YOU ARE MEASURING IT, BUT ARE YOU MANAGING IT?

摘要

Water security and demand management arernprominent issues whilst discussing Australia’srnfuture. Smart metering has emerged as an integralrntechnology in this regard. However, there has beenrnlittle research on methods that show how to employrnthese technologies to get measurable results. It is arncommon misconception that smart metering largelyrnworks on a ‘plug and play’ basis. This paper argues thatrnthe true benefit of smart metering lies in utilising therndata obtained.rnDue to workload and other priorities users oftenrndo not diligently analyse and utilise the data. Thisrnpaper presents a possible solution by engaging anrnexternal party to provide an Active Water Analysis,rnRisk and Efficiency (AWARE) service. Three studiesrnwere conducted to demonstrate the advantages ofrnimplementing the active monitoring service. All threernstudies demonstrated that a clear return on investmentrn(ROI) from smart metering can only be obtained byrnactively using the data collected. Key psychological andrnpractical barriers of implementing AWARE by the usersrnthemselves are discussed.rnBy taking complete responsibility for waterrnmanagement, AWARE provides organisations timernand resources to focus on more important issues. Itrnhelps customers avoid bill shocks and risks of propertyrndamage. The service helps justify budget allocationrntowards remote monitoring technologies and boostsrnthe organisation’s sustainability profile. Allocatingrnresources for the active management of data collectedrnis essential to achieve the savings and risk reductionsrnpossible from smart metering.