United Utilities has commissioned new assurance tech created in Yorkshire to use across 100km of pipeline.
The £300m project will allow for management of contractors and meeting The Water Services Regulation Authority’s requirements.
Instead of manually creating reports, it will use data from the digital evidence platform eviFile to produce a compliant digital evidence pack for any pipe within just four seconds.
eviFile works via standard tablets and smartphones, enabling field operatives to use their devices cameras and GPS capabilities to record works completed.
Every use is securely captured with information on time, date, geographical location, user and device orientation – resulting in high-quality data and fewer site visits for project managers.
Beginning in 2017, it is said that the project will bring more reliable and sustainable water supply to West Cumbria by 2022.
“We’re very driven to improve the visibility of the health of our projects and believe eviFile is the tool to do it,” said United Utilities head of construction services, William Eyre.
“Introducing this technology has brought benefits across the whole project supply chain, for contractors, field operatives, project managers, stakeholders and regulators.”
eviFile is believed to be the first platform of its kind in the world to meet principles set out in the National Police Chiefs’ Council digital evidence guidelines. These relate to the levels of authenticity required for capturing data for submission as evidence in legal disputes.
Managing director of eviFile, Luke Allen, added: “We know that when reporting is done manually and retrospectively, the data can be poor quality, takes significant resource and erodes confidence from regulators. eviFile offers a better way of doing things.
“Our digital evidence can’t be tampered with which also helps utility companies, contractors and regulators all avoid costly legal disputes.”