• Utilities Kingston partners with Fuseforward to demonstrate 'intelligent' water management
VANCOUVER, BC, Canada, Apr. 14, 2009 -- Fuseforward has established a partnership with Utilities Kingston (UK) to test a system that will enable infrastructure owners such as municipalities, utilities and campuses to model, analyze and optimize their physical systems, including water, wastewater and energy, in order to improve their efficiencies, reduce their energy consumption and decrease their environmental footprints.
Fuseforward provides advanced infrastructure management solutions for asset-intensive enterprises such as governments, utilities and businesses. It will supply an integrated asset, enterprise and operations management technology for demonstration and development on UK's water and wastewater systems. Fuseforward and UK will also partner in the commercialization of the resulting "intelligent" infrastructure management platform. UK provides water, wastewater, electricity, natural gas and broadband services to the City of Kingston, Ontario.
Other participants in the project include IBM, which will furnish the system platform technology, and Hatch Mott MacDonald, a leading North American engineering services firm providing water, wastewater and information management expertise. The project is supported by Sustainable Development Technology Canada, an arm's-length, not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada.
The project objective is to develop a system that is ready for use by a municipality or utility of any size. The system will allow users to analyze and optimize their energy usage and environmental footprints while minimizing the life cycle costs of their infrastructure assets and improving service delivery to customers. It will also support environmentally and economically sound long-term planning and decision-making by providing ongoing monitoring of regulatory compliance.
"Our partnership with UK offers an exciting opportunity to demonstrate how the convergence of information and operational technologies empowers infrastructure managers like Utilities Kingston to optimize their system operations in real time in order to save energy and money, reduce their environmental footprints and deliver services more efficiently," said Mark Damm, CEO of Fuseforward.
"Fuseforward's technology provides the kind of platform that will be essential to the 'intelligent' utility of the future," said Jim Keech, CEO of Utilities Kingston. "We're pleased to participate in the continuing development of this promising system."
The project will proceed in three phases. In 2009, the system will be deployed in a designated section (residential neighborhood) of UK's water/wastewater service area; the utility will operate this pilot system and capture live data to compare against actual system operations. In phase two UK will capture system-wide data to verify environmental, financial and operational models and performance indicators. The final phase will focus on certifying that the models and performance indicators accurately reflect the operation and footprint of the operation.
Fuseforward International Inc. is a privately held Canadian corporation that designs, builds and implements complex infrastructure management systems for cities, utilities and similar asset-intensive organizations.
Utilities Kingston is responsible for supplying, distributing and metering electricity and natural gas in Kingston City Central. Utilities Kingston is also responsible for supplying, distributing and metering water and for collecting, pumping and treating sewage for the entire City of Kingston.
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is an arm's-length foundation which has received $1.05 billion from the Government of Canada as part of its commitment to create a healthy environment and a high quality of life for all Canadians.
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