Thanks to a pioneering partnership between Network Plus and Datatecnics, water companies could have access to ‘unprecedented insight’ into the condition and life expectancy of their critical mains infrastructure.

The collaboration between the two Salford-based businesses – one a leader in the utility services industry, the other a leading provider of digital water network management solutions –seeks to deliver better performance, greater efficiency and improved sustainability for water companies and their networks across the UK.

Network Plus will deploy Datatecnics’ state-of-the-art sensing technologies to provide utilities clients with real-time, precise monitoring of critical pipelines. The companies said that by working together they can make it easier for UK utilities to benefit from hardware and software systems which leverage advanced sensing of water networks and AI-enabled decision making.

Accelerating the sector’s shift towards predictive maintenance, the companies said the partnership will give water companies unparalleled access to critical data on the behaviour and condition of underground assets. This will be achieved, chiefly, by making it significantly easier for water companies to deploy a range of sensors directly onto pipework and their surrounding soil.

Coupled with Datatecnics’ best-in-class failure prediction models, actionable intelligence will enable water companies to optimise asset performance, pre-emptively address pipeline vulnerability and reduce operational costs.

Network Plus CEO, Kevin Fowlie, says:

“We are delighted to join forces with Datatecnics, a company which is particularly unique in its blend of expertise. A business that offers the variety of disciplines that Datatecnics does meets a very real need for utility companies looking to enhance their digital maturity.”

Award-winning Network Plus delivers essential utility and infrastructure services for the UK’s major providers of water, wastewater gas, power, telecoms and transport through more than 5,000 employees operating out of its head office in Worsley and 80 regional depots.

Network Plus Chief Strategy Officer, Sam Atherton, adds:

“This collaboration brings together Datatecnics’ cutting-edge digital water capabilities and more than 20 years’ infrastructure services know-how at Network Plus to support the UK’s water companies in meeting tomorrow’s challenges today.”

Headquartered at nearby Media City, Datatecnics are the builders of Foresight, a platform that connects all water utility data and provides AI-powered risk modelling tools.

Datatecnics CEO, Suhayl Zulfiquar, says:

“Our partnership with Network Plus is a pivotal step in driving innovation and resilience in the UK’s water infrastructure. We are thrilled to come together with such a respected and trusted partner as Network Plus, and we’re excited to provide the water sector with easier procurement of the next generation of technologies for digital water management”.