NEWS
Costain and WSP to develop AI-powered data analytics platform
C ostain , the infrastructure solutions company , in partnership with WSP , has been granted funding by Northumbrian Water to develop a new AI-powered platform designed to improve the efficiency and accuracy of data , thereby reducing delivery times for the company ’ s capital projects during asset management period 8 ( AMP8 ).
The funding will enable Costain and WSP to develop a proof-of-concept for WISDOM – Wastewater Insights for Standardisation , Delivery , Operation and Maintenance – a platform that uses generative AI technology to capture , standardise and analyse large volumes of data from a variety of sources , providing a comprehensive intelligent database of operational assets .
With AMP8 investment programmes likely to see a doubling of investment from
the previous cycle , and a corresponding increase in asset interventions , capital delivery and operational teams need to manage and evaluate larger , more complex sets of data for compliance purposes .
The WISDOM AI platform would seek to optimise , combine and process huge datasets , providing richer insight into operational performance for capital delivery teams working on AMP8 projects .
The expectation is that the platform will reduce the need for wastewater works managers to repeatedly provide and analyse operational data for delivery teams , thereby reducing time spent on data entry which can be up to 45 % of their working week . This will in turn improve overall delivery times and potentially save more than £ 10mn for Northumbrian Water over the course of the AMP8 lifecycle .
Richard Seales , Head of Engineering , Northumbrian Water , said : “ Coming up with fresh ways of thinking about the delivery of new and upgraded wastewater assets is not easy , but Costain and WSP have more than risen to the challenge , and their energy and enthusiasm has been plain to see . This was one of the standout ideas from our Innovation Festival and we ’ re excited to see how its application could solve a big challenge facing the whole of the water sector .”
HSE publishes annual work-related ill health and injury statistics for 2023 / 24
T he Health and Safety Executive ( HSE ) has published its annual statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injuries .
The statistics reveal that the number of workers reported to be suffering from work-related ill health during 2023 / 24 is 1.7 million – which is similar to 2022 / 23 ( 1.8 million workers ).
The rate of self-reported work-related ill health remains broadly similar to the previous year , although the current rate is still higher than the 2018 / 19 prepandemic level .
Approximately half of those reporting ill-health relate to stress , depression or anxiety , with an estimated 776,000 cases in 2023 / 24 . The current rate of self-reported work-related stress , depression or anxiety is higher than the pre-pandemic level but has decreased from 910,000 in 2022 / 23 .
An estimated 33.7 million working days were lost in 2023 / 24 due to self-reported work-related ill health or injury .
HSE ’ s chief executive Sarah Albon said : “ This year marks 50 years since the legislation which established HSE was passed . Much has been achieved in that time , including a dramatic reduction of around 85 % in the numbers of employee fatal injuries in the workplace .
“ Today , Great Britain is one of the safest places in the world to work but these statistics serve as a reminder that there is still room for further improvement , and we remain committed to ensuring people remain safe and healthy wherever work is taking place .”
HSE ’ s statistics also reveal the impact workrelated ill health and workplace injuries are having on Britain ’ s economic performance .
In 2022 / 23 , the estimated annual costs of workplace injury and new cases of work-related ill health reached £ 21.6 billion , which is £ 1.6 billion less compared with 2021 / 22 .
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