Customer-Oriented Smart Metering
Keynote presentation @ Technical Session TS 5.2 Digital Transformation – Monday 12-08-24 – 10.30-12.00 – room 717A.
Avoid wasting water is a priority
Water is a crucial resource in Belgium as other countries. Preserving the water cycle plays a vital role in maintaining the balance of society and biodiversity, as well as in supporting industrial development. One of the key challenges facing the production and distribution sector is to enhance the network’s performance, a priority set by European Directive EU 2020/2184.
Addressing water stress and resource protection requires technological advancements to improve performance. Investments are essential in the fields of detection, research, and repair.
One of the strategic approaches to significantly reduce leaks is a sequential network approach. This involves focusing on both the distribution network and, equally importantly, the network beyond the meter, which belongs to the customer.
Knowing that 6 billion m³ of water are lost after the meter, we want to offer a solution to our customers.
The customers willing to invest in a solution addressing these three needs were primarily public institutions and businesses.
These two segments have been the focus of our attention and our service commitment.
The reality of the customers
We have recommended a needs-based approach, driven by the end user’s requirement to prevent water wastage, primarily due to uncontrolled leaks.
An initial market study revealed that public organisations lack a clear view of the consumption patterns in the various buildings under their management. It also highlighted that leak management is a genuine problem within these organisations.
Leak management refers to abnormal consumption resulting from internal network faults within the organisation. This can include issues such as leaking faucets, blocked flushes, pipeline defects, pipeline breakages, water theft, and more.
Over a hundred on-site interviews were conducted to listen to and understand the customer’s needs.
These interviews revealed three key insights:
Price emerged as a critical factor, as unnecessary water consumption comes at a cost, essentially incurred by wastage.
The time spent by personnel in the field was also identified as a crucial factor. Interviewees expressed support for centralised and automated information without the need for a physical presence.
Environmental concerns were a common message from all interviewees. Unnecessary wastage of drinking water and an awareness of its environmental impact were evident. Every drop of saved drinking water is a drop that doesn’t need to be produced and distributed.
The solution
We have developed and implemented the easyCONSO solution, which is an intelligent metering service enabling automatic remote reading of water meters, simplified billing, real-time consumption tracking and the receipt of alerts in case of leaks. Knowing that the penetration rate of smart metering for non residential is around 9%* at European level, it offers a low-cost alternative to smart meters.
The comprehensive solution is sold to end customers through a service contract that includes the installation of a smart measurement system tailored to the customer’s specific needs. It also provides a leakage analysis service using a multi-algorithm approach to promptly notify and address any leaks. Additionally, customers gain access to a consumption visualisation platform. The entire installation and maintenance service is carried out by SWDE, the designated water distributor.
It is worth noting that this approach, implemented for a specific customer segment, is self-supporting, meaning that all costs incurred by the activity are entirely covered by the sale of the service.
How does it work?
The results
1.5 Mio m³ potable water already saved
To date, we have successfully installed nearly 3,000 systems for customers in less than 24 months, leading to job creation with the hiring of four full-time equivalents to support the operation. This has saved over 1.5 million cubic meters of drinking water that would otherwise have been wasted.
95 % customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is equally impressive. A 2023 customer satisfaction survey revealed that 95% of clients perceive a high or very high value-added to their organisation from our service.
+79% improvement of brand company perception
Furthermore, the development of this service has also enhanced the company’s brand image. In fact, 79% of respondents see it as a significant improvement, if not a highly significant one.
The future
The solution enables water distributors to be future-proof in terms of smart metering ang leak detection. The deployment of easyCONSO helps to:
- build a trajectory for long-term smart metering mass deployment by learning customer expectations, IT integration and metering technologies on a small
- anticipate any future local regulation through proactivity instead of reactivity
- Provide directly a cost-effective need-based solution to the customers and the water distributor
Are you considering to offer this kind of service to your customers?
We can help you take a profitable approach for your organisation and your customers!
Contact our representative directly or let’s meet one of the day during the conference in Toronto.
Contact :
David Marciniak
david.marciniak@swde.be