AI and data intelligence

The infrastructure equation has changed forever. It is no longer enough to focus on periodic planning, piecemeal renewal, and tactical efforts to manage the “infrastructure gap.” In a world where communities are bogged down with aging infrastructure, climate change and customer driven outcomes, infrastructure leaders are now faced with a fundamental shift in expectations and economic constraints. Combined with the regulatory challenges, new environmental and resiliency mandates, and a climate where everyone is an “expert” and every decision is questioned, it’s clear the industry has hit a tipping point.

Manual, iterative infrastructure planning processes that organizations have leaned on for decades are no longer equipped to deal with levels of service our customers expect. Based on 30-year-old engineering standards, traditional infrastructure planning was designed for buildout—not renewal. It assumes static conditions and unlimited capital, is focused on mechanics, not outcomes, and it fails to address the explosion of factors infrastructure leaders must grapple with today. In addition to cost and hydraulics, this now encompasses regulatory expectations, quality, social and community impact, regulatory requirements, and existing technologies, to name just a few. It’s clear a new strategy is required to adequately balance cost, risk, level of service and more—one that focuses on customer centric outcomes and handles a multiplicity of conditions and can exhaust all possibilities, quickly. One that is dynamic and living and can continue to adapt to changing conditions. And one that drives full transparency and engagement for everyone involved. Only through clever innovation and strategic partnerships have we at Optimatics, a SUEZ company, found our niche in the water and wastewater utility sector.

Optimizer™, a cloud-based optimization software solution, comprehensively analyzes water distribution and collection systems by evaluating hundreds of thousands of asset types (pipes, pumps, storages, and control facilities) and size combinations against multiple objectives such as customer expectations, cost, hydraulic performance, energy, and water quality. The software enhances an organization’s current hydraulic modeling experience by automating the traditional ‘trial and error’ planning approach, producing many potential combinations that meet the desired outcomes. Optimizer™ allows planners and engineers to focus on results and avoid costly overdesigns.