“Digital Twin Realities: Bridging Challenges & Opportunities”
SWAN Members and Conference Attendees can now all access all recordings and presentations. SWAN Members may login to the website and Conference Attendees can use the special code that was emailed to you. If you can’t retrieve your password, please contact Sandy Moskovitz: sandy@swan-forum.com
9:00-10:00 AM Check-In, Coffee & Networking
10:00-10:10 AM Workshop Introduction
- Gigi Karmous-Edwards, Founder & Chair of the SWAN Digital Twin Work Group (Karmous-Edwards Consulting)
10:10-10:30 AM Keynote Presentation
- Dr. Stephen Fai, Principal Investigator (Imagining Canada’s Digital Twin), Director (Carleton Immersive Media Studio) & Professor, Azrieli School of Architecture (Carleton University) – View Bio
10:30-12:00 PM Interactive Roundtable Discussions: Real-World Case Studies in Practice
A 60-minute interactive session focusing on practical case study examples of digital twins within the water, wastewater, and stormwater sectors. These open discussions offered water professionals from various backgrounds a chance to exchange their perspectives and insights on vital, real-world challenges and opportunities associated with digital twins.
Lessons Learned on the Digital Twin Pitch: Communicating the What, Why, and Value of Digital Twins to Utility Leadership for Funding and Organisational Adoption Led by Reginal Joseph, Assistant Commissioner for Digital Transformation (NYCDEP, US) & Mike Karl, Global Digital Lead (AECOM)
City of Guelph’s Journey Towards a Digital Twin Led by Emily Stahl, Manager, Technical Services (City of Guelph)
Building Trust into your Hydrodynamic Models Led by Agnethe Nedergaard Pedersen, Digital Twin Lead (VCS Denmark)
Digital Twins for Environmental Monitoring: Enhancing Planning from Catchment to Coast Led by Meven Huiban, Senior Coastal Engineer (DHI)
Digital Twins for Operational Risk Reduction at Diablo Dam and Other Critical Infrastructure Led by Andrea DuMont, Water Portfolio Product Manager (Bentley Systems)
Optimising Wet Weather in Real Time Using a Digital Twin Led by Michael Ross, Control Systems Engineer (Jacobs)
Tips to Scoping and Executing a Digital Twin Proof of Concept Led by Mia Sabanovic, Manager II (City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services) & Javier Cantu, Sr Product Manager, AI, ML (Autodesk)
Utilising Machine Learning and Decision Theory for Optimal Water Treatment in Uncertain Conditions Led by Jacob Young, Deputy General Manager (Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District) & Philip John Smith, Professor Emeritus (University of Utah)
It Is What It Is…Commissioning Pump Station Digital Twins Led by Mandy LeBlanc, Senior Manager of Pumping Operations (DC Water) & Ryan Hougham, VP, Business Development (Specific Energy)
Graph-Based Approach to Decision Support Digital Twin Led by Marco Westergren, Chief Analytics Officer (InfoTiles)
Building a Water Network Digital Twin with a Nonlinear Predictive Control Framework Led By Ehsan Shafiee, Director Data Science (Xylem)
12:00-1:00 PM Lunch Sponsored by AECOM and Autodesk
1:00-2:00 PM Unpacking Digital Twin Challenges and Opportunities (led by utilities)
Facilitated by global utilities, we will collaboratively explore the challenges and possibilities of digital twins, engaging in open discussions about their practical applications for all stakeholders. Each group will unpack the various stages of a digital twin lifecycle, examining its implications and potentials at every phase.
Topics
- How can we create and foster a culture that embraces the change required in water and wastewater utilities to become data-driven organisations?
- Many leaders attending the SWAN Conference understand the value of transitioning to a data-driven utility. What strategies do we need to implement to convince the Senior Leadership (Board) and Frontline Teams?
- Who in my organisation can join forces with me as a champion, supply the essential data for my business cases, and can our current consultants aid in demonstrating the value?
- Do current programs specify the required attributes, data streams, and Level of Detail (LOD) for all assets? What is the standardised BIM metadata that persists across the project lifecycle?
- What are the risks and opportunities of adopting AI in digital twins, and how can we address them?
- Are BIM models at the core of your digital twin models and how do they shape data standardisation?
- Do you face issues with data standardisation in your digital twins, and if so, what are the most effective strategies to overcome them?
- What are the asset management challenges that can be overcome through BIM?
- Can we assess the maturity levels of digital twins across utilities, and if so how do we learn from one another?
- Too much or too little, are we over or under investing in digital twins?
- What’s the role of consultants, vendors, and contractors in the success of digital twins?
Facilitators:
- Satish Tripathi, Managing Engineer Infrastructure Planning (City of Houston)
- Calwood Somers, CADD Supervisor & Alireza Parhami, Director Digital Transformation (DC Water)
- Chad Beck, Assistant Director, Operations & Maintenance (City of Bellevue)
- Mia Sabanovic, Manager II (City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services)
- Andy Smith, Head of Smart Water & Matthew Hughes, Smart Systems Strategy Manager (Anglian Water)
- Joukje Keuning, Program Manager Infra2025 (Vitens)
- Agnethe Pedersen, Digital Twin Lead (VCS Denmark)
- Gitte Rosenkranz, Digitalisation Consultant (HOFOR)
- Kit Wilson, Director of Operational Services (Welsh Water)
- Chengzi Chew, Chief Entrepreneur (Grundfos)
2:00-2:30 PM Developing Valuable Ideas and Strategies for Curating Solutions
Building on insights from the previous session, we will convene to collectively brainstorm and develop valuable ideas, concepts and strategies that address challenges and maximise opportunities for all stakeholders. In the subsequent summary session, volunteers will share key takeaways derived from each topic table.
2:30-3:00 PM Networking & Refreshments Break
3:00-3:30 PM Developing Valuable Ideas and Strategies for Curating Solutions (Cont.)
3:30-4:30 PM Summary & Conclusion
4:30-5:30 PM Welcome Drinks Sponsored by Metasphere
Thank you to our Sponsors!
