How Mott MacDonald Bentley became box information into compliance self belief for Yorkshire Water
At a look
When Yorkshire Water wanted fast visibility throughout 1000’s of typhoon overflow belongings, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB) reconfigured depended on virtual gear as a substitute of creating a brand new gadget, giving greater than 130 other folks throughout a dozen organisations a unmarried, reside supply of fact.
- 3,000 surveys performed throughout 2,400 places masking 4,100 sq. miles of the Yorkshire Water area
- Deployed in 9 days, with 1,000 surveys finished within the first 4 weeks
- 130 top customers from 12+ organisations running from one hooked up platform
Around the water sector, utilities are beneath power to make higher selections from complicated asset information. Regulatory expectancies, aging infrastructure, converting climate patterns and calls for for transparency are pushing firms and companions to paintings sooner and with extra self belief.
For MMB, that problem got here into center of attention via Yorkshire Water’s typhoon overflow survey program.
MMB is an absolutely built-in design-and-build industry combining Mott MacDonald’s design experience with JN Bentley’s development supply capacity. It designs and builds essential water and wastewater infrastructure throughout the United Kingdom, running with main utilities together with Yorkshire Water.
Yorkshire Water wanted a competent baseline for typhoon overflow belongings throughout 2,400 places. The purpose was once to grasp asset stipulations, determine gaps and lend a hand groups transfer from reactive asset control to a extra proactive type.
“We are looking to transfer in opposition to being extra proactive and working out precisely the place belongings are, the place the gaps are and advertise initiatives to briefly fill the ones gaps. We would have liked numerous information to understand precisely the place we had been.” – Lumi Ajayi, Undertaking Supervisor, Program Supply at Yorkshire Water
Shifting speedy with out shedding keep an eye on
The power was once instant. However at this scale, shifting speedy with out construction may create new dangers: inconsistent paperwork, reproduction information, misplaced knowledge, and a couple of variations of the reality. MMB had to lend a hand surveyors seize information persistently, and provides Yorkshire Water a reside view of development and results.
The crew already had a basis. MMB had deployed Autodesk Forma Construct around the area as a part of its inspection and trying out technique, and noticed that the similar quality-workflow features might be reconfigured for large-scale survey information assortment.
“We were the usage of Autodesk Forma Construct for inspection and trying out, and the principle get advantages was once the immediate information,” says Fiona Sales space, Design Lead at MMB. “Lets perform those surveys at tempo, with knowledge to be had immediately and in an organised way, getting rid of the want to type via paper paperwork and the danger of knowledge getting misplaced.”
As an alternative of commissioning a brand new gadget, MMB hooked up gear it already understood. Moata, MMB’s proprietary virtual platform, gave groups a reside geospatial view of greater than 2,400 survey places. Forma Construct was the hub for paperwork, asset information, pictures, movies, validation, and choice logging. Energy BI dashboards, embedded and shared via Moata, became that information into reside perception.
Designing the knowledge earlier than scaling the surveys

MMB deployed the workflow in simply 9 days.
Set-up started with asset knowledge from Yorkshire Water. MMB imported the knowledge immediately into Forma Construct, developing asset information at scale as a substitute of creating 1000’s via hand. The crew then designed survey paperwork, examined them on one web site, subtle the questions and altered the construction earlier than wider rollout.
This was once now not simply shape construction. It was once information design. Some responses needed to be obligatory. Others needed to be a couple of selection somewhat than unfastened textual content in order that they might be analysed persistently. The crew regarded as now not most effective what a surveyor had to seize on web site, but additionally what engineers, coordinators and Yorkshire Water would want to perceive from that information afterwards.
“Each and every piece of knowledge gave an actionable perception,” says Francis Baker, Virtual Supply Lead at MMB. “Does it want every other survey? Does it want every other motion? Every query was once adapted to provide that resolution.”
Necessities advanced all through the mission, and Forma Construct’s configurable paperwork and asset fields allowed MMB to conform. Get admission to keep an eye on was once similarly essential. Surveyors submitted paperwork from web site. Administrative center groups validated and up to date asset knowledge. Yorkshire Water and companions had the suitable visibility with out compromising information integrity.
“It was once now not simply ourselves. Yorkshire Water and different contract companions had get admission to to the similar information. Everyone was once running from the similar position, so it was once a real CDE in that sense.” – Fiona Sales space, Design Lead at Mott MacDonald Bentley
From survey responses to reside selections

For survey groups, the workflow began in Moata, the place they might plan visits, take a look at get admission to, and filter out websites via organisation earlier than shifting immediately into the related asset report in Forma Construct. There, they finished structured paperwork on cellular units, shooting pictures, movies, compliance standing, harm, get admission to necessities, and follow-up accountability. The Forma Construct Information Connector fed the knowledge immediately into dashboards, permitting MMB and Yorkshire Water to test survey of entirety, determine gaps, filter out via asset sort and direction movements with out opening 1000’s of information.
“The information was once being fed every day from MMB, so we knew precisely which belongings wanted to enter the suitable workstream,” says Lumi Ajayi. “It helped us be extra agile and make selections so much faster.”
For Yorkshire Water, that supposed a clearer, extra present view of asset situation and compliance possibility. For MMB, it supposed fewer handbook handoffs, much less duplication, and a managed workflow that stored groups aligned. The dataset persevered to ship price lengthy after the surveys concluded.
“We nonetheless confer with it to nowadays,” says Lumi Ajayi. “Different industry streams nonetheless use one of the most information we accumulated.”
A type for repeatable virtual supply
The mission delivered at scale: 70,000 survey responses, 30,000 further asset datasets, and 130 top customers throughout greater than 12 organisations. MMB anticipated surveyors to want vital enhance, however after preliminary coaching, call for was once minimum.
For MMB, this system was an explanation level for standardised paperwork, belongings, and information constructions throughout wider inspection and trying out paintings. Since the information was once constant, groups may development knowledge around the complete dataset, one thing most effective imaginable when research is designed in from the outset. The workflow has been tailored for greater than ten further initiatives, together with paintings with Northumbrian Water and Severn Trent.
In water infrastructure, higher selections rely on higher information. By means of the usage of Forma Construct because the hub for box seize and asset knowledge, MMB helped Yorkshire Water transfer sooner, paintings from depended on perception, and create a repeatable type for virtual supply.
“Figuring out our belongings and assessing their efficiency beneath power is a strategic precedence at Yorkshire Water. MMB gave us a device that was crucial in assembly all supply milestones and supplied transparent, consistent visibility around the mission.” – Lumi Ajayi, Undertaking Supervisor, Program Supply at Yorkshire Water
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