How Grid's Platform Supports Event Monitoring

How Grid Enhances Event Monitoring for Smart Street Lighting Projects

Mridupawan Bharali
5 MIN READ
I
November 14, 2024

Smart street lighting has brought about significant changes in the urban infrastructure, in the form of improved efficiency, better safety and greater control over operations. Cities can now manage their illumination dynamically based on real-time conditions and demands, which ultimately results in reduced consumption and increased public safety. As a utility data management platform, Grid plays a critical role for utilities in smart street lighting event monitoring and optimizing the overall performance. 

Our no-code solution can be leveraged to gain insights into smart street lighting projects, such as tracking installation phases, monitoring communication statuses, and ensuring infra alerts are managed properly. With granular view into street light data, Grid helps utilities maintain an accurate overview of the infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted service to end-consumers. 

How Grid Helps Utilities with Event Monitoring 

With Grid, utilities can keep track of various aspects within the smart street lighting infrastructure. Operators can monitor the communication status between street lights and their central monitoring system, enabling the quick identification of potential issues. Below is a detailed explanation of how Grid facilitates event monitoring for utilities:

Communication status monitoring

Grid enables the seamless tracking of communication status and data exchange between street lights and central monitoring systems. With this capability, utilities can single out connectivity issues that may arise in the future. Users can segregate worksheet data into dual or group controllers. The platform also helps in identifying the number of controllers that are currently facing communication-related hurdles, which in turn enables proactive maintenance to prevent further escalation. 

Detailed issue reporting 

In case of communication errors, Grid provides users with a comprehensive worksheet highlighting the prevailing issues that may have caused it. The worksheet includes critical data such as:

Device ID: Unique identifier for each street light 

Device Type: Classification of the device (LED, Sensor)

Ward Details: Geographical information about where the device is located 

Pole Number: Identification number of the street light pole 

Landmark: Details about nearby landmarks for easy identification

Uplink Status: Present state of the device connection status to the central monitoring system

GPS: Location coordinates of the street light for precise tracking 

Automated alerts

Grid’s solution is designed to automatically generate alerts when potential issues are detected within the street lighting infrastructure. The alerts are recorded within the ‘device alerts’ worksheet, including essential information such as:

Device ID: Identifying the specific devices that are experiencing operational issues

Device Type: Indicating what type of device is affected

Ward Number: Specifying the location of the device 

Alert Type: Categorizing the nature of the problem (voltage issues, scheduling errors)

Device Status: Indicating whether the issue is still prevailing or resolved

Time of Alert Generation: Recording the time when the alert was raised

Field user allocation

Once an alert is generated, Grid’s solution can be used to allocate field technicians to address the issues quickly. The worksheet will have all the necessary data for the field technicians to resolve the issues efficiently, such as:

Device Type: Specifying whether it is a dual or a group controller 

Zone: Details about the location impacted by the issue

Alert Type: Detailing what kind of issue has been reported (power leakage, overload)

Allocated Technician Name: Identity details about the technician responsible for resolving the issue

Escalation Details: Information on how to escalate the issue if further action is required

This structured approach ensures that field technicians have all the necessary information at their fingertips, reducing downtime and improving response times. 

Complaint registration

Grid allows users to register complaint details (hardware and software) capturing data such as:

Complaint Number: Unique identifier for tracking the registration and resolution of the issue

Complaint Date: Details about the date of the complaint being registered 

Problem Type: Specifying whether the issue is hardware or software related 

Name of Road, Landmark and Zone: Providing context to where the issue is occurring 

Complainer Name: Capturing who reported the issue 

Image Support: Enabling users to attach images that help illustrate the issue 

Resolution documentation

Once the issue has been resolved, field technicians can document their findings in the form of a  ‘complaint resolution’ worksheet. This documentation can include details such as:

Cause of Failure: Explaining why the issue occurred

Failure Description: Detailed account of the problem and what might have went wrong 

Resolution Status: Indicating whether the issue has been resolved. Technicians can also attach image as proof

Resolution Date: Recording when the issue was fixed, along with any replacements that have been made 

This approach of thorough documentation not only helps in understanding past issues but also aids in preventing future occurrences by providing insights into recurring hurdles. 

Comprehensive Dashboarding and Reporting with Grid’s No-Code Solution for Smart Street Lighting

Grid’s platform offers utilities with a powerful toolset for managing their street light projects via dynamic reporting and dashboarding capabilities. Data and insights gained via these reporting features can significantly help improve efficiency and enhance the maintenance process.

Complaint resolution dashboard

This key capability of Grid’s solution enables utilities to track and manage multiple complaints effectively. Some of the features include:

Total Complaints Overview: Teams can view the total number of complaints received, helping them gauge the effectiveness of their street lighting systems and identifying areas that need improvement.  

Resolution Tracking: The dashboard can be segregated into complaints that have been fixed and those that are still pending. This helps utilities prioritize allocate resources more efficiently towards unresolved issues. 

Reasons for Failure: With Grid, users can have analytical insights into failure and their causes across controllers (group and dual). 

Total controller monitoring

With this feature, utilities can oversee the entire street lighting events in real-time. This includes:

Real-Time Adjustments: Utilities can adjust the lighting based on existing conditions, significantly optimizing energy consumption practices. For example, lights can be dimmed or brightened as per high or low traffic, helping conserve energy better and improving public safety. 

Fault Detection Capabilities: Grid’s platform generates alerts whenever a light malfunctions, minimizing downtime and ensuring prompt maintenance. 

End-to-End View: Our solution provides a comprehensive view of the entire controller monitoring status, with insights into-

  • Total number of devices online
  • Status of LED street lights
  • Metrics for daily energy consumption

Drill Down Data Approach: Utilities can drill down data for individual devices with detailed view into- 

  • Ward number 
  • Landmark 
  • Controller ID
  • Controller Type
  • Service Provider ID (SP ID)
  • Device Status 
  • Infrastructure Issues

Uplink status monitoring

Grid enables utilities to monitor the uplink (connectivity) status between individual street light devices and central monitoring systems. 

Operational Status Transmissions: Real-time information whether each light lamp is in an operating condition (on/off) and helps identify potential faults. 

Detailed Insights: The dashboard for uplink status also includes-

  • Total number of devices being monitored
  • Classification of all devices based on communication strength (non-communicating, weak, okay)
  • Total number of uplink counts which indicates the successful data transmissions from individual lights to central monitoring systems

Device alerts management

Our solution with no-code framework enhances operational efficiency for utilities via effective management of device alerts, which include;

RFC and DLCU Alerts: Utilities can now gain insights into RFC alerts, notifying their personnel about faults like burn-out lights or related operational anomalies. Similarly, DLCU alerts highlight the status of individual units/street lights, allowing for decentralized monitoring. 

Alert Tracking: Utilities get detailed access regarding-

  • Total number of alerts that have been generated 
  • Number of alerts resolved
  • Number of pending alerts
  • Alert status for both RFC and DLCU, along with further segregation by alert type

Individual Device Reporting: A separate report outlining alert statuses for each device, including-

  • Device ID
  • Zone Details
  • Alert Status
  • Alert Type 

With such comprehensive reporting, utilities can ensure swift-decision making and prioritizing their maintenance tasks. 

Zone-wise infra alert monitoring

Teams can now leverage Grid to configure dashboards for zone-wise visibility into infra alerts that are specified over a period of time (example: 30 days). 

Targeted Monitoring: Utilities can now identify localized issues in a more effective manner by shifting their focus towards specific zones rather than receiving generalized alerts. With this targeted intervention approach, utilities can prioritize areas or zones that require urgent attention based on data about alert type and frequency. 

Resource Allocation: With the above information, teams can deploy resources more efficiently by analyzing data alerts across zones. In this manner, utilities can shift their efforts and resources where they are most needed, and in turn, improve service reliability and consistency.  

Our platform’s reporting capabilities ensure that utilities are always equipped with the right data at their fingertips for comprehensive management of their smart street lighting systems. With the long list of features explored in this section, Grid empowers utilities to optimize their street light projects, improve their response times and enhance public safety. 

Conclusion

For utilities undertaking smart street lighting projects, it is critical for them to be able to quickly respond to the needs of their consumers. This can be achieved only by being vigilant via gaining detailed insights into their street lighting systems, and streamlining event monitoring to manage alerts more efficiently. With Grid, managing the vast amount of data across zones and districts becomes seamless, with information being further drilled down to provide device-specific data. Contact us today or talk to one of our experts to get more information about how Grid is a solution of choice for industry leaders to unlock the full potential of smart street lighting projects. 

Mridupawan Bharali

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