Brown and Caldwell has entered into a partnership agreement with advanced analytics solutions provider Seeq to bring significant advancements in operational analytics to the water industry.
Founded in 2013, Seeq publishes software applications for manufacturing organizations to rapidly find and share data insights to improve production outcomes, including yield, margins, quality, and safety.
Utilities collect vast amounts of indiscernible data via supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and highly instrumented facilities. Bringing Seeq’s solutions to the water sector, Brown and Caldwell will help utilities better leverage SCADA data, lab analyses, asset databases, and metering data in real-time to accelerate digital transformation and positively impact the bottom line.
“Data science is transforming how the water industry designs, operates, and maintains vital infrastructure,” said Brown and Caldwell National Analytics Engineering Lead Jamie Lefkowitz in the press release. “Through the use of Seeq’s highly effective analytics engine, we can help utility operators make real-time, data-driven decisions leading to improved outcomes and significant time and cost savings.”
According to the press release, the partnership will harness diagnostic and predictive analytics, enabling greater efficiency and deeper understanding across departments, allowing utilities to:
- Implement analytics to optimize existing systems and processes;
- Detect small changes in data trends that signify larger issues before they become problems;
- Predict performance to enable staff to be proactive rather than reactive.
“Brown and Caldwell is advancing the water and wastewater industry by delivering solutions that help organizations increase efficiency, reduce costs, and leverage existing resources,” said Seeq Head of Worldwide Partners Will Knight in the press release. “Their thought leadership and industry expertise provide significant value to our customers as they gain insights, improve outcomes, and reduce environmental impact.”
Early adopters, Utah’s Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility (CVWRF), discovered through diagnostic analytics it was dosing disinfectant for secondary effluent pathogen concentrations year-round at a level more suitable for higher temperatures. To better analyze the correlation between seasonal temperature trends and dosing, Brown and Caldwell helped CVWRF utilize Seeq’s advanced analytics platform to identify an opportunity to optimize the treatment processes using real-time ultraviolet (UV) transmittance and intensity sensors.
The solution reduces UV power consumption by dynamically dosing to seasonal water quality fluctuations. CVWRF estimates it will save up to $185,000 annually in disinfection costs after implementing the solution enabled by Seeq, reported the press release.
CVWRF has adopted Seeq as part of its smart utility platform and it is providing multiple benefits to the facility as described by CVWRF Chief Engineer Bryan Mansell, who stated the "data is becoming easier to access and organize."
