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A day in the life of Binnies Principal Leakage Consultant

Published on January 20, 2022

Binnies Principal Leakage Consultant Colin Cox has more than 30ย yearsโ€™ experienceย of water networks, specialising in strategic leakage management and operational and asset management delivery.ย 

Here,ย he discusses his career and gives an insight into his day-to-dayย job.ย 

Whenย we turn on a tap each day to access clean water, weย neverย give a second thought toย what a precious and valuable resource it is.ย 

Many of usย are guilty of taking for granted theย availability of water andย often donโ€™tย appreciate the challenges faced by water utility companiesย to ensureย it is always accessible to us.ย 

These challenges includeย aย changing and unpredictable climate, population growth, water scarcity and affordability issuesย and mean we need toย valueย waterย andย ensure weย manageย and useย it responsibly.ย 

A critical issueย and key performance indicatorย for wholesale water providers is leakage, which representsย a waste of both natural resources and money. With tough regulatory performance hurdles, ageing infrastructureย andย aย greater focus on customer service,ย the need to drive down the cost of leakage-reduction strategies through innovative and cost-effective solutions has never been more prominent.ย 

Thatย is whyย jobs like Colinโ€™s are so important, and here,ย Colinย outlines his day-to-day workย and whatย the future holds for water.ย 

For more than 30 years, Colin has worked in the water industry.ย Heย started his career workingย forย companies such asย York Waterworks and Severn Trent Water,ย digging roads,ย fixingย pipesย and working in customer service,ย beforeย ultimatelyย focusing on leakage,ย in which fieldย he progressed his careerย through a number of operational management rolesย toย eventuallyย leadingย aย leakage department.ย 

In 2015,ย Colin moved into senior rolesย within theย energyย sector,ย workingย asย aย seniorย operationsย managerย at SSEย Energy Servicesย andย headย ofย operationsย at Morrison Data Services,ย butย last year, heย found himself re-evaluating his life and career after catching COVID-19.ย 

โ€œMy love for leakage never really ended,โ€ he admits. โ€œItโ€™s like being a sleuth, like being Sherlock Holmes. Thereโ€™s always an area that needs investigation.โ€ย 

Fortunately,ย Binniesย wasย looking forย someone who knewย aboutย the operational side of leakage, and Colin hasnโ€™t looked back since joining the team in September last year.ย 

โ€œIโ€™m absolutely loving it. Iโ€™ve gone from managing 500 people toย working as part of aย much smaller team,ย so itโ€™sย beenย a big change for me but a good one,โ€ he says.ย 

โ€œLeakageย servicesย at Binnies isย an area of growth and expansion. Itโ€™s something I find fascinatingย โ€“ everything about it โ€“ย supporting clientsย with solutions,ย fromย understandingย theirย assetsโ€™ย conditionย andย digitalisation toย finding and fixing leaksย more efficiently.โ€ย 

Typical daysย for Colin can vary.ย โ€œSince Iโ€™ve started, most of my time has beenย spentย workingย on specific projectsย forย clients,ย developingย new opportunities or working with our partners,ย theย marketing teamย and my colleaguesย onย ourย leakage service offering.ย Recently,ย Iย have beenย workingย with aย partnerย onย pinpointing and sizing leaksย usingย artificial intelligence (AI)ย on sound filesย fromย acousticย loggersย for a clientย and developing ourย non-invasiveย assetย condition assessmentย service offering.ย This willย help clientsย surveyย assetsย at a much larger scale than alternative solutions for an equivalent investment.โ€ย 

Colin andย hisย colleagues helpย utility companiesย outperform their regulatoryย commitments, deliveringย improved performanceย byย harnessing proven engineering capabilities and innovative digital technologiesย in order toย provide greater network intelligence and support clients in delivering their operational and strategic leakage objectives.ย 

โ€œThe leaks we find are not the ones you can physically see;ย if you imagine a map of a city itโ€™ll be split up into undergroundย mains calledย a distributionย networkย thatย isย split intoย discreetย areas calledย districtย meterย areas.ย By metering these areas andย taking into accountย a numberย ofย components,ย we canย account for where all waterย that is put into distribution goes on an average day in the year.ย Byย understanding this, waterย companiesย can targetย areas that have leaks,โ€ explains Colin.ย 

โ€œWe can be doing anything from looking at burst pipes and their history to mains rehabilitation but as I say, my day variesย a lot.โ€ย 

โ€œThings have changed since the old days when you would go out with a listening stick to identify leaks โ€“ย this simply will not be enough for companies to meet their regulatory targets. We have to beย a lot more innovative and technicalย in our approaches toย preventing andย finding leakage using cutting-edge technology, AI, asset condition assessment and pressureย management,โ€ย he adds.ย 

โ€œWater availability is a key challenge inย some areas of the country,ย especially where the population isย more transientย as thisย leadsย toย an increasedย demand for water.ย For example, placesย whereย ย holidaymakersย frequentย get a lot more people using water for a time and then leaving, which creates a spike inย demand,ย making leakageย more difficult to find.ย 

โ€œConversely,ย changes in the weatherย such asย freeze/thaw events or long dry periodsย causeย pipes to burstย or leaks to get worseย due to ground movement,ย meaning that water companiesย have toย implement incidentย managementย to find and fix leaksย quickly.ย To meet the challenges that our clients face,ย our strategy is toย collaborateย with partnersย so thatย we can offer clients a range of services to reduce and more effectively manage leakage from their assets,โ€ says Colin.ย 

As for the future, ultimately,ย Colin believes that digitalisation of water is the way forward.ย 

โ€œWaterย digitalisationย is going to be key, with utility companiesย ultimatelyโ€ฏmoving from time-based to condition-based maintenance, adopting the ability to understand the effective age of their assets and then forecasting potential failures,โ€ he explains.ย 

โ€œThis will enable utility companiesย to identify and schedule massive improvements in life extension maintenance activitiesย andย strategically plan for replacementsย in their long-term asset plans.โ€ย 

โ€œFor me,ย digitalisation in the water sector is about building on existing foundations where utilities embrace and expedite the application of data science and augmented intelligence techniques,ย enabling the virtual representation of water systems, enhanced situational awareness or near-real time flow and quality monitoring, which haveย great potential to solve many of the challenges faced by the industry,โ€ย saysย Colin.ย 

โ€œChris Steele,ย Head ofย Digital at Binnies, and the rest of the team are doing fantastic work with different types ofย digitalisationย in their dynamic maintenance programme.โ€ย 

And whatย is the best part of Colinโ€™s job?ย 

โ€œDefinitelyย the variety of work we do โ€“ being able to help and support people outside Binnies to deliver their objectives,โ€ he says.ย 

โ€œThis is a different role for me.ย Being part of a team and business that believes in the growth of its people and businessย whileย caring for the climateย andย finding sustainable ways to look after the world we live in is really motivating. Who would not want to beย part of that?ย 

โ€œIโ€™m putting more than 30 yearsย of experience into practice,ย enjoyingย being part of a team and theย people I workย withย and I am really impressed with what Iโ€™ve seen of diversity and multiculturalismย at RSK and Binnies. The sheer scale of activities we cover is phenomenal.ย 

โ€œIโ€™ve worked in big organisationsย before,ย but this level ofย diversityย isย soย impressive.โ€ย 

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ARTICLE AUTHOR

Colin Cox

Principal Leakage Consultant, Binnies

More from this author

As principal leakage consultant at Binnies, Colin brings leadership experience from across the water and energy sectors, underpinned by significant leakage and operational management expertise. He has more than 20 yearsโ€™ experience of water networks with specialisation in strategic leakage management and operational and asset management delivery.

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