Author: Laura Wood, Natural resources growth lead - advisory & digital at Costain
The following article was first published by New Civil Engineer in July 2024, available here.
Safeguarding resilience across the UK’s critical infrastructure is becoming increasingly complex. Asset owners and operators must maintain uninterrupted operations while adapting to unpredictable markets, cybersecurity threats, and interoperability challenges. Key to navigating these complexities is establishing a reliable digital backbone, where data emerges as a critical yet often overlooked protagonist in the path towards transformation.
Data: the central character
Unlike tangible assets with well-established management processes, data's intangible nature often leads to its neglect. Yet, we’re living in an age when transforming raw data into actionable insights is now crucial for any organisation. Integrating and reusing data demonstrates its economic value.
Within the energy industry, data on consumption patterns, grid performance, and weather conditions, can enable organisations to make real-time adjustments to optimise their operations. This includes accurately predicting peak demand, efficiently managing energy distribution, and proactively preventing potential outages. These improvements not only lead to economic benefits such as lower utility bills for consumers but also increase the reliability of energy supply.
Why data quality matters
The value of data extends far beyond its quantity; it rests on its quality - how reliably, consistently, and timely it fulfils its intended purpose.
In industries reliant on infrastructure, accurate data is indispensable. In water utilities, for example, sensor data ensures water quality, manages flow rates, and monitors pipeline integrity. However even the smallest data error can lead to incorrect assessments of water quality, undetected leaks, or improper water pressure management.
Similarly, in nuclear power plants, the data obtained from maintenance records is essential to ensure operational safety, equipment integrity, and regulatory compliance. A simple oversight could escalate into a critical operational risk, underscoring the role of data quality in ensuring business continuity.
What does good data look like?
Establishing a strong data core creates the bedrock upon which all operations rely. A data core is a central hub for storing, processing, and managing data within an organisation – integrating various data sources, and enabling access, analysis, and utilisation of data for operational needs. This foundational element supports the storage and retrieval of data across various applications.
To make the data they have work harder and be more impactful, organisations should focus on its reusability, compatibility with other datasets, and its ease of transfer across disciplines.
High-quality data is purpose-fit, free of defects, timely, relevant, and correctly formatted. This is crucial because, as the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out”: if the data being used isn’t accurate or relevant, the results won’t be either. When you use good data for operational decisions, you can count on reliable outcomes.
What challenges will organisations come across?
Achieving a quality-controlled integrated data environment is far from simple, and many organisations encounter challenges at the outset. These include managing high data volumes and complexity, overcoming legacy system limitations that prevent access to critical data, merging fragmented data sources, ensuring sufficient data governance and quality, and overcoming information silos across an organisation’s functions.
All of these challenges can lead to a shortfall in credible data, potentially stalling or negatively impacting transformation efforts.
Five steps to navigating data transformation
To gain the full value of data, organisations must ensure that it is understood, tracked, optimised, and controlled, by applying the same rigour and diligence as they do with their other strategic assets.
It requires businesses to address the following:
- Understand how data moves - Figure out how data flows through your organisation, from collection to disposal, to keep it safe and reliable.
- Improve data quality and control - Clean up existing data sources to remove irrelevant, erroneous, or duplicative data, and establish clear data governance or lifecycle management processes.
- Centralise data management - Create a reliable, authoritative central hub for all data to ensure consistency and accuracy.
- Use data to meet goals - Make sure the data collected helps to align and answer your business-critical business questions.
- Integrate data effectively - Monitor data acquired from vendors and its internal utilisation; cohesive integration can help connect diverse data streams.
Acknowledging data as a core asset will release its full potential
Whilst asset owners work to future-proof their infrastructure amid the backdrop of modern industry, digital transformation is no longer a choice but a necessity. However, many underestimate the pivotal role data plays in driving successful transformation. Cutting-edge technology may grab headlines, but it's the quality and accessibility of data that lays the foundation for meaningful change.
Failure to prioritise how data is used, stored, and managed, prevents organisations from realising the power of technology and the value it brings. This jeopardises their ability to steer confidently through complexities. Data-centric strategies go beyond viewing data as a resource; they empower businesses to capitalise on emerging opportunities and lead industry-wide progress.
Data is a core asset for any infrastructure organisation. For it to be effective, it needs to be nurtured and looked after, and those that harness its potential will be better placed to navigate the unchartered waters ahead. If knowledge is power, then data is king.
At Costain, we understand that data's true value spans the entire asset lifecycle. With accurate, high-quality data, you can drive effective lifecycle management, ensuring sustained performance, resilience, and efficiency of your critical infrastructure.
More details on Costain’s digital advisory services are available here, and you can contact Laura Wood (Natural Resources) or Tony Mallichan (Transportation) for advice on how to maximise your data's potential and implement innovative solutions to safeguard operations.