IBM Case Studies Living Roads: IoT paves the way to cost-effective fleet management, safer roads, and reduced traffic congestion

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	Living Roads: IoT paves the way to cost-effective fleet management, safer roads, and reduced traffic congestion IBM

Living Roads: IoT paves the way to cost-effective fleet management, safer roads, and reduced traffic congestion

IBM

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics Networks & Connectivity - Cellular Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms
Applicable Industries	Cities & Municipalities Transportation
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Maintenance
Use Cases	Fleet Management Remote Asset Management Traffic Monitoring
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services Data Science Services System Integration
Challenge	Nairobi, one of the world's fastest-growing cities, was struggling with managing its fleet of garbage trucks due to poor road conditions and traffic. The city had recently invested over USD3 million in new waste collection vehicles, but the expected improvements in waste management efficiency were not being realized. The city needed a cost-effective method of capturing data about road and traffic conditions that would not require the investment and maintenance costs of a traditional solution. Read More
About Customer	Nairobi City County is the governing body for one of the world's fastest-growing cities, Nairobi. The city is facing increasing pressure on its systems and infrastructure due to its rapid growth. It is estimated that Nairobi loses up to USD1 million every day due to the impact of congestion on lost productivity, fuel consumption, traffic accidents, air quality, and many other issues. The city recently invested over USD3 million in new waste collection vehicles to improve its waste management processes. However, due to difficult road conditions and traffic, the new trucks were struggling to deliver the improvements in waste management efficiency that the city had expected. Read More
Solution	IBM Research – Africa's mobility team installed adapted smartphones in a number of the city’s waste collection trucks. As the trucks drive around the city, the phones’ sensors stream data about each vehicle’s location, speed, acceleration and vibration levels to an IBM analytics solution in the cloud. The data is collected by a custom-developed app known as IBM® StreetSense. IBM Internet of Things Foundation provides the interface between the smartphones and IBM InfoSphere® Streams, which enables real-time analytics of where the vehicles are and why they are stopping. The data is stored in an IBM Cloudant® database, and IBM Bluemix™ is used to deliver the results of the analysis to users in the county administration. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Networks & Connectivity - Cellular

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms

Applicable Industries

Cities & Municipalities

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Maintenance

Use Cases

Fleet Management

Remote Asset Management

Traffic Monitoring

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Data Science Services

System Integration

Challenge

Nairobi, one of the world's fastest-growing cities, was struggling with managing its fleet of garbage trucks due to poor road conditions and traffic. The city had recently invested over USD3 million in new waste collection vehicles, but the expected improvements in waste management efficiency were not being realized. The city needed a cost-effective method of capturing data about road and traffic conditions that would not require the investment and maintenance costs of a traditional solution.

About Customer

Nairobi City County is the governing body for one of the world's fastest-growing cities, Nairobi. The city is facing increasing pressure on its systems and infrastructure due to its rapid growth. It is estimated that Nairobi loses up to USD1 million every day due to the impact of congestion on lost productivity, fuel consumption, traffic accidents, air quality, and many other issues. The city recently invested over USD3 million in new waste collection vehicles to improve its waste management processes. However, due to difficult road conditions and traffic, the new trucks were struggling to deliver the improvements in waste management efficiency that the city had expected.

Solution

IBM Research – Africa's mobility team installed adapted smartphones in a number of the city’s waste collection trucks. As the trucks drive around the city, the phones’ sensors stream data about each vehicle’s location, speed, acceleration and vibration levels to an IBM analytics solution in the cloud. The data is collected by a custom-developed app known as IBM® StreetSense. IBM Internet of Things Foundation provides the interface between the smartphones and IBM InfoSphere® Streams, which enables real-time analytics of where the vehicles are and why they are stopping. The data is stored in an IBM Cloudant® database, and IBM Bluemix™ is used to deliver the results of the analysis to users in the county administration.

Impact #1	The solution has enabled Nairobi City County to manage its fleet of vehicles more efficiently, revealing inefficiencies in waste management processes.
Impact #2	The data collected has helped ease traffic congestion, keeping Nairobi’s citizens and businesses on the move.
Impact #3	The solution has improved road safety by detecting hazards and improving road maintenance planning.

Impact #1

The solution has enabled Nairobi City County to manage its fleet of vehicles more efficiently, revealing inefficiencies in waste management processes.

Impact #2

The data collected has helped ease traffic congestion, keeping Nairobi’s citizens and businesses on the move.

Impact #3

The solution has improved road safety by detecting hazards and improving road maintenance planning.

Benefit #1	The solution has identified a bottleneck in the waste disposal process, where garbage trucks were spending between two and four hours per day at the dump.
Benefit #2	In one sub-county alone, the map has highlighted 750 potholes, which had been causing damage and delays to garbage trucks and other traffic.

Benefit #1

The solution has identified a bottleneck in the waste disposal process, where garbage trucks were spending between two and four hours per day at the dump.

Benefit #2

In one sub-county alone, the map has highlighted 750 potholes, which had been causing damage and delays to garbage trucks and other traffic.

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Overview

Living Roads: IoT paves the way to cost-effective fleet management, safer roads, and reduced traffic congestion

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit