The UK’s premier water industry event

November 2020

London

PARTNER WITH US

The UK’s premier water industry event

Future of Utilities: Water 2019 had a jam-packed programme filled with new ideas, top-level speakers and sessions you couldn’t find anywhere else to help you deliver on your innovation commitments and improve your customer service, resilience and affordability.

2019 Speakers

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2019 Agenda

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Day 1 Tuesday, 19 November 2019

Day 2 Wednesday, 20 November 2019

09.30

Welcome address and chair's opening remarks - Karma Loveday, Editor, The Water Report

Session 1

Stepping up to the innovation challenge

09.45

Keynote address

Locating the sweet spot between long-term investment and affordability

How can water companies sustain a low-cost-to-serve approach whilst investing more?
Adapting the mind-set: responding to immediate challenges with an eye on the long-term
Innovating to meet PR19 priorities: leveraging new technology and fresh thinking to cut costs
Sustaining a customer-centric approach: ensuring customer consent on big-ticket spending

Chris Jones

Chief Executive Officer , Dwr Cymru Welsh Water

10.05

Innovating with confidence to deliver affordable and sustainable value for customers

The challenges of innovation: how to step change with confidence
Cracking the innovation-affordability conundrum: pushing boundaries while reducing risk and cost
Turning innovation into implementation: ensuring benefits are realised from innovation
Adopting a joined-up approach: using Systems Thinking to drive the step change

Maxine Mayhew

Managing Director , Costain

10.25

Keynote address

Foster-create-collaborate: creating the right ecosystem for open innovation

Creating the right culture for innovation to flourish
Developing the appropriate platforms to explore and test new ideas
Looking beyond competition towards true collaboration

Shaunna Berendsen

Head of Innovations , Anglian Water

10.45

Leaders’ Forum

Preparing for a brave new world: the post PR19 outlook

Innovation, customers, cost-cutting and resilience: how can the industry meet PR19 promises?
Understanding what customers want: how can water become a customer-centric industry?
Does water need to address cultural challenges before implementing new tech?
Is competition or collaboration the ultimate way to motivate effective innovation?
What are the limitations to collaboration under the current system?
How will the new approach of PR19 impact the industry?
How will a reduced WACC change the culture and management of water companies?

Chris Jones

Chief Executive Officer , Dwr Cymru Welsh Water

Bob Taylor

Chief Executive Officer , Portsmouth Water

David Elliott

Group Chief Innovation Officer , Wessex Water

Emma Lampert

Head of Customer Success , Localz

Jason Tucker

Director of Strategic Delivery & Commercial , Anglian Water

Session 2

Optimising assets in the 21st century | Striving for customer excellence

Blue Stage: Optimising assets in the 21st century

Red Stage: Striving for customer excellence

Chaired by

Paul Horton

Chief Executive Officer , Future Water Association

12.00

Case study | Portsmouth Water

Leveraging customer engagement and tech to drastically reduce leakage

Cutting leakage rates remain a huge priority for WASCs and WOCs alike as the sector transitions into AMP7. In this session, Bob Taylor will explore how Portsmouth Water’s relatively low-cost approach to this thorny issue has been a ground-breaking success. Through a mixture of underground sensor technology and public engagement to identify leaks faster, the company has seen a 40% reduction since 2015.

Bob Taylor

Chief Executive Officer , Portsmouth Water

12.15

Panel discussion

Managing assets in the digital water era

The power of predictive analytics: proactively monitoring the network to prevent incidents before they happen
Driving asset efficiency: to what extent can the capacity of assets improve without physically changing?
Extending asset-life with new technologies: what are the options?
Building a picture of your assets: what is digital twinning?
Has ‘digital water’ encouraged more maintenance of existing assets or building from scratch?
Where is partnering and collaboration critical?

Bob Taylor

Chief Executive Officer , Portsmouth Water

Nigel Watson

Group Chief Information Officer , Northumbrian Water Group

Ivan Stoianov

Senior Lecturer in Water Systems Engineering , Imperial College London

Chaired by

Karma Loveday

Editor , The Water Report

12.00

Defining a fantastic customer experience in water

How can water companies better identify what their customers want?
Going local: why is reflecting the regional priorities in your customer service so critical?
What is the role of customer segmentation in improving services?
Implementing real-time response to challenges: meeting the modern customer expectations of service
Ensuring customers walk away satisfied: designing successful feedback mechanisms from customers and the frontline

Eliane Algaard

Water Director , Northumbrian Water

12.15

Digital Transformation at Waternet

Mervyn Audhoe

Product Owner Process Innovation , Waternet

12.35

Becoming a customer native: speaking the language of customer-centricity

What does customer-centricity mean in practice?
Why should water seek to become more customer centric?
How do you demonstrate to customers that they are your top priority?
Reviewing the annual billing process: can the industry design a more customer-friendly approach?
Moving away from ‘them vs. us’ language: complaints handling 101

Helen Gillett

Managing Director , Affinity for Business

Session 3

Data-driven decision making for improved incident response | Insight-driven customer experience

Blue Stage: Data-driven decision making for improved incident response

Red Stage: Insight-driven customer experience

14.15

Case study | South East Water

Assessing the impact of smart networks when it matters most

Richard Sands

Head of Asset Management , South East Water

14.35

Using technology to bolster responses to major incidents

Ross Simson

Head of Data Factory , Thames Water

14.55

Reacting to extreme weather occurrences: perfecting the real-time response

Predicting supply and demand with closer accuracy: preparing for a more uncertain future
Ensuring you have capacity for a quick real-time response
Encouraging wider engagement to help identify leaks faster
Learnings from Beast from the East and the heatwave: is the industry ready?

Jason Tucker

Director of Strategic Delivery & Commercial , Anglian Water

14.15

Realising the capacity to turn data into insights

Simon Sear

Chief Innovation Officer , BJSS

14.35

Panel discussion

Keeping pace with the customer revolution

What does the ‘customer revolution’ mean for water?
With customer preferences and behaviours evolving so rapidly, what are the key challenges when it comes to effective communication?
Getting the digital strategy right: what are customers expecting when they google your name?
Speed, convenience or engagement: what’s the secret to an amazing digital customer experience?
What do current customer experience offerings lack and is new tech the best solution?
Which communication tools should water companies have a handle on, and where should they be looking to next?
Raising the benchmark: what are the benefits to looking outside of your own industry?
Taking the right advice and implementing the right tech: what can the industry learn from third parties?

Caroline Black

Head of Customer Service & Experience Management , Business Stream

Kit Wilson

Head of Transformation , Dwr Cymru Welsh Water

Dawn Creighton

Head of Customer Strategy & Experience , Northumbrian Water

Session 4

Progressing toward a smarter water industry | The keys to customer engagement

Blue Stage: Progressing toward a smarter water industry

Red Stage: The keys to customer engagement

15.55

Panel discussion

Systems thinking: joining up the dots for a connected, intelligent infrastructure

What does ‘systems thinking’ mean for water?
How can companies leverage existing data to its full potential?
What are the best ways to extract data out of silos?
How can you effectively utilise data-driven predictive analytics for meaningful insights?
Linking up sensors, communication channels and data centres to create a truly ‘smart infrastructure’
The coming of 5G: how vital will this be in creating a smarter, connected infrastructure?
A case for legacy overhaul: are current IT infrastructures fit for purpose?
How can collaboration and third parties help to inform strategic decision making?

Ross Simson

Head of Data Factory , Thames Water

Jeremy Heath

Innovation Manager , SES Water

Chris Thomas

Head of Business Improvement and Innovation , Bristol Water

Dave Ogden

Head of Wholesale Technology , United Utilities

15.55

Inclusive engagement

Anna McKeon

Head of Engagement , Traverse

16.15

Panel discussion

Outlining a strategy for sustained engagement

What are the existing engagement strategies and how could they improve?
How did the PR19 customer consultation impact customer engagement approaches?
What lessons can be learnt from the ‘fine to flush’ campaign when it comes to collaboration?
If price doesn’t incentivise lower consumption, is environmentalism a better strategy?
To what extent will customers lack awareness of consumption challenges as long as water goes unmetered?
Establishing a culture of customer participation: select panels, site visits and local community engagement
Is there a case for a renewed use of behavioural economics and nudging to reduce consumption patterns?
Facing vulnerable customer challenges head on: does responsibility fall solely on industry shoulders?

Alun Shurmer

Director of Customer Strategy & Communications , Dwr Cymru Welsh Water

Rachel Dyson

Behavioural Change Programme Manager , Anglian Water
Head of Water , Business in the Community

Session 5

The road to trust and legitimacy

16.35

Using Data to Improve the Public Image of Water

In this session, we will cover how utilities organisations are becoming more data-driven in order to forecast, manage equipment, detect fraud, reduce hazards, and improve customer service.

Gary Stimson

Regional Sales Director , Informatica

Pramod Tiwari

Senior Director – MLEU Vertical , Cognizant Consulting UK&I

16.55

Defining and implementing a social contract for water

What is the social contract in the context of water?
Building a cohesive national framework with regionalised priorities: what are the challenges?
Should water companies wait for the regulator or should they act themselves?
How will a social contract approach help to meet PR19 and environmental priorities?

Alex Plant

Director of Strategy and Regulation , Anglian Water

17.20

Chair’s closing remarks and drinks reception

09.30

Chair’s opening remarks - Paul Horton, CEO, Future Water Association

Session 6

Addressing the regulation challenge

09.40

What can we learn from past approaches to water regulation?

Nick Fincham

Strategy and Regulation Director , Thames Water

Session 7

Delivering on PR19 promises

10.05

Moving beyond smart metering: Waterfall: the intelligent water solution

Steve McCorry

Chief Technology Officer , Creative EC

10.25

Panel discussion

Challenging the status quo: the who, where and how of innovating

What are the current barriers preventing greater cost-efficiency and innovation?
Taking the lead from regulation: is it wise to make risky choices without explicit consent?
How could cross-industry technology trailing and better standardisation cut costs?
Is it a question of revolutionising existing practices or making incremental changes?
Should stakeholders be involved to help drive more innovation or is it an internal process?
How can companies take a new supply-chain approach without risking inflated costs?
Schmoozing start-ups: what are the risks and benefits involved working with new suppliers?
DPC vs. single tender: could a fresh approach to procurement drive change?

Mel Karam

Chief Executive Officer , Bristol Water

Nick Fincham

Strategy and Regulation Director , Thames Water

Nathan Marsh

Chief Digital Officer , Costain

Session 8

The innovation zone

11.25

Case study | Northumbrian Water Group

The Innovation Festival: an after-party debrief

Post-Innovation Festival: what interesting connections and collaborations have been made?
What makes the Innovation Festival so successful at drawing out new ideas?
How can water companies become more closely involved with the festival?
What’s the benefit to having conversations with out-of-industry players?

Nigel Watson

Group Chief Information Officer , Northumbrian Water Group

11.45

Demo | SuDsPlanter

A cleaner, greener way to tackle urban drainage

SuDsPlanter provide local communities with solutions to their urban drainage challenges in an environmentally sustainable way. The SuDsPlanter is a ‘Sustainable Drainage System’, designed to manage rainwater run-off from domestic, commercial and industrial roofs. It reduces the risk of flooding in the sewer network and improves water quality to our streams and rivers, creating a healthier, more sustainable environment. Lorna Davis will discuss how SuDsPlanter’s experience demonstrates the vital role small-scale suppliers can play in creating a more environmentally focused and locally engaged water industry.

Lorna Davis

Co-Founder , SuDsPlanter

12.00

Innovation vs Cyber Security: how to avoid the fun police

Technology and process innovation provides huge opportunity using of cutting-edge technologies including cloud computing, (I)IOT, remote asset control and AI & machine learning systems. Many of these can also create massive exposures to cyber-attacks, data loss/theft and unauthorised control of critical assets. Join this presentation to explore the threat landscape, look at why innovation creates additional risk and explore how you can ensure that your cyber team can work with you and avoid becoming the “fun police”.

Steve Trippier

Chief Information Security Officer , Anglian Water

Session 9

A strategic vision for a sustainable economy

13.45

Panel discussion

The role of water in the circular economy

What does the ‘circular economy’ mean and how does it relate to water?
What is the role of sustainable accounting and catchment management in a circular economy?
What opportunities are there for a new market from chemical extraction in wastewater?
Is there a sufficient level of cost-effective technology that could drive the growth of a market?
What can be learnt from the Netherlands model of a circular economy digital marketplace?
How can learnings from the bio-resource market apply to the wider circular economy market?

Dan Green

Head of Innovation & Sustainability , Wessex Water

Gordon Rogers

Head of Sustainability , Yorkshire Water

Session 10

Building a cost efficient, stable non-household water market

14.55

MOSL’s plans for the future and its visions for the water industry

Sarah McMath

Chief Executive Officer , MOSL

Session 11

Taking a long-term view on the water resource challenge

15.15

Case Study | Water Resources in the South East

Planning for a more resilient future: the secret to successful regional integration

Has WRSE proved a successful model in encouraging regional long-term resilience planning?
What are the challenges to regional agreement and how do you balance competing priorities?
How has input from local stakeholders impacted the process and outcome?
What are the benefits to giving regional committees more teeth and what are the challenges?

Trevor Bishop

Organisational Development Director , Water Resources South East

15.45

Chair’s closing remarks and end of conference

“Some lively debates and a great opportunity to connect with people in the Water Industry to discuss the latest topics and challenges.”

Chief Executive, Wave

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