United Utilities names Rheticus to hunt potential pipeline fractures in UK
Rheticus Network Alert will operate in Yorkshire, to help United Utilities introducing predictive maintenance of sewage pipelines in the UK.
The goal is to:
- Prevent potential pipeline fractures, and unlock a cost-effective maintenance of wastewater network;
- Simplify complex radar satellite analysis and make available accurate and timely information about the entire network status through an intuitive web interface;
- Help introducing an extremely accurate and convenient detection method to prevent and detect potential breaks to water and wastewater networks managed by United Utilities.
Starting from February 2021, Rheticus Network Alert team will work hand-in-hand with United Utilities, to further develop its innovative predictive maintenance technology. This activity is part of United Utilities’ third Innovation Lab, which named Rheticus among the eight winners of its latest much-admired global tech hunt for bright new ideas.
United Utilities Head of Innovation Kieran Brocklebank said although the coronavirus pandemic had prevented assessments and pitches taking place in person, it clearly had not been a barrier to ingenuity: “It’s almost become normal for us to say how impressed we are at the standard and sheer brilliance of some of the ideas that come our way, but it really is true. Every one of them deserved a help getting their foot in the door of the water industry, but we can only take eight. We’re really looking forward to nurturing them and co-creating with them for the benefit of everyone in the water sector,” he said.
About United Utilities
United Utilities is the UK’s largest listed water company and manages the regulated water and wastewater network in North West England – which includes Cumbria, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside with a combined population of nearly seven million. United Utilities’ headquarters are in Warrington. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE 100 Index.
The company is accredited with the Service Mark by the Institute of Customer Service and it has retained World Class Status in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 13th year in succession.
In 2020 United Utilities was one of just 50 firms worldwide to feature in the Global Challenges Index (GCX) in recognition of its pioneering approach to seven global challenges: climate change, the provision of clean drinking water, deforestation, biodiversity, population development, poverty and global governance.
