Navigating technology interoperability in connected infrastructure
By Simon Newcomb, Partner, Clayton Utz
Australia’s infrastructure sector is becoming more technically complex and connected, presenting new challenges in technology interoperability.
In the past, infrastructure projects were delivered with little thought to technology interoperability. But with the growing use of digital technologies, that landscape has changed significantly.
Today’s infrastructure projects are more interconnected than ever. That interconnectedness comes with increased complexity, requiring new roles, technologies and processes to ensure seamless technology integration both internally across all project technologies and participants, and externally with related systems and stakeholders. It requires new issues to be anticipated and addressed like technology compatibility, intellectual property rights, data governance, technology contracting and cybersecurity.
Managing technology interoperability has become central to successful infrastructure projects and needs to be addressed in all project phases, from project conceptualisation, through procurement, delivery, maintenance and operation.
Project technology integration
With multiple technologies involved in infrastructure projects, it’s crucial to ensure that all elements can work together. This requires the traditional focus on physical integration to expand to cover the logical integration of technology.
The Brisbane Metro project is one example where the use of multiple technologies demanded a fresh approach. The project involved the integration of electric vehicles, battery charging, road and station infrastructure, control systems as well as external operator and government systems. To ensure these technologies were coordinated and working together, a systems integrator was appointed to the project.
Another common challenge for infrastructure owners is getting locked into a single supplier. Technology interoperability and proprietary rights create barriers to switching technology. Often this requires procuring long term maintenance and essential technology services like software or data “as a service” at the same time as the project delivery is procured. Another approach is to mandate adherence to standards (where they exist) to provide for future interoperability and procurement contestability.
Digital twins
In recent years we’ve seen the growing use of digital twins to provide a virtual representation of physical infrastructure allowing simulation and use of data to help make better decisions.
Brisbane’s Cross River Rail, for example, integrated BIM, GIS and the video game engine used in Fortnite to create a three-dimensional model. This integration plays a critical role in construction, maintenance, operation and community relations.
However, digital twins introduce challenges around data and legal interoperability. Creating these models requires the compiling of data from multiple sources including contractors, consultants, utilities and government agencies. Once the model is created, there may also be other projects, government agencies and private sector entities interested in accessing the data.
Ensuring this data is standardised and can be used effectively across platforms is the first hurdle. Legal interoperability also comes into play around intellectual property licensing of data from upstream sources and liability issues where data is relied on by downstream users. These challenges can be addressed through the early establishment of data technical standards and data licence terms that ensure all participants are working to the same set of rules.
Operator interoperability
Interoperability between infrastructure operators is needed as infrastructure is increasingly operated as part of broader networks.
For example, in Australia’s road transport sector, toll roads and tag payment systems rely on interoperability to ensure traffic data collection and payment settlement arrangements are consistent for motorists using many different roads. Likewise, operators must cater for ITS (intelligent transport system) interoperability with systems managing connected infrastructure and the broader transport network. This will continue to become even more important as mega trends like autonomous vehicles and network optimisation change the transport sector.
Agreements between operators may be needed to regulate the technical and operational standards and allocate responsibilities and risks.
Cybersecurity risks
As infrastructure projects become more connected, and data and control systems become more distributed, there is an increased risk of cyberattacks due to the complexity and broader “attack surface”.
The public conversation around cybersecurity is often focused on data breaches, but for infrastructure, the risks extend well beyond that. Cyberattacks on operational technologies that control physical infrastructure like energy or transport networks or hospital systems can have dangerous consequences for the safety of people and property.
The need for prudent management of these cyber risks is reflected in the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act (SOCI), which mandates Australian owners and operators of critical infrastructure to adopt robust cybersecurity measures (amongst other risk management).
The road ahead
The industry is rapidly moving to ever more interconnected projects adopting disruptive technologies and management trends like digital twins, smart infrastructure, connected operators, network management, data analytics and AI. With these changes, strong governance and effective management of technology interoperability is essential for the future of infrastructure delivery and operation.
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