With ageing and failing assets it is ever important to manage your assets in the optimum way. Whether that is by installing sensors and monitoring your MCerts certifications, monitoring sensors in trash screens or smart drainage in flood risk areas, Hannah Winstanley explained at WATER MANAGEMENT Smart Class 2025 how Brightly and Siemens are providing the data and the means to be proactive and optimise work schedules.
Hannah (UK General Manager and Country Lead at Brightly, A Siemens Company) demonstrated how using AI and weather predictions can help identify potential blockages based on rainfall forecasts, and also pinpoint where damage or blockages already exist in your drainage network. Described as “the future of sewer management”, SIWA Blockage Predictor is an award winning application for securely monitoring normal behaviour and finding the abnormal behaviour in your sewer network. Dr Adam Cartwright (Industry Strategy Director: Water and Wastewater Software, Siemens) added his expert knowledge around using rainfall predictions and weather event data, coupling rainfall data with IoT Sensor data, and operating Blockage Predictor in the field.
From pipes, trees, parks and highways, to ports, pumping stations, buildings and structures, Hannah’s presentation also highlighted the interdependency of assets, the associated risks and the importance of understanding “the bigger (multiple assets) picture”.
She concluded by taking us through a range of key infrastructure trends, including funding, revenue reduction, sustainability, level of service, knowledge loss, resilient performance, data-fueled government and seamless service delivery.
Hannah and Adam subsequently co-hosted in-depth roundtable discussions with all those in attendance.
As NWG’s Angela MacOscar concluded in her post-event summary, “…a strong session showing how AI, predictive weather modelling, and real-time sensors are helping us get ahead of blockages, optimise maintenance, and act more sustainably. Great insight into what proactive, smart asset management looks like in practice”.
If you meet our regular delegate qualification criteria but were unable to join us at Nexus Leeds for the live in-person event on April 2nd, CLICK HERE and complete the short “Download form” (located at the bottom of the post) to receive a unique link enabling free access to the presentation video recordings and slides (including the film footage and slides from Hannah’s initial presentation).
Those qualifying to receive the rich presentation content from this event include commissioning, procurement, innovation, trialling and partnering leads, senior influencers, strategic decision makers, environmental managers, policy makers and planners from UK water companies and utilities, wastewater and sewer operators, lead local flood authorities (unitary authorities and county councils), city/borough/metropolitan councils, district councils, combined authorities, internal drainage boards, regional flood & coastal committees, highways authorities, prime contractors, general insurers, large water consumers, national agencies, central governmental and regulatory bodies (e.g. Defra, DCLG, Ofwat, Environment Agency, DWI, SEPA), independent industry and consumer organisations (e.g. Water UK, CCW), river trusts, NGOs etc.
