Let’s think digitally to solve Britain’s infrastructure problem – Financial Times

Third, place greater emphasis on sustainable solutions that have the ability and flexibility to adapt to less predictable climates and changing demand, be it energy, water or wastewater treatment. This could be something like demand agility – gamifying (and monetizing) customers’ desire to change their behavior, using digital technology as a driving force. Or use artificial intelligence and open source data to predict weather conditions and necessary actions, instead of constantly being “on”. We live in a time of change, and our infrastructure must be able to adapt to unexpected events.

Fourth, create standardized solutions that work in all situations. In an increasingly data-rich environment, we need to be able to learn from what goes well—and not so well—in one megaproject, and then carry the lessons forward to the next. These lessons can be learned during conception, design and implementation, as well as during the planning process, and should be taken into account rather than starting from scratch each time.

Finally, there is a fifth and fundamental change that I consider significant. We need a culture change. Building 21st century infrastructure is no longer all about calculations, concrete and steel. It’s about coming up with solutions to society’s problems and anticipating future challenges.

Make no mistake, the scale of investment required is enormous. In July Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, proposed allowing £88 billion work program designed to address deficiencies in environmental, supply and customer service. The five-year program, starting in 2025, is likely to increase the average household bill by £19 a year.

This is a third less than the companies wanted. But without changing the way we approach this problem, without creating healthy tension between construction partners and digital partners, how can we achieve more for less, quickly and without repeating the mistakes of the past? Doing what we’ve always done with a few digital tools sporadically deployed throughout the supply chain won’t help.

Similar problems arise in the electricity generation and supply sector, where the saga over the construction of new nuclear generators is an example of a decision-making system that is no longer fit for purpose.

Data collection, digitalization and cultural change must be at the heart of an urgent transformation of the UK’s infrastructure. Only by changing the way we think and accepting digital technology not just as a tool, but as a way of working, built into the core of processes and the very DNA of construction, can we truly understand the problems. Only then can we find better solutions – for the environment, for engineering companies, for customers and for the generations who will rely on the infrastructure we build in the coming decades.

Author: Karen Thompson, Head of Energy and Utilities, Capgemini Invent, UK