i2O, the smart water network company, today launched a new software tool to help water companies monitor their networks and improve performance using data. i2O’s iNet software increases the ability of water companies to analyse and make automated decisions based on pressure and flow data and is the first software product available that diagnoses problems with Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs) automatically.
i2O’s new software features data visualisation tools that make it is possible to display water network data immediately through a range of flexible graphs, maps and dashboards. Multiple data sets can be combined in different ways to provide users with greater context, making it easier for engineers to identify and investigate potential anomalies.
iNet uses an intelligent algorithm to automatically detect abnormal performance - including sudden changes of pressure, threshold breaches and other unusual patterns of operation - by monitoring data gathered from points of interest across the network.
i2O completed an extensive diagnostic analysis of PRV failure modes when developing iNet, so it can now predict the underlying cause of PRV problems by analysing pressure data. Problem diagnosis enables water companies to improve the efficiency of maintenance operations and eliminate unnecessary network operation. i2O is currently working on a surge analytics programme to broaden the range of problems iNet is available to diagnose.
Joel Hagan, Chief Executive Officer of i2O, comments: “iNet enables water companies to get maximum insight from their networks and improve the service they provide. Today the first most utilities know they have a problem is when a customer tells them about it. By monitoring and making sense of pressure and flow data it becomes possible to improve network operations, diagnose issues as they occur and fix them before they affect customers or create a catastrophic failure.”
i2O’s smart water network technologies are already used by more than 100 utilities around the world to reduce leakage, burst frequency, energy use, operational costs and customer complaints. They include oNet, technologies providing water utilities with the ability to monitor and manage the pressure and flow of water across their networks, and dNet, a system of low-cost loggers that gather data about water demand, flow, pressure, asset condition and transients from points of interest on the network.