Anglian Water relies on Getac rugged technology for complex service and maintenance operations across the East of England
/ Challenge /
Anglian Water is the largest water and water recycling provider in England and Wales by geographic area. Its field workforce is extensive, with service, maintenance, and repair operations taking place outside, all year round. As a result, Anglian needs digital devices that can be relied on day and night, in a wide range of temperatures and weather conditions.
/ Solution /
Following a detailed market assessment, Anglian identified Getac as the ideal vendor for its needs. This was due to Getac’s diverse range of rugged solutions, comprehensive warranty, and ability to match products to the specific industry challenges Anglian’s different field teams were facing, from asset maintenance and telemetry commissioning to leak detection and fleet vehicle repairs.
/ Benefits /
Since implementing Getac rugged technology across its field workforce, Anglian has been able to increase operational efficiency across its field workforce, meaning reduced leaks, improved performance and higher levels of customer satisfaction throughout its network. In addition, Getac’s comprehensive warranty keeps unplanned downtime to a minimum and service levels high.
/ Challenge /
Anglian Water is the largest water and water recycling provider in England and Wales by geographic area, supplying water and water recycling services to around seven million people across the East of England and Hartlepool. The company employs around 6,000 people and works with over 3,000 alliance partners to operate and maintain its network, which consists of 38,996km of water mains and 76,355km of sewers.
Anglian’s field workforce is extensive, with a range of different teams responsible for carrying out key aspects of its operations. For example, its Telemetry Commissioning team is tasked with the installation, testing, and calibration of telemetry equipment across the network, the Leakage team identifies and assists in the repair of leaks, while the Integrated Maintenance and Repair (IMR) team maintains treated water assets, including control valves, meters, and sensors. Other teams include Transport Services, which looks after Anglian’s fleet of company vehicles, and the Integrated Metering Alliance (IMA) team, which is responsible for commissioning new and replacement meters, including smart meters and water saving solutions.
However, while each team has a different area of responsibility, something they all have in common is that the majority of their work takes place outside, all year round, in a wide range of weather conditions. As a result, every team needs digital devices that can be relied on day and night, in everything from bright sunshine to heavy rain and snow.
In these kinds of challenging work environments, consumer grade digital devices simply can’t survive, leading to high rates of damage and failure. As a result, Anglian knew that only by investing in rugged technology would it be able to maintain the high levels of productivity it requires throughout its field workforce.
/ Solution /
Following a detailed market assessment, Anglian identified Getac as the ideal vendor for its technology needs. This was due to Getac’s diverse range of rugged solutions, comprehensive warranty, and ability to match products to the specific industry challenges Anglian’s different field teams were facing.
For the Telemetry Commissioning, Leakage and IMR teams, Getac’s S410 rugged laptop enables them to work efficiently across a range of different environments. The S410 combines powerful performance with advanced connectivity, sleek, lightweight design, and MIL-STD-810H and IP53 certifications, allowing engineers to gather data, collaborate with colleagues and make fast, informed decisions, even in adverse weather conditions.
For the IMA team, Getac’s ZX10 fully rugged Android tablet has resolved several major issues that workers were experiencing. Prior to Getac, their old devices had screens that were difficult to view in direct sunlight and were hard to use in the wet. The barcode scanning facility was also unreliable, and the devices lacked storage capacity for images and had poor battery life.
The ZX10 features an integrated industrial barcode reader, extensive storage and battery capacity, and a bright LumiBond screen with multitouch display that can be operated in the wet and when wearing gloves. As a result, the IMA team now has full trust in the devices they are using, enabling them to operate much more efficiently in the field.
For the Transport Services team, Getac’s F110 fully rugged tablet enables Anglian’s mechanics to quickly and efficiently record vehicle data into a centralised management system, which supports the maintenance of the vehicle fleet.
The F110 combines powerful functionality, an 11-inch LumiBond screen and fully rugged reliability in a convenient tablet form factor, making it ideally suited to busy automotive service bays where mechanics need fast access to information, but device knocks, drops and spillages are a daily occurrence.
/ Benefits /
Since implementing Getac rugged technology across its field workforce, Anglian has been able to increase operational efficiency across its field workforce, leading to improved performance and higher levels of customer satisfaction throughout its network.
"Our field technicians and contractors faced ongoing issues after a previous move to Android tablets - from tool incompatibility to high device turnover,” says Andy Hinchley, Leakage Delivery Manager. “The Windows-based Getac S410 gave us the stability and compatibility that we needed, especially with critical tools like mapping software, Ovarro loggers, M365 and Oracle. In late 2024 we rolled out S410s across the Leakage team, which have delivered the seamless, productive experience we were looking for.”
In addition, Getac’s extended 5-year Bumper-to-Bumper warranty ensures that if any devices are damaged in the line of duty, they will be repaired and returned to Anglian as quickly as possible, keeping unplanned downtime to a minimum and service levels high.
/ ABOUT ANGLIAN WATER /
Anglian Water works alongside 3,000 alliance partners and contractors to operate and maintain 38,996km of water mains and 76,355km of sewers across the East of England. The region served by Anglian Water spans from Grimsby in the north to Southend-on-Sea in the south; and from Northampton and Milton Keynes in the west to Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth in the east. It’s home to three of the fastest-growing cities in the UK – Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Peterborough. Anglian also serves Hartlepool on the North Sea coast.