Feature Article: How Asset Investment Planning Maps the Future of AMP8
IFS Copperleaf recently led a webinar hosted by Utility Week, a provider of news, insight, and impact analysis for water, gas, and electric utilities in the UK.
In this webinar, IFS Copperleaf showed how a visually enhanced asset investment planning platform helps water companies make better decisions.
Asset investment planning technology is a potential game-changer for utilities in AMP8. It enables the creation of multiple asset investment scenarios and allows water companies to make the right decisions and influence stakeholders.
In our recent webinar, Stefan Sadnicki, senior vice president for Europe at IFS Copperleaf, and David Lamb, risk and value delivery manager for United Utilities, explained how the water company uses IFS Copperleaf’s asset investment planning platform.
IFS Copperleaf offers a single solution to optimise investment in assets, manage risk, and run scenarios. The technology features robust investment planning tools, enabling United Utilities to demonstrate to employees and investors alike that the team is making good, data-driven asset planning decisions.
But what exactly does the system do? Here’s a few key things we learnt at our event.
IFS Copperleaf provides a repository of candidate investments that enables them to be prioritised and managed.
Those investments could be coming from requirements to maintain or enhance the existing water network or be due to expansion of the business. IFS Copperleaf enables understanding of costs and benefits, and which schemes will bring value to the organisation. Multiple scenarios can be considered to build an investment plan, consider the correct options, and approve them. The platform can also help manage investment plans once they’ve launched.
“At the heart of this process is value. What is the most valuable thing to do for the organisation?” explains Sadnicki.
United Utilities is using IFS Copperleaf to optimise investments with a particular focus on leakage.
Part of the benefit is the very clear visualisation made possible by the platform, as opposed to complicated, manually updated spreadsheets. United Utilities has also been able to integrate its own bespoke value metrics with the platform. And IFS Copperleaf can be integrated with existing systems at the water company such as SAP and Primavera project management software.
“The value framework enables us to assess the true value of our investments beyond just cost,” says Lamb. “Then we have scenarios and constraints, which help us to see how investments perform under different conditions. IFS Copperleaf also provides a seamless platform to link all the roles and departments involved in asset planning together.”
IFS Copperleaf provides a clear rationale and auditable trail for investments, scenario dashboards that show performance, and maps that visualise data effectively.
The dashboards and maps are used by the United Utilities leadership team to understand the impact of changes to investment plans. “Visualising data geographically makes understanding complex information much simpler,” adds Lamb. “It makes it easier to communicate with stakeholders and simplifies our decision-making processes.” These visual forms of data have been well-received by not just leaders in the business but operational teams, too.
“Ultimately IFS Copperleaf enables us to make better informed, transparent and defensible decisions,” Lamb says. “It’s absolutely critical as we deliver AMP8.”
Utilities can get started with improving asset investment planning right away.
It’s possible to start making better decisions about investments today regardless of where a utility is on the maturity path. “But it’s important not to try and do everything at once,” advises Sadnicki.
“It’s about picking the highest priority use cases and delivering value quickly.”
Want to learn more? Sign up to view the webinar on demand now.