KeyAqua in Kymen Vesi water utility

Kymen Vesi Oy is one of Keypro's longest and most active customers in the water utility sector. The company has worked actively long time in asset management activities and the network map is high quality and up to date. KeyAqua is actively used in everyday life among all stakeholders. The department's development manager Jaana Pulkkinen has used KeyAqua in many different tasks. In this blog, we will give a few examples of these tasks.

1. Acute everyday situations, such as water leaks
2. Planning work tasks such as replacing water meters
3. Leakage reduction and leak detection
4. Leading and decision-making with knowledge

1. How does KeyAqua help when water ducts are leaking?

When water leakage is detected in a certain area by measurement, KeyAqua plays an important role. It provides immediate information on the location, age, and size of pipes in the terrain. Based on this, information is analyzed: where the leak is likely to be? What part of the network could have this leakage? Usually, the amount of leakage gives hints: whether it is a bigger distribution line or a smaller customer service line.

KeyAqua is also used when a leak has already been localized. Visualizations, themes, and network follower tools are very helpful tools for locating where are the closest valves of the leak location (i.e. how to depressurize the pipe). In addition, KeyAqua will show on the theme map all fire hydrants and fire water stations if temporary water distribution to consumers is required. Finally, the leak is documented for later reporting and analysis.

KeyAqua is also used when communicating disturbances and supply interruptions: The SMS service and the fault map feature are definitely one of the most useful functions for communicating with customers. It’s great when necessary information to customers is sent and received quickly and with very little effort. Usually, in addition to the actual water outages, Kymen Vesi also communicates about other possible effects, such as pressure fluctuations. With KeyAqua, information is delivered to homes quickly and time is saved to correct the actual fault.

2. How does KeyAqua help to plan jobs, such as replacing water meters?

The installation date of the water meters is also included in the KeyAqua. An automatic theme is built into KeyAqua that highlights those meters with different colors that need to be replaced in the near future. This information is visualized in an easy-to-understand way when the specific layer is activated in KeyAqua. This is one such example that a small technical configuration gives a big benefit to everyday life. It is essential that the information is visualized on the map as a theme where different colors have different meanings. This way users understand the most essential things very fast.

3. How does KeyAqua help to reduce leakage water?

KeyAqua's water balance calculation helps to understand the overall situation of leaks in different areas. KeyAqua has good Smart Water features that allow analyzes and calculations to be performed automatically without the user having to do slow, manual, and error-prone Excel analyses. It is essential to visualize the results on the map using clear colors and thematic. This gives users the possibility to compare different areas and highlight where leaks are happening. This allows more detailed analysis to be targeted at the right areas. This saves time and money when personnel can focus immediately on the problematic part of the network.

4. How are KeyAqua and leading with knowledge related?

KeyAqua is a place to store silent information. When information is in one place and used by everyone, no information is lost. That way, everyday life doesn't have to be based on memory alone.

The strength of KeyAqua is that it helps gather information and can also be exported from KeyAqua elsewhere for further processing. The bottom line is this: data flows through integrations and leads to correct metrics and reports for decision-making. Thus, the link to information management is clear and tangible.

KeyAqua's strengths are data import, export (e.g. Rest API), visualizations, and the big picture. It helps utilities in long-term planning, data analysis, and visualization, helps to explain things to colleagues, and thus speeds up fact-based decision-making. All in all, this saves time, money, and nerves. KeyAqua enables a systematic asset management process.

What is it like to work with Keypro?

Development projects have always progressed in good spirits. Working with the Keypro personnel is pleasant, things are promoted together in a good spirit. In addition to the official hot topics, the solving process is also humorous and relaxed. The utility department has a feeling that Keypro is committed to solving the customer's needs. Kymen Vesi is also committed to developing a future together with Keypro.

The interview was conducted in 2021 when Jaana Pulkkinen was Kymen Vesi's development manager. She currently works at Sweco in asset management and is still an important partner of Keypro today.