Samotics has signed a six-year agreement with Southern Water to deploy its SAM4 smart condition monitoring system across sites in the utility’s wastewater and clean water networks.
The £7 million framework contract follows a year-long trial that demonstrated SAM4’s effectiveness in predicting equipment failures using electrical signature analysis (ESA). During the trial, the system identified 63 developing faults on submersible sewage pumps and other key assets, including blockages, air locks and mechanical issues. Southern Water estimates the early detection helped avoid around £5 million in potential equipment damage and penalties.
To date, Samotics’ monitoring technology is installed on 1,458 critical assets across approximately 600 Southern Water locations, with further installations planned for 2026.
John Penicud, Managing Director for Wastewater at Southern Water, said:
“Unplanned failures of critical equipment can lead to a negative impact on our customers and the environment, and result in increased operational costs. Identifying issues early is critical to successful proactive maintenance.”
The SAM4 data acquisition device collects electrical data from critical assets to detect developing faults.
Tom Swain, Head of UK & Ireland at Samotics, said:
“We’re absolutely delighted to enter this long-term partnership with Southern Water, who continue to lead the industry in using advanced technologies to monitor equipment and prevent asset failure. This builds on our presence in the UK water sector and our strong track record in driving operational and maintenance efficiencies.
This strategic initiative represents a major step forward in modernising water infrastructure. It captures insights, drives efficiency, improves asset performance and resilience, and supports environmental sustainability.”
SAM4 uses ESA to analyse current and voltage signals in real time and applies artificial intelligence to classify deviations as specific fault types. This enables issues such as misalignment, bearing wear and pump blockages to be identified early, including on remote or hard-to-access assets.
The SAM4 dashboard allows Southern Water staff to view alerts remotely, maintain automatic records of asset performance and prioritise maintenance activities. With human-in-the-loop validation, the system delivers 97% accuracy with fewer than 1% false positives, according to Samotics.
