High-level solution development for business planning - getting it right
The complexities and challenges of high-level solution development for overflow spill reductions. AMP8
27 September 2023 | 6 min read
Water
Embracing the future of data visualisation
With working on projects for various clients within the water industry over the last seven years, there has been a noticeable progression towards presenting our data through detailed and interactive visualised outputs. This progression and innovation will ideally be fully integrated into projects and become industry standard in future.
Jason Pickering
RPS IRIS
Methodologies in the past relied on displaying results such as flood paths, asset locations and other geometric information on paper plans or screenshots within documents or reports. This methodology was adequate at the time but did not properly showcase results in an interactive and insightful format. Now with the advancements of tools and utilities that can be produced, there has been a drive within our company to better visualise study outputs and deliver better value to our clients.
This trend has been particularly prevalent over the last few years, with the utilisation of tools such as RPS IRIS that packages GIS and model results layers into an interactive web application, allowing stakeholders to better understand the data that is being presented to them. In terms of innovation, this is a step in the right direction. Not only does it allow us and our clients to better understand their assets and the risks associated with them, but it allows us to strive towards finding new and improved ways to present data. Presenting data through connected tools or web portals provides access to live data and data that can be updated in real-time, providing huge opportunities to improve and streamline traditional ways of working. With these advancements, the days of paper plans and reports are fading.
Presenting data through connected tools or web portals provides access to live data and data that can be updated in real-time, provides huge opportunities to improve and streamline traditional ways of working. With these advancements, the days of paper plans and reports are fading.
However, there is a certain stagnation present within the industry, driven by a reluctance to fully embrace these new developments in visualising data and having it available live and on-the-go via tablets and other smart devices. Considerations such as training requirements, connectivity, data management and security, cost of equipment and reliability can create barriers to implementing new processes, especially when tried and tested methods in the past of utilising paper plans have and are still producing adequate results.
RPS Proteus using machine learning to predict CSO spill events based on rainfall forecast data. A key part of this is visualising the available data for overflows in a single interactive dashboard, helping users to interpret risk in an intuitive visualise manner. In this case, the effort required to set up new workflows is quickly paid back by the value presented to our clients’ businesses.
3D Modelling
3D modelling is also becoming utilised more within our projects; an example of this can be seen in our survey capabilities, generating 3D point cloud LiDAR scans of locations and assets, captured using low-cost handheld devices. The ability to assess and present findings on a 3D scale presents opportunities for greater insight still, further increasing the value of outputs.
I believe the innovations that are now available should be embraced, and utilised whenever possible when discussing data collection and data results with colleagues and clients. As well as making study outcomes more accessible and insightful, this would save time, removing the need to manually digitise plans and outputs, and improve quality, by reducing the risk of errors.
There is currently a strong foundation within our company to fully identify, develop, embrace and showcase innovations in visualising data such as overflow solutions, predicted flood paths, asset risks and 3D modelling. This not only benefits our company but also our industry, with future projects being identified or streamlined based on existing innovations, with visualised outputs that can be updated based on work already completed, instead of from scratch, ultimately delivering better value for our clients. Data visualisation forms the backbone of many study outcomes and we should strive to create an environment in which these advancements can be easily adopted industry-wide, as this would bring benefits to all stakeholders.
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