Smart tech delivers top award for SA Water

SA Water took out top honours at the Digital Utility awards in Melbourne last week, sharing the title of Australian Digital Utility of the Year with Horizon Power.

The award recognises SA Water’s position as an industry leader on integrating digital and smart technologies with infrastructure, to better manage its complex network for the benefit of customers.

SA Water’s General Manager Customer Delivery Kerry Rowlands said the corporation is using new and emerging technologies such as digital sensors, the internet-of-things and smart phone accessibility to improve the way it meets the changing needs and expectations of its customers.

"Digitally driven communications have strongly influenced the way businesses connect to their customers, and we’re now using data and digital information to improve the services and experience we deliver to our residential and business customers," said Kerry.

SA Water’s nomination showcased their work in both operational back-of-house functions, as well as customer interfaces.

"New online solutions are enabling customers to more easily report faults and manage accounts via their computer or smart phone," said Kerry.

"Business customers in the CBD are also able to actively monitor their water consumption through smart meters, to quickly identify anomalies and implement improved water management practices."

Judges also recognised SA Water’s ground-breaking smart water network installed across Adelaide’s CBD which includes acoustic sensors, pressure and flow data, high speed transient pressure sensors, smart meters and water quality sensors. This smart network enables SA Water to identify anomalies, proactively repair faults, reduce disruptions and improve responses to unplanned work.

"Empowering our own people with improved digital systems is also changing the way we deliver services to our customers – and safety to our workers," said Kerry.

"Paper trails are history for our field crews who now use a custom-built app to dispatch jobs to field staff who can update jobs as they arrive, undertake the repair and complete it."

Using new and proven technology to continually improve services for customers is now a part of SA Water’s way of thinking.

"Our customers’ needs and expectations will always be our number one focus, but this award is a wonderful recognition of our teams’ efforts in the digital space."

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