A specialist Scottish Water frontline team has been named the best in the country at the Scottish Contact Centre Awards. The Remote Diagnosis - Triage team received the Frontline Team of the Year accolade, marking their significant contribution to maintaining essential services and supporting customers across Scotland.

The award highlights the success of an innovative approach developed during the Covid-19 pandemic. To maintain service standards while ensuring the safety of staff, Scottish Water introduced a digital-first strategy that allows teams to diagnose issues in real time. By using tools such as WhatsApp video calls, the team can assess problems immediately, often resolving them without the need for a physical site visit.

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During 2025, the team triaged more than 15,000 customer jobs. Over 6,000 of these cases were resolved remotely, which delivered £400,000 in savings and prevented approximately 60,000kg of CO₂ emissions by reducing vehicle journeys. Efficiency is a hallmark of the service, with roughly 12 per cent of reported issues being resolved within three hours of the initial contact.

The team, which includes experts with backgrounds in Sewer Response and Field operations, handles a diverse range of reports, from water quality concerns to blocked drains. By consulting with specialists across the wider business, they determine whether a situation requires an on-site technician or can be managed through remote guidance.

Initially launched as a formal trial in September 2021, the Remote Diagnosis - Triage team has become a permanent and vital component of the customer journey.

This latest success follows previous internal accolades at Scottish Water's 2024 Flourish Awards, where the team won the Great Value and Financial Sustainability category following a vote by their colleagues. The Scottish Contact Centre Awards are designed to celebrate excellence and outstanding performance across the sector.