Data analysis has the power to turn raw data into transformative insights. Truly understanding your data can unlock new opportunities to solve operational challenges, optimising systems to improve business performance and realise greater value.
Working across the full data and analytics lifecycle, WSP can help you strengthen your data quality, make more informed investment and operational decisions, manage risk, and build lasting data science capability.
How to light up your data
For over 20 years, our specialist data science and analytics team has been supporting clients in Aotearoa New Zealand, helping you unlock the potential of your data to guide strategic decision-making and strengthen economic, social and environmental wellbeing. We work across a diverse range of sectors and industries, from energy and utility companies to infrastructure owners and local government.
Using advanced analytics, predictive modelling, AI and decision science techniques, we draw useful insights from sources including sensors, inspections, simulations, forecasts and operational records. These insights help you prioritise investment, realise cost efficiency, and progress sustainability.
Ensuring data quality for informed decision making
Trusted data is essential for informed decision making. Whether you are undertaking a data-driven transformation or beginning a new project, an assessment of data quality, data flows, and data structure is a necessary first step towards success. We help you assess and understand how data is collected, shared and updated across teams, systems and processes with the aim of improving its accuracy, connectivity and security.
In close collaboration with clients, our data scientists enhance data quality, structure and flow. This approach helped New Zealand water utilities understand and improve water, wastewater and stormwater asset data to assess network condition, plan renewals and schedule maintenance.
Turning custom analytics and software solutions into knowledge
Drawing on our data science and digital expertise, we partner with you to design and implement data-driven analytics and digital tools aligned with your priorities, to translate data into meaningful, accessible knowledge specific to your needs.
We applied this approach for an electricity network operator in the UK, developing a customised alarm grouping solution. The solution helped manage the growing complexity of a system integrating renewable and distributed power generation. By managing large volumes of network alarms, the solution presented system conditions in a more accessible format for operator review.
Advanced analytics to optimise decision making
Knowing what could happen next enables you act proactively and strengthen asset resilience in a changing world. We help you to use advanced analytics, including operations research, machine learning and predictive analytics, to unlock deeper insights, enhance decision-making and understand potential future outcomes.
An example of this approach is a predictive analytics and visualisation tool we designed to help power transmission operators anticipate and respond when significant geomagnetic storms are forecast. The tool supports managing potential impacts on critical network infrastructure.
Data visualisation and reporting to gain a 360˚ view
A 360-degree view of a business depends on trusted, connected data. We help you create a reliable data foundation for reporting and decision-making, supported by defined data sources, processes and governance. This provides the bedrock for understanding complex information, identifying relationships and patterns, and pinpointing emerging trends to improve strategic and operational performance.
For example, we developed an interactive dashboard that visualises the flow of water from source to customer. The tool brings data from multiple sources into a standardised dataset and supports review of critical water infrastructure investment options.
Data science is the practice of using data, statistics, analytics and technology to uncover insights, predict outcomes and support better decision-making. It combines expertise in mathematics and computer science to transform raw data into actionable information. Organisations use data science to identify patterns and trends, optimise operations, manage risk, forecast future scenarios and solve complex challenges.
How can data science help organisations including utilities and local government?
Data science helps organisations turn complex data into practical insights that improve decision-making, asset performance and service delivery. For utilities and local government, this can include predicting future demand, prioritising maintenance and investment, improving data quality, monitoring asset condition, identifying risks, and creating dashboards and digital tools that support more informed and sustainable management of critical infrastructure and community services.
Do organisations need large amounts of data to benefit from data science?
No. The value of data science depends more on the quality and relevance of data than its volume. By improving data quality and applying the right analytics techniques, organisations can identify trends, support investment decisions, prioritise maintenance and improve operational performance from smaller datasets when the data is relevant and suitable for the intended analysis.
AI and Machine Learning is one of the tools data scientists may use to analyse patterns, support predictive modelling and assist with complex analysis. Depending on the use case, these techniques can support risk assessment, asset-performance analysis and investment planning.
