New thesis examines digital tools in VA

Yonis Osman Bileh is studying a master’s degree in industrial economics, with a technical profile in production, and is conducting his thesis at KTH in collaboration with Mistra InfraMaint’s project 2B Barriers and enablers for digitalization in the Swedish water sector.

– With my educational background, I hope to contribute with new insights and perspectives in the field. My paper focuses on investigating the value of implementing a digital solution within a municipal water utility, in this case a solution developed by technology providers in the water industry, he says.

The study is based on a context where digitalization has been going on for several years within the municipal water utility, and where the organization is now entering a new phase with a focus on changing how the maintenance of pumping stations is managed. A digital solution in the form of smart reports has been implemented to support the maintenance technicians in their daily work.

– To understand the real benefits of technology, it is important to examine how the value of this change can be measured and to what extent it makes work easier for users. At the same time, other parts of the organization also play an important role in maintenance, and we need to understand how their perspectives influence use. There may also be opportunities to use the technology in different ways than originally intended. By analyzing these aspects, my study can contribute to a broader understanding of how the experiences from a digital initiative can influence future initiatives,” says Yonis Osman Bileh.

Through interviews with both key people within the water utility and external technology providers, he started by identifying what is important to the different stakeholders, and what challenges they face. Data from the pumping stations then provides further insights into how the digital solution is used in practice.

– The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods allows for a more nuanced picture, says Yonis Osman Bileh.

What do you hope to achieve?

– I hope to identify challenges faced by key stakeholders in this type of change, and gain a deeper understanding of how implementation can be measured and evaluated. By analyzing both technical and organizational factors, I want to shed light on the barriers and opportunities that affect how digital solutions are received and used in practice.

Who do you want to read and absorb your work?

– I want my work to be useful for the organization I study, especially those working with digitalization and maintenance. But the results can also be relevant to other actors in the water and wastewater sector, such as researchers in digitization or actors responsible for the maintenance of infrastructure with a large geographical spread.

The thesis is supervised by Maksim Miterev, PhD and assistant professor at INDEK at KTH.