ARUP were selected as TechFest winners for the ‘Best Use of Technology: Whole Life Performance’ Award for the project, ‘Unlocking the power of AI to achieve early blockage detection in sewer networks’ at the TechFest Awards 2023, powered by Construction News and New Civil Engineer.

ARUP designed an AI-powered predictive modelling algorithm in partnership with Anaeko for Northern Ireland Water, with the aim of achieving early blockage detection within their network.

Blockages in sewer networks and surcharge-related flooding pose a major challenge to wastewater companies and cost millions per year in repair work.

ARUP developed an AI-powered predictive modelling algorithm for early blockage detection in NI Water’s network. The algorithm aims to enable NI Water’s technical operations teams to arrive on site before blockage events can cause any significant impact to the network.

As part of the overall project outcomes Anaeko partnered with ARUP, as a specialist data engineering company, to provide expertise on PowerBI Dashboard reporting. After user research and stakeholder interviews, through our UX process, we produced dashboard designs and documentation that can be used as groundwork for future development of a PowerBI centralised platform. 

The benefits of a centralised system, where NI Water could access their blockage data, alerts, and predictions, include reduced environmental impacts from unintended pollution or spills, improved regulatory compliance and increased customer satisfaction.

Find out more about the TechFest Awards: TechFest 2023 Winners

Case Study: Data Insights for NI Water Fleet Management

NI Water’s fleet of 600 vehicles are a familiar sight to the public, with staff providing an essential 24/7 service, 365 days a year, to all areas of Northern Ireland. As they do so vehicle reliability is an absolute priority to ensure the smooth running of services both day and night and in all weathers.

NI Water has an ambitious strategy to address the climate emergency and become carbon neutral by 2050. As the biggest user of electricity and the second largest landowner, they have a unique opportunity to do this by harnessing their assets for a wide range of environmental initiatives. 

Northern Ireland Water are planning a lot of investment over the next few years to ensure that they protect public health and the environment for generations to come. 

Anaeko analysed, ingested and consolidated internal and supplier data into a combined Azure data-warehouse and PowerBI dashboard that delivers data insights through KPI reports, historical trends and drill-down analysis across 12 critical reporting functions. Read more: