Unlocking the Future of Reservoir and Infrastructure Valve Management
In today’s climate of intense regulatory scrutiny, ageing assets, and growing environmental responsibilities, infrastructure leaders can no longer afford to make decisions based purely on capital cost or legacy processes. Whether you’re a Reservoir Panel Engineer, Asset Manager, Digital Transformation Lead, or a certified Valvologist®, the question is the same: how do we get more performance, certainty, and longevity from critical valve assets?
Valvemetrix®, Blackhall Engineering’s AI-driven condition-based monitoring system, offers an answer rooted in practicality and proven in the field. Unlike generic IoT platforms, Valvemetrix® is engineered specifically for valves – built on over a century of Blackhall’s deep domain expertise in high-integrity flow control systems.
Smart Valve Technology Built for the Real World
Valvemetrix® turns static infrastructure into dynamic, responsive assets. By retrofitting a discreet, rugged smart node to any valve type – butterfly, wedge gate, globe, or otherwise – the system begins recording over 150 unique data streams. These include pressure differentials, vibration, acoustic patterns, air and water quality, temperature gradients, and structural resonance anomalies.
Over a short baseline calibration period, Valvemetrix® “learns” the healthy operating state of each valve. From there, deviations of just 10% from the baseline trigger alerts, enabling early intervention before minor issues become major failures.
Whether you’re running assets submerged in a 50-year-old reservoir chamber or scattered across a national pipeline grid, Valvemetrix® delivers precise, retrofit-ready insights that traditional SCADA systems simply can’t capture.
Case Study: Skipton Reservoir – Catching a Hidden Anomaly Before It Escalated
In North Yorkshire, a Skipton-area reservoir began to experience worrying vibration patterns in one of its primary isolation valves. Traditional sensors failed to isolate the cause. Blackhall deployed Valvemetrix® as a diagnostic overlay. Within weeks, data indicated subtle, rhythmic vibration spikes coinciding with local maintenance traffic. Analysis from our Valvologists® revealed the real culprit: vehicle-induced microtremors causing gradual bolt loosening within the valve flange assembly.
Left unchecked, this would have led to water ingress, operational inefficiency, and possibly a regulatory breach. Instead, the site’s engineers received a real-time alert and full diagnostic report. The anomaly was addressed with no unplanned downtime, preserving both asset integrity and budget.
This success demonstrates what Valvemetrix® uniquely delivers: actionable intelligence derived from precise, valve-specific data, interpreted by human experts who understand how valves behave under duress.
More Than Monitoring: An Ecosystem for Valve Resilience
Valvemetrix® doesn’t work in isolation. It’s part of a comprehensive ecosystem that aligns with PR24, asset resilience goals, and net-zero strategy:
- VAMP® – Blackhall’s Valve Asset Management Programme integrates Valvemetrix® data with inspection schedules, TOTEX analysis, and regulatory reporting tools.
- RenoV8® – Our award-winning refurbishment initiative compares the carbon footprint of new imports vs. locally reconditioned valves, often showing up to 75% lower CO₂ impact.
- The 100-Year Valve™ – Proven designs manufactured to outlast four AMP cycles. When combined with Valvemetrix®, maintenance shifts from reactive to truly predictive.
Every node installed, every data point captured, brings operators closer to a resilient, low-carbon, digitally enabled valve network.
Built for SCADA, Designed for Engineers
One of Valvemetrix’s strongest features is its seamless SCADA integration. It doesn’t disrupt your current systems — it complements them. Using secure wireless mesh networks, data is fed live into your existing dashboards or securely hosted in a Blackhall-provided cloud interface.
But data alone is not enough. What sets Valvemetrix® apart is interpretation. Our Valvologists® – engineers with a lifetime of hands-on experience – review anomalies and generate structured reports that translate raw signals into meaningful recommendations. If cavitation risk is detected, you’ll know within minutes. If wear patterns suggest stem seizing, you’ll get the forecast before flow becomes impaired.
It’s smart valve technology with real-world relevance – not another data overload platform.
PR24, Net Zero, and the Digital Mandate
The water and infrastructure sectors are under immense pressure to adapt. OFWAT’s PR24 puts digital transformation, customer outcomes, and climate resilience at the centre of investment strategy. Procurement Engineers, Operations Leads, and Utility Directors must now demonstrate not just cost control, but future-readiness.
Valvemetrix® directly supports these mandates:
- Digital transformation in water infrastructure: Valvemetrix® enables a real-time, cloud-connected view of valve health across your estate.
- Sustainability and net zero: Extend valve life, avoid unnecessary replacements, and reduce embodied emissions through smart monitoring and refurbishment.
- Resilience planning: Catch issues before they interrupt supply or breach safety thresholds, safeguarding both public trust and compliance.
With capital budgets under strain and performance incentives tied to outcomes, Valvemetrix® becomes not just viable — but essential.
From the Field: What Engineers Are Saying About Valvemetrix®
When it comes to critical infrastructure, validation from operational professionals matters far more than marketing. Across multiple trial deployments, including Skipton, feedback from field engineers has been clear: Valvemetrix® changes the way we think about valves.
One Supervising Engineer at the Skipton site remarked: “It’s like having an experienced technician permanently on the valve. We were able to pick up a vibration anomaly that would never have shown up on standard instrumentation. That kind of insight changes the risk profile entirely.”
Valve Operators and Reservoir Panel Engineers also noted the simplicity of installation. With zero need to isolate or drain assets, Valvemetrix® can be installed in hours – not days. This non-invasive retrofit capability means minimal disruption to operations while unlocking maximum visibility across buried or submerged valves.
Retrofit Valve Monitoring That Pays for Itself
Return on investment (ROI) is not a marketing abstraction. Blackhall’s modelling and field experience have shown that a single major failure avoided – whether due to cavitation, corrosion, misalignment, or material fatigue – typically offsets the entire cost of deploying Valvemetrix® across a site.
In environments where valve failure can cost six figures in repairs, reputational damage, and regulatory penalties, even one timely alert delivers massive value. This is particularly critical for:
- Maintenance Managers seeking to optimise inspection intervals based on condition, not calendar dates.
- Compliance Officers looking to improve auditability with traceable digital reports.
- Infrastructure Planners tasked with extending asset life and aligning with sustainability goals.
As such, Valvemetrix® isn’t a cost. It’s a strategic hedge against operational uncertainty, environmental risk, and escalating repair budgets.
Valves with Intelligence: A Strategic Advantage
In a sector where most monitoring tools are built around pipes, pumps, or pressure vessels, Valvemetrix® is refreshingly valve-centric. It reflects Blackhall’s singular focus on flow control devices – and the insight of our Valvologists® who live and breathe valve behaviour in real-world conditions.
Our engineering culture, shaped by projects from the Elan Valley to New York City, is rooted in pragmatism, performance, and professionalism. This manifests in every Valvemetrix® deployment. From the 100-Year Valve™ designed for buried installations in Texas, to the innovative predictive maintenance regimes developed through our Valvemetrix® interface, our commitment is clear: Smart valves, designed for generations.
Human Insight + Digital Intelligence = Operational Certainty
There’s a common misconception in infrastructure circles that AI means replacing human judgement. At Blackhall, we believe the opposite: technology should amplify human expertise, not replace it. That’s why every Valvemetrix® alert is triaged by our engineers before it reaches your inbox.
It’s not just about spotting change. It’s about understanding what that change means. When SCADA data shows a pressure dip, is it a sensor fault or a symptom of upstream valve degradation? With Valvemetrix® and a Valvologist® on the case, you’ll know the difference—and act accordingly.
Industry-First: Full Lifecycle Valve Intelligence
Few solutions offer end-to-end lifecycle visibility. Valvemetrix® does. From installation and commissioning through decades of service life, the system provides a digital thread of valve health data. This allows utility planners and digital leads to forecast future CAPEX needs with unprecedented precision.
Blackhall is now collaborating with several UK utilities to integrate Valvemetrix® with digital twin models. This unlocks scenario planning, remote diagnostics, and even AI-generated “what if” simulations tied to environmental factors, flow rates, and maintenance history.
This positions Valvemetrix® at the very forefront of digital transformation in water infrastructure—with capabilities that go well beyond what competitors in the valve or IoT space currently offer.
We engineer infrastructure-grade solutions that match the gravity of the challenges facing today’s utilities. In Valvemetrix®, we’ve created a tool that combines retrofit simplicity, deep analytical power, and human-driven insight.
Whether you’re managing a 200-year-old spillway valve or designing the next generation of pumped hydro storage, Valvemetrix® gives you clarity, control, and confidence.
Ready to get started? Contact our team of Valvologists® today to schedule a demo or arrange a site survey. Let us show you what intelligent valve diagnostics can do for your network.
OR Email us at enquiry@blackhall.co.uk or call +44 (0)1484 407080.
Explore further:
Valvemetrix Condition-Based Valve Monitoring
Valvemetrix Skipton Case Study
Watch the Skipton Deployment Video
