Visual Water

3D example of rock and sub-soil at selected property

Useable water is scarce and demand is increasingWater Utilities will spend billions of dollars over the next decade upgrading existing networks, implementing new technology to address the many needs for water of growing urban populations and business while ensuring environmental protection.

All this will occur at a time when water resources are under pressure from climate change, competing uses outside the municipal area and a legacy of environmental degradation. In light of this, utilities need to ensure reliability, security and efficiency of service levels are maintained or improved.

Technology is critical to solving the “water gap”Current technologies spread across service areas provide utilities with a quantity and quality of data previously unknown. The challenge is finding the best way to use the current huge volumes of data and the increasing amount that will be at their disposal, as the sector continues to adopt smarter systems.

The pace of change of new devices like sensors and smartphones – and the data they provide – will require planning, flexibility and agility on the part of the utility.

A collaborative, highly-visual approach to water utilities management

CASE STUDY: SOUTH EAST WATER, VICTORIA

South East Water integrated the Visual Water solution into their customer and community engagement program and gained significant value at the residential property level. The customer connection process includes consultations, site audits, surveys, construction and commissioning elements that each take time to implement for each residential property.

The project team was able to identify the locations of critical rock formations during the planning stage.

Design decisions were then made with regard to the position of infrastructure, including grinder tanks for individual properties, allowing cost effective pipeline alignments to be designed and built.

Construction Benefits• Reducedeffortandcostateachstepofthe

customer connection process• Reductionofprojectriskcontingencyandcost• Dynamic‘what-if’modellingofpotential

cost savings• Moreinformeddecisionmaking• Errorreductionthroughmobilein-fieldcaptureofas-builtinformation

• Reducedadministration,complianceandcertification times

• Lowercontractorcoststhroughimprovedefficiency.

Customer Engagement Benefits• Reducedtimeforcustomersign-off• Improvedcommunication,customerand

community engagement • Closingoftheknowledgegapbetween

stakeholders• Improvedcustomersatisfaction

Visual Water

117 Pakenham Street WestWynyard QuarterAuckland 1010New Zealand

PO BOX 90519

Victoria Street WestAuckland 1142New Zealand

T +64 9 889 0111E info@nextspace.co.nz

www.nextspace.co.nz

Visualisation: providing a new generation of solutions Visual Water is a suite of tools that automates and supports a collaborative, 3D approach to managing water utilities.

It allows utilities managers to proactively track large water networks, plan for their maintenance, accommodate change and make future investments.

The tools consolidate data from multiple sources and disciplines, presenting them in 3D collaborativeworkspacesforevidence-baseddecision making.

Visual Water benefits can include:• Situationalanalysisandplanning–through

improved access to disparate information sources

• Assetcreation–apowerfulandmobile3Dvisualisation allows workers to gather and update asset information when on site

• Operationsmanagement–maintenance,monitoring, documentation, learning & development can all be delivered more cost effectively

• Customerengagement–onsitestaffhave access to more information to make decisions and share with property owners. First visit resolutions increase and customer satisfaction improves

• Assetreviewandrenewal–modellingofasset performance and renewal planning may be undertaken more readily

Further applications of Visual Water• Treatmentplants

• Watersupplyandreticulation

• Groundandsurfacewaterquantityandquality

• Stormandsewersystems

• SmartNetworks

Visual Water SolutionThe Visual Water solution includes a comprehensive data clearinghouse, which gathers and amalgamates information from a variety of sources including:

• 2D&3DAssetinformation

• LIDAR

• Propertyinformation

• Photography

• Sub-surfaceterrain

• Existingandproposedpipelinedesigns

• Featuresurveyinformation

Interfaces with:

• GISsystems

• CADsystems

• Hydraulicanalysis&othermodellingapplications

A range of strategic and tactical tools including:• Decisiondashboards

• Analysisandreporting

• Conceptualdesign

• Capturetools

• Inspectiontools

• Consultation

• Learningapplications

• Contractingtools

The platform has benefit to the following stakeholders:• Developers

• Utilities

• Consultants

• Contractors

• Catchmentboards

• LocalGovernment

• EnvironmentalProtection

• Governmentagencies

“SouthEastWaterusedthesetechnologiesonourBelgraveHeightspressuresewerproject,where they helped reduce the capital cost of the project by $3 million. We are now using the technologiesacrossawiderangeofourcapitalworksprojectsinMelbourne’ssoutheast….Ourteam[andpartnerNextspace]researched3Dvisualisationsoftwareusedinthemanufacturingindustryandcleverlyadaptedtheconceptforthewaterindustry-creatingVisualWater.”SouthEastWater’sManagingDirectorKevinHutchings