New Survey Finds Water Industry Could Reap more Rewards with Remote Monitoring

In a recent market survey, Veolia Water Technologies (VWT) looked at how those managing on-site water and wastewater were coping, since the COVID-19 pandemic and how water treatment had been affected during the lockdown period. Over 100 people were surveyed and the results indicated that nearly 63% of those surveyed were not using any remote monitoring services within their operations - highlighting a clear potential to better protect sites in the future.

The online survey ran from July to September 2020. Respondents to the survey ranged between professions, but over a third were involved in the healthcare industry. Staff at laboratories for scientific research were also well accounted for, comprising around 17% of respondents. In general, the majority (61%) of those surveyed worked in organisations with more than 250 employees.

When asked if the severity of the pandemic and its related restrictions had affected how organisations were able to manage their sites, 39% believed it had. Furthermore, only 74% of respondents claimed that their organisation had a business continuity plan in place during the time of the pandemic.

The survey sought to learn whether modern, remote monitoring solutions could have better assisted companies during the period. The results stated that almost 63% of respondents were not using remote monitoring services and in fact, nearly 46% said their companies had never even considered implementing the technology.

Conversely, nearly 58% of those asked also agreed that the ability to remotely monitor performance of equipment around the clock would benefit their business. Similarly, over 36% of interviewees agreed that real time control and performance optimisation was an advantage, with over 40% also identifying automated report generation as a significant positive too.

“Given the capabilities of remote monitoring services and the ease of which they can be implemented, this was a really startling finding from the survey,” commented William Jeal from VWT. “Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, modern solutions, such as our AQUAVISTA™ digital services platform allows companies to operate remote monitoring of their water and wastewater systems, from anywhere in the world.” 

Specifically tailored to the client’s requirements, the AQUAVISTA™ digital services platform offers real-time, 24/7 monitoring and direct access via a secure, private portal using a smartphone, tablet or PC.

“Clearly, there exists a real opportunity for those managing water and wastewater facilities to incorporate more innovative technologies into their operations,” William Jeal concluded. “Doing so could help to better protect the site’s ability to continue operations in the case of a future lockdown and beyond that for the long term– improve and enhance site management.”

To view the full findings from the survey click here