A day in the life of Binnies Principal Leakage Consultant
Published on January 20, 2022Binnies Principal Leakage Consultant Colin Cox has more than 30Β yearsβ experienceΒ of water networks, specialising in strategic leakage management and operational and asset management delivery.Β
Here,Β he discusses his career and gives an insight into his day-to-dayΒ job.Β
WhenΒ we turn on a tap each day to access clean water, weΒ neverΒ give a second thought toΒ what a precious and valuable resource it is.Β
Many of usΒ are guilty of taking for granted theΒ availability of water andΒ often donβtΒ appreciate the challenges faced by water utility companiesΒ to ensureΒ it is always accessible to us.Β
These challenges includeΒ aΒ changing and unpredictable climate, population growth, water scarcity and affordability issuesΒ and mean we need toΒ valueΒ waterΒ andΒ ensure weΒ manageΒ and useΒ it responsibly.Β
A critical issueΒ and key performance indicatorΒ for wholesale water providers is leakage, which representsΒ a waste of both natural resources and money. With tough regulatory performance hurdles, ageing infrastructureΒ andΒ aΒ greater focus on customer service,Β the need to drive down the cost of leakage-reduction strategies through innovative and cost-effective solutions has never been more prominent.Β
ThatΒ is whyΒ jobs like Colinβs are so important, and here,Β ColinΒ outlines his day-to-day workΒ and whatΒ the future holds for water.Β
For more than 30 years, Colin has worked in the water industry.Β HeΒ started his career workingΒ forΒ companies such asΒ York Waterworks and Severn Trent Water,Β digging roads,Β fixingΒ pipesΒ and working in customer service,Β beforeΒ ultimatelyΒ focusing on leakage,Β in which fieldΒ he progressed his careerΒ through a number of operational management rolesΒ toΒ eventuallyΒ leadingΒ aΒ leakage department.Β
In 2015,Β Colin moved into senior rolesΒ within theΒ energyΒ sector,Β workingΒ asΒ aΒ seniorΒ operationsΒ managerΒ at SSEΒ Energy ServicesΒ andΒ headΒ ofΒ operationsΒ at Morrison Data Services,Β butΒ last year, heΒ found himself re-evaluating his life and career after catching COVID-19.Β
βMy love for leakage never really ended,β he admits. βItβs like being a sleuth, like being Sherlock Holmes. Thereβs always an area that needs investigation.βΒ
Fortunately,Β BinniesΒ wasΒ looking forΒ someone who knewΒ aboutΒ the operational side of leakage, and Colin hasnβt looked back since joining the team in September last year.Β
βIβm absolutely loving it. Iβve gone from managing 500 people toΒ working as part of aΒ much smaller team,Β so itβsΒ beenΒ a big change for me but a good one,β he says.Β
βLeakageΒ servicesΒ at Binnies isΒ an area of growth and expansion. Itβs something I find fascinatingΒ β everything about it βΒ supporting clientsΒ with solutions,Β fromΒ understandingΒ theirΒ assetsβΒ conditionΒ andΒ digitalisation toΒ finding and fixing leaksΒ more efficiently.βΒ
Typical daysΒ for Colin can vary.Β βSince Iβve started, most of my time has beenΒ spentΒ workingΒ on specific projectsΒ forΒ clients,Β developingΒ new opportunities or working with our partners,Β theΒ marketing teamΒ and my colleaguesΒ onΒ ourΒ leakage service offering.Β Recently,Β IΒ have beenΒ workingΒ with aΒ partnerΒ onΒ pinpointing and sizing leaksΒ usingΒ artificial intelligence (AI)Β on sound filesΒ fromΒ acousticΒ loggersΒ for a clientΒ and developing ourΒ non-invasiveΒ assetΒ condition assessmentΒ service offering.Β This willΒ help clientsΒ surveyΒ assetsΒ at a much larger scale than alternative solutions for an equivalent investment.βΒ
Colin andΒ hisΒ colleagues helpΒ utility companiesΒ outperform their regulatoryΒ commitments, deliveringΒ improved performanceΒ byΒ harnessing proven engineering capabilities and innovative digital technologiesΒ in order toΒ provide greater network intelligence and support clients in delivering their operational and strategic leakage objectives.Β
βThe leaks we find are not the ones you can physically see;Β if you imagine a map of a city itβll be split up into undergroundΒ mains calledΒ a distributionΒ networkΒ thatΒ isΒ split intoΒ discreetΒ areas calledΒ districtΒ meterΒ areas.Β By metering these areas andΒ taking into accountΒ a numberΒ ofΒ components,Β we canΒ account for where all waterΒ that is put into distribution goes on an average day in the year.Β ByΒ understanding this, waterΒ companiesΒ can targetΒ areas that have leaks,β explains Colin.Β
βWe can be doing anything from looking at burst pipes and their history to mains rehabilitation but as I say, my day variesΒ a lot.βΒ
βThings have changed since the old days when you would go out with a listening stick to identify leaks βΒ this simply will not be enough for companies to meet their regulatory targets. We have to beΒ a lot more innovative and technicalΒ in our approaches toΒ preventing andΒ finding leakage using cutting-edge technology, AI, asset condition assessment and pressureΒ management,βΒ he adds.Β
βWater availability is a key challenge inΒ some areas of the country,Β especially where the population isΒ more transientΒ as thisΒ leadsΒ toΒ an increasedΒ demand for water.Β For example, placesΒ whereΒ Β holidaymakersΒ frequentΒ get a lot more people using water for a time and then leaving, which creates a spike inΒ demand,Β making leakageΒ more difficult to find.Β
βConversely,Β changes in the weatherΒ such asΒ freeze/thaw events or long dry periodsΒ causeΒ pipes to burstΒ or leaks to get worseΒ due to ground movement,Β meaning that water companiesΒ have toΒ implement incidentΒ managementΒ to find and fix leaksΒ quickly.Β To meet the challenges that our clients face,Β our strategy is toΒ collaborateΒ with partnersΒ so thatΒ we can offer clients a range of services to reduce and more effectively manage leakage from their assets,β says Colin.Β
As for the future, ultimately,Β Colin believes that digitalisation of water is the way forward.Β
WaterΒ digitalisationΒ is going to be key, with utility companiesΒ ultimatelyβ―moving from time-based to condition-based maintenance, adopting the ability to understand the effective age of their assets and then forecasting potential failures
βWaterΒ digitalisationΒ is going to be key, with utility companiesΒ ultimatelyβ―moving from time-based to condition-based maintenance, adopting the ability to understand the effective age of their assets and then forecasting potential failures,β he explains.Β
βThis will enable utility companiesΒ to identify and schedule massive improvements in life extension maintenance activitiesΒ andΒ strategically plan for replacementsΒ in their long-term asset plans.βΒ
βFor me,Β 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,Β enabling the virtual representation of water systems, enhanced situational awareness or near-real time flow and quality monitoring, which haveΒ great potential to solve many of the challenges faced by the industry,βΒ saysΒ Colin.Β
βChris Steele,Β Head ofΒ Digital at Binnies, and the rest of the team are doing fantastic work with different types ofΒ digitalisationΒ in their dynamic maintenance programme.βΒ
And whatΒ is the best part of Colinβs job?Β
βDefinitelyΒ the variety of work we do β being able to help and support people outside Binnies to deliver their objectives,β he says.Β
βThis is a different role for me.Β Being part of a team and business that believes in the growth of its people and businessΒ whileΒ caring for the climateΒ andΒ finding sustainable ways to look after the world we live in is really motivating. Who would not want to beΒ part of that?Β
βIβm putting more than 30 yearsΒ of experience into practice,Β enjoyingΒ being part of a team and theΒ people I workΒ withΒ and I am really impressed with what Iβve seen of diversity and multiculturalismΒ at RSK and Binnies. The sheer scale of activities we cover is phenomenal.Β
βIβve worked in big organisationsΒ before,Β but this level ofΒ diversityΒ isΒ soΒ impressive.βΒ
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