A case study with Dr. Robert Bornhofen, Director of Innovation at DC Water
Dr. Robert Bornhofen, DC Water’s Director of Innovation, contends that gen AI has already begun to demonstrate its enormous power to transform how work activities are performed. Much like the internet did in the late 1990s, advanced AI capabilities are going to change the definition of work. It is far more than a technology upgrade. Gen AI is a fundamental shift in how utilities operate. Whether utilities are ready or not, it’s going to upskill employees with advanced features and a positive feeling of empowerment.
DC Water is not taking a wait-and-see approach to gen AI. The utility is saying “yes” to smart change — but wellmanaged, deliberate, and supported by change agents and stakeholders in the organization.
If you’re a mature organization and you’re not getting out in front of generative Al – if you have no policy in place, no training, no support, no auditing, that’s risky because people are going to use these tools anyway.
A recent study by Pew Research, which surveyed 10,000-plus US adults, revealed that 31% of adults under 30 have used ChatGPT on the job.
In other words, gen AI is here and it’s not going away. The upcoming generation of workers expect to use it, so utilities should acknowledge and plan for this inevitability.
Explore Al adoption at the working level with Communities of Practice (COP)
As an innovation leader, Dr. Bornhofen recognized the transformative potential of gen AI and started the process of introducing it to employees in May of 2023 for awareness. This initiative is part of DC Water’s Innovation Program, which aims to evaluate and act on new and emerging technologies that demonstrate value for the organization and its customers.
Shortly after GPT-4 hit the scene in March 2022, Robert hosted a virtual lead-andlearn training session on gen AI. Sessions like this usually draw 30 to 40 people, Robert said, but this time was different — close to two hundred attended, wanting to learn more about this amazing technology. The feedback from this initial session was incredibly positive with 80+ employees asking to be further involved.
Establishing Communities of Practice (CoP)
Following that initial session, Robert and his team established a Community of Practice (CoP). Still active, it is made up of employees who want to learn how AI can make their tasks and activities less tedious and more productive than their current methods. They’re the “agents of change,” — i.e., the ones who will push gen AI forward within and across business units.
A QuickStart User Guide was published in September 2023 to help CoP members take advantage of gen AI tools while governed by a set of best practices around ethical use, privacy needs, and context validation.
CoP discovery: engaging multiple lenses to weigh the pros and cons
DC Water is currently in experimentation mode with AI, which entails key stakeholder engagement, policy development, and employee training. Deliberately engaging multiple stakeholders is key to capturing the multiple perspectives needed to drive gen AI adoption. This includes the Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer, General Counsel, and Enterprise Risk Management, among others.
Stakeholder concerns were raised about gen AI, such as
– Data and privacy exposure
– Information bias and ethical concerns
– Potential for misinformation and misuse
– Job loss concerns
A lot of people are talking about gen AI replacing workers, but many utilities are under-staffed or under-budgeted. The reality is we need people and we need them to be smarter and more productive through the use of advanced tools.
Also recognized were the pros of gen AI, highlighting
– Customer service/engagement
– Research support/new insights
– IT/coding/technical support
– Communications/knowledge capture
– Innovation/faster pace
Robert said a level of objectivity needs to be established among key stakeholders to determine whether the organization is capable and risk tolerant enough to adopt gen AI. Clearly, there are tradeoffs between the pros and cons of gen AI that need to be reconciled early on.
The importance of shared insight in adopting new AI technology
”Don’t underestimate what it takes to effect change,” Robert advised. People are key to organizational change, and a diverse set of stakeholders must be involved in the evaluation and adoption of transformational technology like gen AI to enable successful buy-in.
Employees need to know that they matter, they belong, and that leadership listens to them. They tend to feel empowered when asked to evaluate new technologies, contributing to a smooth and welcome adoption of gen AI when accepted.
In fact, a 2021 McKinsey study showed that transformations involving at least 7% of employees were twice as likely to deliver successful outcomes than less engaged transformation attempts. Organizations need to cast a wide, cross-functional net and include a diverse set of stakeholders and employees for change to occur.
Robert advocates for “overcommunication” of AI activities — communicating actively and visibly with full transparency. Two-way communication is key to establishing credibility, generating interest, and enduring momentum. A monthly newsletter highlighting the innovative achievement helps create a buzz throughout DC Water.
The most important metric we have is not how many shiny gadgets get installed, or the number of technologies piloted. While important, what truly matters is employee engagement. That is, getting more people involved, asking the right questions, and taking an active part in innovation
activities.
Planned ongoing engagement, evaluation, and monitoring
DC Water s Innovation Program continues to sustain CoP momentum as it evaluates the value of AI options like GPT and Microsoft Copilot. This includes building a trusted LLM for more sophisticated uses that leverage utility data for addedvalue.
A recent survey among 50 employees gave insight into the time savings, productivity gains, and task output quality associated with using Microsoft CoPilot on job activities. The preliminary findings revealed a time savings of over 10 minutes per activity when using CoPilot. Qualitative findings like this help justify a business case for AI.
A vision for effective gen AI adoption
Envisioning what an effective gen AI adoption might entail, this case study on DC Water’s progress so far highlights three actionable steps:
1. Standing up an enterprise-wide CoP team of motivated employees to embody a sense of awareness, training, and education on AI functionality.
2. Gaining buy-in from leadership and employees in managing the tradeoff between risk and reward in effectively using gen AI for certain activities.
3. Sustaining efforts through two-way communication and ongoing engagement to further strengthen the organizational culture in adopting gen AI.
For these three steps to happen, it’s essential for top-down leadership and bottom-up culture to converge. It takes active leadership to make this transformation to modern technologies possible. DC Water’s success is attributed to the encouragement and support of its CEO and General Manager, David Gadis. As a strategic leader, he authorized the establishment of an Innovation Program to serve the entire organization.
It is through this approach that DC Water is able to evaluate and adopt new ways of operating, how technologies like gen AI can lead to new capabilities, greater efficiencies, and increased productivity to best serve ratepayers.
Robert is one of those innovators who is not afraid of change and believes that AI offers the water utility sector tremendous opportunities. With gen AI we have the opportunity to strengthen employee skills to solve real problems with quick access to LLMs for relevant information and facts.
This can contribute to a more engaging and open environment from which to innovate.
As Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity — not a threat.” Utilities cannot afford to ignore such technological advances as gen AI if they expect to further enhance efficiency in managing water resources with improved decision making and task output quality.
Hopefully, this case study is of value in providing guidance to other water utilities that can lead to a positive outcome in adopting gen AI. The future is bright when we dare to imagine it differently and work relentlessly toward it.
Read the full whitepaper
This article is taken from Qatium’s recent whitepaper on: Water utilities & AI: how utilities can thrive in the new generative AI reality If you’d like to read the full whitepaper, you can do so here.
