2019 Champion reflections - Ninad Dharmadhikari
South East Water have participated in the Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) program with energy and enthusiasm for a number of years. SEW’s David Bergmann runs our Big Data and Analytics program expertly, while Ninad Dharmadhikari is highly involved in the organisation as SEW’s Champion.
Not only has the Frankston based corporation benefited from IWN’s programs, but they have given back in the form of their involvement with the expansion of the Melbourne Retail Water Agencies (MRWA) Product Web Portal.
Access was expanded to nine other water corporations and allowed them to search and obtain details of adopted industry standards, products and materials currently accepted by the corporations for the installation of pipeline systems and associated Infrastructure works.
But what does Ninad feel his corporation have gained from being part of the IWN? He takes over the narrative from here.
At South East Water, our involvement in IWN has allowed us to have better visibility of ongoing and emerging innovation projects across the Victorian water industry. Our involvement has been useful in identifying synergies which has resulted in us participating in the projects of high impact such as the Big Data and Analytics Program being led by David Bergmann.
The outcome and learnings from this program will be applied to our own data management systems. To achieve our pledge of reducing carbon emissions by 45% (by 2025), we’re investing in IWN’s Large Scale Renewable Energy Project (LSR) which will allow for up to 20% reduction in carbon emissions. Ben Spedding IWN’s Energy and Carbon Program Co-Lead, was one of the architects of the LSR and it’s great to have him involved on a deeper level with the organisation.
Through collaboration with La Trobe University, we’re running a trial of the Pipe Probe Penetration Robot which is partly funded by IWN. The outcomes of this trial will be shared with IWN’s participant organisations. IWN’s champions program has been a good platform to improve leadership, communication and networking skills of those within the business that have participated in it. It’s also been vital in facilitating connections between our organisation and other water utilities working on similar projects.