Getting data right with automated meter readers

With the explosion in water utilities taking up smart water meters, those meters need to be installed and maintained. This is where companies like Data Right enter the fray with their automated meter readers.

Data Right has installed more than 120,000 automated meter readers (AMRs) around Australia. It prides itself on exceeding client expectations and always strives for 100 per cent data accuracy.

How did Data Right come about? It’s the work of Ian Joblin, Data Right Director and Chief Executive Officer. He’s had something of a less traditional entrance into the water industry as an accountant.

“I was working with a local government that needed assistance to effectively complete their smart meter rollout, so they approached me to project manage the balance of the rollout,” said Joblin. “When completing the project, we met Taggle Systems. From there, our relationship started.”

Data Right has worked predominantly with Taggle Systems while slowly adding local government clients who are coming directly to Data Right. Its first rollout of smart meters was for the Narrabri Shire Council in northern New South Wales. Since then, it has integrated smart water meters for 25 local governments and water utilities throughout New South Wales, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. The last twelve months have seen them complete Tamworth’s 22,000 meter rollout, stage 1 of Gladstone’s rollout in Seventeen Seventy and Agnes Waters and 9,000 meters for Townsville. They have just begun the Southern Downs 9,500 meter project and the annual meter and trade waste meter replacements for Mackay.

“We have now evolved to also offer meter network audits in preparation for meter and AMR ordering,” he said. “We also offer smart water meter maintenance programs, meter reading, project management and plumbing works associated with water meter service lines.”

In an environment where it can be challenging to attract and retain skilled tradespeople, Data Right offers local governments and water utilities the opportunity to outsource their meter replacement and AMR maintenance programs. This ensures that existing staff within the organisation can focus on other, more crucial tasks.

Automated Meter Readers

For Joblin, automated meter reading is all about connectivity between a water utility and its customers as it works towards a smart city environment. He pointed out the importance of having high-quality communication between them.

“We are no longer in an environment of one-way communication between the water utility and customers in the form of a quarterly water bill,” Joblin said. Such an approach can lead to bill shock, water wastage, and inappropriate resource allocation in attempting to manage these problems. A smart water meter system can provide customers with near real-time information about their water consumption, leaks, and overall consumption patterns. The water utility is then seen as a solution provider for its customers.”

It’s an environment centred around information sharing for the benefit of both parties. Automated meter readers eliminate the need for on-site manual meter reads, which pose a range of work health and safety risks.

Unique process

The process difference between Data Right and other companies revolves around well-developed, auditable, disciplined processes.

“Our processes have been developed to ensure that meter installation, data capture, and data continuity are as accurate as possible.” Said Joblin.

Joblin and Data Right pride themselves on consistently achieving above 99.5 per cent accuracy with in-field information gathering. This provides Data Right’s customers with confidence that their meter network data is accurate.

“We only utilise quality contractors who take the utmost pride in the quality of their workmanship,” Joblin said. “We have retained these contractors for many years, and they are a crucial part of the business. Our project management skills are disciplined, personalised and adaptive, providing customers with a guided journey through their smart metering process.”

Data Right prides itself on its operational fluidity, having no problems moving between projects and locations. It also ensures that its clients’ expectations are met and exceeded. It provides annual maintenance programs to its customers to ensure that all smart water meters are accurate and solve a range of problems that may occur.

Future of Data Right

Data Right is looking to expand further. It is looking to develop a larger customer base that utilises its smart meter rollout services and ongoing meter network maintenance programs.

“The maintenance division is an obvious area for expansion,” Joblin said. We hope to enter ongoing maintenance agreements that provide water utilities with peace of mind around their smart meter network. By providing additional plumbing works associated with meter replacements, Data Right can continue to grow into a full end-to-end solution provider for meter networks.”

Joblin believes that there are plenty of opportunities to expand, and one of those is the agricultural sector.

“That sector has appealed to us, and we are actively working on starting this division,” he said. There is a trend toward metering non-urban meters, so it makes sense to utilise technology and make those meters smart. We are well-placed to provide a holistic solution in that area.

There are still so many residential water meters to be upgraded to smart meters, so there are plenty of ways that Data Right can assist water utilities in achieving those goals.

For more information, visit https://www.dataright.com.au/