GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Location-Based Analytics Deliver Benefits in D.C.

Salvatore Salamone | Date: 03-07-11 | Comments

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority is improving operations by integrating advanced analytics with asset management software and a mapping application.

Many of the articles on this site look at early-stage research or pilot projects. Wouldn't it be nice to see how some pan out?

Take the article from last August about the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) teaming with IBM Research in a First-of-a-Kind Smart City project.

At that time, the agency was maintaining a system that dated back to the 1880s and tracked many assets using paper records. Whenever there was a need to check on the state of a specific asset (a water main, a fire hydrant, etc.), engineers would have to dig through paper files to find its status.

Through the work with IBM, the team integrated advanced analytics with asset management software and a mapping application from Esri. In that way, DC WASA staff could see a detailed map showing the location and condition of each asset at any given point in time.

With the project now in its second year, the city can define specific benefits it expects to reap from this effort.

First, the ability to track and analyze the motion of field service trucks is allowing the city to automatically route the trucks to optimize work management. DC WASA expects productivity gains of 20 percent or more by virtue of being able to complete work orders faster. Additionally, DC WASA expects to cut fuel costs by 20 percent.

Second, DC WASA will be able to identify assets most critically in need of repair using predictive analytics. This means aging infrastructure replacement programs can be more accurately scheduled, preventing costly incidents that reduce service quality, such as outages and water main breaks.

And the agency expects to prevent revenue loss from defective or degrading water meters. This will be accomplished by analyzing information from the smart metering infrastructure to more quickly identify and replace those meters.

These results were reported last week at the IBM Pulse conference. Also at the conference, IBM announced new contracts with four major cities. Such projects are part of a broader program where cities are leveraging the power of location to bring efficiency to their operations and to improve services. To accomplish this, embedded sensors in everything from streets, buildings, pipes and underground infrastructures produce rich sets of location-based, real-time information.
Look for coverage of these new projects in a future Smarter Technology article.