LEADING EDGE VS BLEEDING EDGE SOFTWARE
Let's not hype these ideas, but let's evaluate where they fit best to play to their strengths.Twitter Facebook I often get asked when I’m with customers how long the software package we design is going to last. I'm an advocate for struvite recovery, but it doesn't fit all faciities. Granular AS is very cool, but again it probably won't fit all situations. Mainstream deammonification is a great concept, but in many instances it doesn't make sense. My concern is that we may be doing similar things with other great ideas. That's great for the industry, but maybe not so good for those bleeding out because of the hype. Some good came out of the hype as it drove further investigations and discussion. It certainly didn't live up to the hype, but now people are looking more closely at the cellulose material in wastewater and thinking about how we handle it (think toilet paper!). I see a similar thing as a result of Cannibal. but, look at the hype curve, after the hype bump there's a drop and then a steady improvement in technology. Unfortunately the hype killed the idea for a lot of people. Turns out it was too good to be true for many applications, but still it's a good fit if the wastewater characteristics are right and the plant constraints dictate. There was a sludge reduction technology called " Cannibal" that seemed promising and almost too good to be true. The last thing I want to do is stifle enthusiam for innovation, but equally I've seen a couple of ideas in wastewater treatment "oversold" in the past few years and then die on the vine. If we can discuss it here, then I'm hoping to bring some of those thoughts to the journal article in a less provocative way! In our enthusiasm to advance innovation, are we in danger of just innovating for the sake of innovating? Are we pushing for bleeding edge and shifting from the S-curve to a hype curve? What do you think? I'm purposely putting this in a blog for open discussion so I can be accused of being a luddite or worse in the relatively quiet and safe setting of blogger (really, does anyone actually read my blogs?!). That's the main focus of LIFT and a noble one too. Getting the first installation of a technology or process idea is key in this. The discussion has mostly been focused on how can we accelerate technology adoption up the curve and/or help folks to jump across the "chasm of risk" between the pilot and full-scale. Some ideas are ready for implementation but some need the kinks working out still and yet others may be cool but really don't offer tangible benefits over established technologies.Īnother thought I want to bring to the discussion in this blog (hoping to make it a conversation!) is the " S-curve of technology implementation." This curve has been discussed widely of late amongst wastewater professionals and indeed I'll probably include it in my journal article. We want to be innovating but not just for the sake of innovation. We want to be using new ideas and pushing the envelope of improvement, but not just for the sake of doing new stuff. What is meant by that expression is reasonably self-event.
" we want to be leading edge, but not bleeding edge" (I wish I could remember who said it first so I can give them credit, but I've heard several of my colleagues use it since and I overuse it!). At that time one of my colleagues said something that has stuck with me ever since: A few years ago I was involved in evaluating, piloting and designing what was then a pretty innovative process called the "integrated fixed-film activated sludge" or IFAS. As I said, it is an exciting time to be a poop engineer, indeed!īut that's not the focus of this blog well not exactly. Finally there is Envision that enables us to evaluate the sustainability of these new ideas. Add to this initiatives like LIFT and Isle Utilities TAGs that are pushing these new ideas to the fore. It really is an exciting time to be a poop engineer as there are several potentially game-changing processes and technologies emerging on the scene: anammox, granular activated sludge, primary DAF, thermal hydrolysis, struvite recovery, to name but a few. Over the next few weeks I'll be working on an article focused on innovation in wastewater treatment.
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