Winter road maintenance is one of the key activities of every road manager from autumn to spring. The aim is to keep the road safe and passable for drivers and other road users. Therefore, the departure of the winter maintenance vehicle should be the result of careful planning and organization of the work of the control room. Such an approach can lead to significant savings as well as benefit the environment. Salting before snowfall, for example, can save up to two-thirds of the salt. However, authorities need reliable forecasts and information on road temperatures.
Therefore, SOFTEC has designed and developed a new series of IoT weather stations with low acquisition and operating costs for winter road maintenance, which can be densely distributed on the road network. The stations are designed for easy installation. They are thoroughly energy-optimized and capable of operating with a small solar panel or purely on batteries for several years. You only need to place them on any street lighting pole or road sign pole in a matter of minutes.
"Becoming the holder of the most innovative project in Slovakia is a great success for us. However, it is also a commitment that we will continue to participate in projects that have an impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. I believe that many new employees will come to us for this very reason – so that they can work on projects that change society and affect the daily life of the country." explains Peter Morávek, Executive Director of SOFTEC.
Before deploying such a solution, road traffic controllers could only rely on general weather forecasts for the entire city. With IoT weather stations, they can perform more localized, targeted sprinkling, unlike citywide salting operations. Slovakia has a very diverse meteorological environment, it is sometimes warm and sunny in the city, but on the mountain pass, where there is a traditional weather station, it snows heavily. The new IoT stations serve as an "extended eye" that offers instant monitoring of the area, reducing the need for physical trips to different locations.
After deploying the solution, the number of road accidents decreased by 28%. The data also helped social workers better prepare to help the homeless during cold spells, allowing them to act as soon as news of the first frosts arrived.
The Group's solutions and services are currently used by clients in ten countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The most important are the VIG, Raiffeisen, Generali, KBC or Orange groups.
For more information about ROWES, visit: https://rowes.digital/
