iTnews
  • Home
  • News
  • Technology
  • Software

Benchmark Awards 2019 Finalists: Melbourne Water taps AI for asset and knowledge management systems

By Matt Johnston on Jan 24, 2019 7:05AM
Benchmark Awards 2019 Finalists: Melbourne Water taps AI for asset and knowledge management systems

As part of broader automation push.

Melbourne Water has turned to artificial intelligence and machine learning to make sure water gets into the Victorian capitals taps as efficiently as possible while also reducing the likelihood of expensive flooding events.

Moving water from Sugarloaf Reservoir, through the Winneke Water Treatment Plant and through to customers requires Melbourne Water to use six large pumps at, which until recently were completely manually operated.

The cost of running these pumps is one of the biggest ticket items on Melbourne Water’s budget, and varied according to the water level in the reservoir and the flow rate required by the plant.

Work on the Automation and Operations strategy began in mid-2017, when Melbourne Water decided to begin looking at the available data to automate the selection of the pumps used and their speed, rather than leaving it to the plant duty operator of the day.

Early estimates suggested that using artificial intelligence to automate pump operations could result in around 25 percent savings in energy costs.

Work began in late 2017 to start developing an AI solution to supervise control of the pump station using data from Melbourne Water’s resident historian to identify the most efficient combination of pumps and speed to produce the required flow rate at given reservoir levels.

The resulting script runs on an ‘industrial computer’ connected to the controls network and can both read and write data directly into the control system operating at the pump station.

Building on the success of the first AI project, Melbourne Water then turned to automating other parts of its operations.

While clearing blocked grates isn’t an enormous, ever-present expense, the effective management of grates can be the difference between happy customers and wet, flooded customers forwarding on a water damage bill.

Melbourne Water had already tried and discarded several solutions to detect blocked grates based on water flow analysis, meaning staff still had to manually check if around 17,000 grates needed cleaning.

This time partnering with IBM, Melbourne Water developed an AI solution that uses IBM’s cloud platform to analyse still images of grates to check for blockages.

A firm measure of ROI is yet to be established as cameras continue to be rolled out, but the utilities company said customer service has improved as a result of being able to reduce localised flooding incidents.

The financial savings of reduced repair bills directly linked to fewer flood events has also be a positive outcome of the project.

This project has been named a finalist in the Industrial category of the iTnews Benchmark Awards 2018/19.

Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.
Copyright © iTnews.com.au . All rights reserved.
Tags:
artificial intelligenceautomationbenchmark awardsbenchmark awards 2019cloudibmindustrialitmelbourne watersoftwareutilitiesit

Partner Content

The Great Resignation has intensified insider security threats
Promoted Content The Great Resignation has intensified insider security threats
Why Genworth Australia embraced low-code software development
Promoted Content Why Genworth Australia embraced low-code software development
Security "mindset shift" needed to protect organisations
Promoted Content Security "mindset shift" needed to protect organisations
How to turn digital complexity into competitive advantage
Promoted Content How to turn digital complexity into competitive advantage

Sponsored Whitepapers

Extracting the value of data using Unified Observability
Extracting the value of data using Unified Observability
Planning before the breach: You can’t protect what you can’t see
Planning before the breach: You can’t protect what you can’t see
Beyond FTP: Securing and Managing File Transfers
Beyond FTP: Securing and Managing File Transfers
NextGen Security Operations: A Roadmap for the Future
NextGen Security Operations: A Roadmap for the Future
Video: Watch Juniper talk about its Aston Martin partnership
Video: Watch Juniper talk about its Aston Martin partnership

Events

  • Micro Focus Information Management & Governance (IM&G) Forum 2022
  • CRN Channel Meets: CyberSecurity Live Event
  • IoT Insights: Secure By Design for manufacturing
  • Cyber Security for Government Summit
  • Forrester Technology & Innovation Asia Pacific 2022
By Matt Johnston
Jan 24 2019
7:05AM
0 Comments

Related Articles

  • Coles Liquor to use AI to ensure its shelves never run dry
  • Qantas calls time on IBM, Fujitsu in tech modernisation
  • eHealth NSW is using AI to detect sepsis in hospital admissions
  • Victoria to run AI over CCTV footage to pinpoint road incidents
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on Whatsapp Email A Friend

Most Read Articles

Qantas calls time on IBM, Fujitsu in tech modernisation

Qantas calls time on IBM, Fujitsu in tech modernisation

Researchers hacked Oracle servers to demo serious vulnerability

Researchers hacked Oracle servers to demo serious vulnerability

PayTo rollout kicks off

PayTo rollout kicks off

Australian scientists build world's first quantum computer IC

Australian scientists build world's first quantum computer IC

Digital Nation

Crypto experts optimistic about future of Bitcoin: Block
Crypto experts optimistic about future of Bitcoin: Block
The security threat of quantum computing
The security threat of quantum computing
COVER STORY: Operationalising net zero through the power of IoT
COVER STORY: Operationalising net zero through the power of IoT
IBM global chief data officer on the rise of the number crunchers
IBM global chief data officer on the rise of the number crunchers
Integrity, ethics and board decisions in the digital age
Integrity, ethics and board decisions in the digital age
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorisation.
Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of nextmedia's Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.