Scrutchfield, Daniel

Digital Solutions Management Consultant with over 13 years of professional experience specializing in digital transformation, particularly in the...

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About Scrutchfield, Daniel

Digital Solutions Management Consultant with over 13 years of professional experience specializing in digital transformation, particularly in the municipal utility sector, with a strong focus in program management systems implementation and analytics. Leads multidisciplinary projects to drive process automation, leverage data-driven decision making, and produce compelling visualizations for analysis. Expert in low-code solutions development and enterprise system architecture, developing tools in the Microsoft Power Platform suite.

Scrutchfield, Daniel

Titles from this speaker

Automation and Analysis: Data-Driven Strategies Improve Utility Processes and Analyze Performance at WSSC Water

Abstract

Our world is driven by data across all industries, and the water sector is no exception. This ranges from enterprise systems that have been in place for decades to smart systems that are generating data at an exponential rate. It is increasingly important to incorporate practices to make sound decisions from these systems and implement controls to ensure trusted data. WSSC Water completed efforts to identify processes to improve their data-driven decision-making, and this abstract will present two strategies used to improve their performance across many departments through automation, standardization, and visualization of data. Strategy 1: Enterprise Data Warehousing: A large portion of the data used by decision makers resides in systems of record that are operated by their functional teams. While this data is usually accurate and up to date, it requires an expert from the team to extract it from the system or understand the data that is produced. It is also more granular than decision makers require, and the teams reporting on it consistently aggregate it to produce the intended results. To address these issues, WSSC Water automated the creation of datasets in these functional groups, all of which were a part of their Enterprise Data Warehouse. In the use case for this strategy, they will show the automated Commission Performance Report and Human Resources Dashboards. These items reduced the time spent developing recurring reports, leveraging Power Bi for automated and interactive reporting. Strategy 2: Non-Enterprise Data Management and Application Development: Unlike the enterprise data, WSSC Water identified many users who are managing critical data in their own spreadsheets or other tools. To standardize and automate some of the processes, they worked with these users to provide low-code platforms to manage data in their existing IT infrastructure. These tools included the development of SharePoint data-structures, Applications and Workflows to allow users to edit and maintain datasets in a collaborative environment, with the increased auditability that these tools provide. In the use cases for this strategy, they will show the Transition Plan Tracking Application and Community Investment/Engagement Application. These converted existing series of over ten spreadsheets into a single data source, provided a low-code application for the teams to enter data, and Power Bi Dashboards for reporting. The combination of these two strategies allows groups to take small steps into the world of data-driven decision making. Teams are beginning the process with Strategy 2 by standardizing their reporting, with the intent to be automated into an enterprise solution under Strategy 1 in the future. In the past, tools such as the ones outlined in these strategies were limited to IT Departments and professional programmers. With the advent of modern data management strategies, they are much simpler to implement and maintain, but still in line with IT standards and supported by their department once they are in production. In the end, WSSC Water identified significant time savings, data quality, and visualization capabilities as a result of taking a data-driven approach to managing some of their manual efforts.

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water) looked to improve their data-driven decision-making through the use of automation and visualization of existing data sources, both enterprise and non-enterprise. They identified 10 processes that were seen as tedious and manual, and set forth to leverage modern, low-code technology for improvement. We'll discuss the initiatives that were reviewed and documented, with a future-state developed using one of two strategies.

SpeakerScrutchfield, Daniel

Presentation time

13:30:00

14:00:00

Session time

13:30:00

15:00:00

SessionAutomation and Analysis: Data-Driven Strategies Improve Utility Processes

Session number610

Session locationRoom 349

TopicAsset Management, Business Organization and Technology Transformation, Intelligent Water, Intermediate Level

Author(s)

Scrutchfield, Daniel, Villarraga, Andres

Author(s)D.R. Scrutchfield1, A. Villarraga2

Author affiliation(s)1Arcadis, VA, 2WSSC Water, MD

SourceProceedings of the Water Environment Federation

Document typeConference Paper

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Print publication date Oct 2024

DOI10.2175/193864718825159513

Volume / Issue

Content sourceWEFTEC

Word count15

Visualizing Success: Sewer Asset Management with Power BI

Abstract

Near the end of 2021, New Castle County's Public Works initiated an extensive project for gravity sewer system O&M planning, implementation and support. As a complement to physical infrastructure improvements, an interactive asset management dashboard was developed. By visualizing and forecasting past and present data, leaders are enabled to make critical decisions and improve operational efficiency. This presentation will detail the process of developing a comprehensive asset management dashboard and its impacts on utility maintenance and operations. A unified dashboard was developed in Microsoft Power BI to support the creation and implementation of data management, analysis, and visualization solutions for the Sewer O&M Program. The dashboard connects directly with New Castle County's existing Cityworks maintenance management and permitting software. This integration eliminates the cumbersome need to compile figures and tables manually, streamlining data analysis and ensuring that decision-makers have access to the most current and relevant information. A specific goal of New Castle County was to provide detailed information on the efficacy of the new SL Rat pipe cleaning program. A pipe is first tested and assigned a condition score based on blockages. For the most severely affected pipes, a cleaning team is sent out. A secondary inspection then occurs where a condition score is once again determined. Prior to this project, there was little information available to track the effectiveness of this process. The dashboard now provides analysis of cleaning performance by individual workers, correlation between pipe dimensions and condition score, details on specific pipes that could not be accessed by crews, and other visual aids to better plan and monitor the SL Rat cleaning program. The dashboard also provides other data visualizations and insights. One area is the real-time tracking of performance against American Water Works Association (AWWA) metrics, providing an invaluable reference point for gauging operational success. Furthermore, it offers a window into work order progress and unveils critical patterns among sewer assets and regions. The versatility of this dashboard equips decision-makers with a comprehensive understanding of the program's performance metrics. The dashboard is in its final stages of development and will be in frequent use by New Castle County at the time of the conference. The presentation will include lessons learned in implementation and use that can be transferred to other utilities.

This paper was presented at the WEF Collection Systems and Stormwater Conference, April 9-12, 2024.

SpeakerScrutchfield, Daniel

Presentation time

15:45:00

16:15:00

Session time

15:45:00

16:45:00

SessionAsset Management Software

Session number10

Session locationConnecticut Convention Center, Hartford, Connecticut

TopicArtificial Intelligence, Asset Management, Combined Sewer Overflow, Combined Sewer System, Preventative Maintenance, Work Order Management And Scheduling

Author(s)

Batman, Paul

Author(s)P. Batman1, E. Hunsicker1, R. Roff2, D. Scrutchfield, K. Penoza3

Author affiliation(s)Arcadis 1; New Castle County Special Services 2; New Castle County 3

SourceProceedings of the Water Environment Federation

Document typeConference Paper

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Print publication date Apr 2024

DOI10.2175/193864718825159381

Volume / Issue

Content sourceCollection Systems and Stormwater Conference

Word count9

Base text size -

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