Yarra Valley Water is the largest of Melbourne’s three water corporations, providing water and sewerage services to 1.8 million people and 50,000 businesses in the city’s northern and eastern suburbs. The company owns and maintains more than 9,000 kilometres of water mains and over 9,000 kilometres of sewer mains. In addition to supplying established communities and commercial entities, it also services new suburbs and business parks. To ensure the operational integrity of its infrastructure, Yarra Valley Water retains a dynamic and highly professional field maintenance team, committed to delivering exceptional customer service.

The company was keen to optimise the customer experience in relation to claims and billing-disputes. These investigations were often costly and time-consuming, requiring site assessments and evaluation. Through the use of new technology, Yarra Valley Water hoped to gain greater insight into customer issues to enhance decision-making, resolve disputes faster and increase customer satisfaction.

Yarra Valley Water deployed nearmap for its field maintenance division and settled disputes faster and more efficiently. It minimised revenue lost through compensation payouts and greatly improved customer satisfaction. The company also eliminated a range of travel and inspection costs, enhanced maintenance and planning operations, and cut site visits by 20% by using nearmap to provide clear and detailed visibility into its on-the-ground assets.

Furthermore, by using nearmap’s Timeline, a comprehensive archive of aerial surveys, to enable “before and after” comparisons, Yarra Valley Water was better equipped to monitor and maintain its extensive infrastructure, and respond quickly and personally to customer concerns, deepening customer engagement.