival of AMP6 comes a change of gear for the UK’s water industry. As regulation moves to outcome-based measurement, utilities seek to maximise performance in the associated total expenditure environment.

The post-privatisation emphasis on big infrastructure programmes created expertise in delivering capital projects. As that period wanes, how can the industry quickly transition to excellence in asset operations? There are three ways in which cloud computing might help:

•    Infinite computing. Crunching statistical data to predict mean time to failure for rotating equipment, using pattern-recognition to identify signs of stress in project supply chains before they manifest themselves, and mining big-data to understand how shifting demographics will change demand patterns. These are just three examples of the type of algorithm-based approaches utilities will increasingly employ. The ability to rent on-demand and (theoretically) unlimited parallel processing power in the cloud will clear the way for this type of exercise.

•    Generative design. Take a complex challenge and let an algorithm find the optimum answer. Input the boundary conditions and desired outcomes and let that algorithm flex its infinite computing muscle. This may sound like science fiction, but generative design is being researched in several sectors. The construction sector is exploring its use to optimise spatial layout and the manufacturing sector for component design, so why not the water sector for infrastructure?

•    Phone a thousand friends. Having the right mix of skills, when you need them, particularly as the industry’s trading environment is changing, can be tough. As the cloud continues to shrink the distance between people, could utilities take advantage of some of the new business models for the supply of talent? Extending the workforce virtually offers flexibility and a bigger pool of ideas.

From “how much value is left in this asset?” to “is there a non-infrastructure solution to this infrastructure challenge?” and “how can we predict changing customer preferences before they affect us?”, the nature of the questions utilities have to answer is changing. That’s going to underwrite new ways of thinking, new approaches to problem solving and powerful new tools. For many, the future for water may be in the cloud.

Dominic Thasarathar, senior manager, construction, utilities, natural resources, Autodesk