Why does a site visit change a water consultant’s recommendations? Isle senior consultants explain how being on site turns theory into workable solutions.
Interview: The Investigative Side of Water Consulting
Water consulting is a technical exercise on the surface. It’s built on data, models and desk based analysis. But there is also an investigative element to the work: our consultants have to piece together information from different sources to understand how a system and a site operate in practice.
Some of the most important pieces are hard to find in a site diagram or flow chart. They surface on the ground, through conversations with operators and engineers, and come together during a site visit. Where a visit is part of the scope, this is where the desktop analysis is validated and enriched by operational reality.
We caught up with Isle senior consultants Antonia Frisia e César Arnau to talk about the investigative side of understanding our clients’ water issues. In our interview, they explain how validating assumptions in person turns theoretical insight and solutions that can be implemented.
Why On-Site Engagement Matters
Ilha: Thanks for joining us today Antonia and César; let’s jump straight in. We know most consultancies conduct most of their assessment remotely, so why is being physically present so important?
Antonia: Data gets you a long way, and on plenty of projects it is enough on its own. But when the site is complex, or the documentation doesn’t fully reflect how the system operates today, being there fills in what a spreadsheet can’t show you.
César: On paper everything can look quite clear. You get documents, data, worksheet files, and it all seems to make sense. Once you’re on site and start walking the plant, you often see how the system has evolved beyond what is captured in drawings, datasets or process descriptions. Plants change over time, and operators develop practical ways of managing them that may never make it into formal documentation. That operational context is difficult to capture in a spreadsheet.
Antonia: Operators know their plant better than anyone and bring the day-to-day operational knowledge that isn’t always captured in the data. Our role is to combine that knowledge with the wider process data and our technical perspective to identify opportunities for improvement.
César: Exactly. And it isn’t that we have a magic wand, or that we know the plant better than the people running it. We have the time to look closely. You might uncover an operational constraint, an intermittent stream or a change in how part of the process is actually run that isn’t visible in the historical data or documentation. Those details can materially change which solutions are realistic. . All these ‘invisible’ details make the difference between a theoretically sound recommendation and one that works in practice.
Respect for Client Time
Ilha: Clients are busy, sites are busy. How do you make sure your visit isn’t disruptive?
Antonia: As with anything, preparation is key. We’ve already studied the flows before our visit, reviewed the layouts and highlighted the possible failure points. The goal is to avoid long introductory walkthroughs and use on-site time to focus on what matters.
César: Site time is expensive. We try to resolve as much as possible before arriving on site, so that the limited time we have with the client can be focused on questions that genuinely require observation or operational input. That allows us to use the visit to validate assumptions and explore the issues that matter most.
Accuracy & Implementability
Ilha: How does being on site change the recommendations you give?
César: A site visit sharpens them. A great deal of good work can be done remotely, and often is, but seeing the plant tells you whether a design can be built and run there. We need to see where and how a new system can fit. Is there space? Are the power connections nearby? Is the ground uneven? Is maintenance access realistic? Then the harder questions: can a system of this complexity realistically be operated on this site? Is there a budget to build it and to run it? Are there health and safety implications we need to design around?
Antonia: We also look at the human factors. We consider the operating model and the level of technical support available on site. A highly automated solution may be appropriate in one location but unnecessarily complex in another. The technology has to fit the people, maintenance capabilities and resources available to operate it successfully. Not because the technology is bad, but just because it doesn’t fit within the context.
César: By validating the physical constraints on site, we can give the client and their contractors a much more realistic basis for the next stage of design and implementation.
Antonia: This becomes most important depending on where a site is in the world. A solution that works well in one market may not be appropriate in another. Local supply chains, maintenance support, infrastructure, operating practices, regulation and access to specialist expertise can all affect what is practical.. That’s why Isle works globally but designs locally. We deploy consultants in the right time zones and take the time to understand regional constraints. Then we propose solutions that fit what is actually available and workable on site.
Ilha: How do you create a picture of your findings while you’re on site? Do you have a process?
César: We document the site systematically. That includes photographs, notes and checks against existing process diagrams, so we can capture equipment condition, layout constraints and any changes that have been made since the documentation was produced. We also verify flows and operating conditions with the site team. This means our recommendations are grounded in the actual conditions on site and provide a practical basis for implementation.
Antonia: For quick wins, the client may be able to act directly. For larger interventions, our recommendations provide a clear basis for the next stage of engineering, procurement or engagement with technology suppliers.
Isle’s Practical USP
Ilha: What would you say Isle does differently in this space, in comparison to other consultancies?
César: Independence is the biggest thing. Isle isn’t tied to any technology provider and we pride ourselves on being technology agnostic. Because Isle is independent of technology providers, we can assess different options objectively rather than starting from a predetermined technology or product.
Antonia: We’re selling our expertise rather than equipment, which allows us to recommend the approach that best fits the client’s needs, even when the best solution is surprisingly simple. The biggest savings often come from quick wins in the operation and maintenance of the systems a client already has.
César: And the way we work is deeply practical. We listen and observe, and test our assumptions against what is happening on site. The solutions we propose need to fit the operating environment, the available resources, the site footprint and the budget. That is what keeps our recommendations grounded in the real world.
Last words
The value of a site visit comes from knowing what to look for, what to ask, and how to connect those observations back to the technical analysis. A conversation with an operator may reveal an important operating constraint, while an observation on the plant floor may challenge an assumption made during desktop analysis. Those conversations work best as an exchange: operators bring detailed knowledge of how the plant behaves day to day, while we bring an external perspective and experience from other sites and technologies.
What comes out of it is the clarity of seeing a plant as it actually runs, rather than a collection of assumptions on paper. It’s also the acknowledgement that the strongest solutions are not designed from a distance. They’re shaped through conversation and observation and a solid understanding of how systems work day to day.
Isle’s approach reflects that belief. We do our homework, we respect our clients’ time, and validate everything. We also rely on the knowledge and experience of the people running these systems; without it, we couldn’t do much at all. And above all, we design solutions that work for our clients: real people in the real world.