We are at a pivotal time in the history of our industry. The digital transition is in motion and is accelerating, thanks to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in our daily lives.
There has been a culture of fear associated with part of the AI narrative in the general public. However, for this industry, AI should be seen as a real opportunity to improve what we already offer to our clients.
By investing in the development of digital tools and assets, and training staff and clients on how to maximize their utilization, engineers, scientists and designers can push the creation of efficient, cost-effective, resilient infrastructure solutions.
Improving the citizen experience
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, the importance of individual service delivery was amplified. Companies that focused on providing for the needs of one individual at a time, like food delivery and car services, prospered.
Resources at the municipal level shifted to general health and safety, ensuring government facilities could stay open under new stringent guidelines. Because of this focus, they weren’t able to focus on driving operational efficiency at a time where online platforms were being delivered to improve the citizen experience.
As people looked to some of the overlooked services they once relied on, like permitting for a new swimming pool to stave off boredom or zoning assessments to allow family members to move in, efficient systems for responding to these growing needs were not in place. People were left frustrated, sometimes waiting weeks or months for basic inquiries to be met.
This opened an opportunity for AI-driven efficiency. By creating customized co-pilots based on the permit sought, evaluation and service times were reduced. And, as the solution learned from the requests being made, the system was able to drive even more efficiency. Some permits that were taking months to fulfill had been reduced to weeks or even days.
These are the kinds of solutions where, when the need of the citizen is put first, services can be delivered that provide real, tangible benefits and improve the relationship between individuals and local governments.
Data collaboration
At the same time that the country was dealing with the disruptions caused by the pandemic, many communities were also dealing with the complexities of natural disasters, including flooding, fires and extreme weather incidents. The impact of these events cost billions of dollars each year. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the cost of insurable damage from extreme weather events exceeded $8 billion for the first time.
A few years ago, when a forest fire burned its way through the Okanagan Valley, five different municipalities were tasked with understanding how the fire was spreading and whether it would cause them to evacuate residents.
Five municipalities pouring resources into data tracking of the same weather event.
With a coordinated approach between municipalities, sharing the data that had been obtained and then analyzing it would have saved resources and costs while generating the same outcome. That could have freed up resources to help communicate with the community or better prepare for the next steps.
Working together through data collaboration and collective analysis can help create a more proactive approach to community resilience and improve the efficiency of the response, both of which could have life or death implications during an extreme weather event.
Improving predictability
Speaking of extreme weather, what if there was a way to better predict weather patterns that would allow communities to know how to better plan for upcoming storms, or make smarter use of snow equipment before and during a weather event? It would mean timely delivery of information that could help save lives.
That’s exactly what the WSP team had in mind with the development of Advanced Weather Intelligence, a platform that helps better observe storm patterns as they approach, helping governments take proactive measures to protect cities and assets. The foundation is an integrated web-based solution that is supported by industry-leading sensor networks, AI models, and includes 24/7 access to senior meteorologists. The combination of atmospheric science and deep infrastructure knowledge that delivers actionable intelligence, which can provide tangible benefits for industry as well, including power, construction, transportation and mining.
Solutions such as these are a tangible example of how environmental science and engineering expertise, combined with AI, can deliver meaningful new solutions that benefit the greater good.
Protecting species at risk
Innovative digital solutions are also valuable for protecting plant and animal species, improving the overall quality of Canada’s biodiversity.
Using Earth-observed data from satellite technology, a collaborative team that included WSP was able to track North American Right Whale (an endangered species) movements in the St. Lawrence Seaway, providing invaluable data to be used to develop predictive modelling that will help minimize collisions with ships travelling to inland ports. A significant portion of the less than 400 whales believed still in existence are found in the summer months in and around the St. Lawrence.
The new Satellite Mobilization for Biodiversity Action, introduced by the Canadian Space Agency, has created new opportunities to expand on the use of satellite technology and Earth-observed data. The new opportunity, called smartEarth, “…aims to give Canada's downstream space sector (data exploitation) the support it needs to accelerate innovations in the creation and delivery of new Earth observation (EO) applications.”
Working with the Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam, the SatCaribou project, part of smartEarth, will create more robust maps of caribou movements in eastern Quebec. This, in turn, will help protect the animals, and their habitats, for future generations.
Supported by government funding mechanisms, companies in the consulting engineering space are able to utilize new forms of data collection and analysis to create positive environmental impacts across the country.
A plethora of possibilities
This is just the beginning. Programs and initiatives that once took years to create are now taking months thanks to the expanded capabilities of artificial intelligence.
It is crucial that environmental science and engineering companies embrace the opportunities that artificial intelligence can provide, innovative solutions that provide real value to real people.
