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Water management 4.0: how does IoT meet the challenges of ecological transition?
Pursuing the objective of verifying the proper distribution of water, Guillaume Casella, Director of the ASA, wished to review the way in which water levels are measured, taking advantage of the benefits brought by the new technologies available. After several researches, IoT technologies quickly appeared as the answer to the issues of economic constraint and technical needs. It therefore called on Synox, an integrator and publisher of interoperable and ready-to-use IoT solutions, to support it throughout this project.
The context
The ASA, Association Syndicale Autorisée Compagnie de Craponne, is a public institution in operation since 2016 with the mission of managing the gravity or pressure works retroceded by the Œuvre Générale de Craponne (works dating from the 16th century), the water police as well as the execution of new or renovation works.
Its main objective is to re-establish a transparent water policy and to ensure good management of consumption. Indeed, Guillaume Casella has noted that there is a delay in the field compared to other communities where everything is still done manually, without technological support. Canal guards must travel to the field to perform the required flow controls. During their visits, they may notice water flights, but without being able to identify them more precisely. “While it takes time to invest in familiarizing our community with how IoT works, the benefits of automation to manage water levels speak for themselves.”
The solution
“We made a first attempt, but the solution proved to be too expensive and not communicating. So we turned to Synox on the recommendation of Objenious, a subsidiary of Bouygues Telecom.” The search for available technologies in this field therefore led Guillaume Casella to meet Synox, whose geographical proximity to ASA’s headquarters facilitated the exchanges.
Identity card
Activity: Civil engineering
Creation date:
- 1554 : beginning of the General Work of Craponne with the authorization to take water from the Durance
- 2016 : the ASA is created
Location: Salon de Provence (13)
Scope
- Equipment of 13 sensors
- Geographical area: the Durance
Goals
- Ensuring transparent water policing
- Anticipate interventions to prevent breakdowns and emergency requests
- Automate the measurement of water levels
Results
- Re-establishment of the water police in 2 months
- Reduction of water theft
- Provision of real-time data and information on the status of the flow with early warning of the risk of failure
The ease of use of the platforms and the ability to manage all types of sensors and connectivity are key advantages to serve the project. The SoM2M#IoT platform was therefore set up to manage objects and connectivity, and SoDATA#Viz, to display data in the form of dashboards with customizable alerts. Platforms that have been able to make the difference by their intuitive nature and simplified data visualization.
Internally, the SoM2M#IoT platform is used for the provisioning and monitoring of the sensors, the Elsys ELT-2 Maxbotix. As soon as the latter show a low battery, the teams are informed to intervene and replace them to avoid a service cut. In the near future, the idea is to implement the mobile application to facilitate the work of the teams.
We wanted to give ourselves the means to guarantee an efficient and transparent water policy by ensuring good management of its consumption. The IoT quickly appeared as the answer to this need. It was Synox’s collaborative and multidisciplinary approach that convinced me. The ability to listen to the teams and the proximity to the company allowed us to successfully move this project forward.
Guillaume CASELLA, Director
The visualization platform provides customizable dashboards to monitor various indicators such as pressure, flow, temperature or quality, and to create customized alerts when thresholds are exceeded. It is now possible for Guillaume Casella to remotely check the level of the watercourses, to control the flows and to be warned in real time of the state of the devices. When an alert is generated, the technicians know to intervene to check the equipment, repair the malfunction, or check the ASA member if the puncture is too large.
The results
Thanks to the limited cost of the sensor and the ease of implementation of Synox’s IoT platforms, the Craponne ASA hopes to deploy about 20 sensors in the future instead of the 13 initially planned. Several problems have already been resolved, including those related to water theft. Guillaume Casella points out that “the rapid return on investment has been beyond initial expectations.” The deployed solution allows Guillaume Casella to look ahead and he is already looking at a new project: the automation of the hammer gates that allow the distribution of irrigation water. The IoT has thus enabled the community to modernize and add an innovative service with high added value with the optimization of water management to serve the ecological transition.
Synox has helped us regain a good water policy in just two months. We were able to identify water theft and solve no less than four problems. We are delighted because we will be able to grow faster than expected and are already looking at a new project with Synox: moving towards more automation.
Guillaume CASELLA, Director
Water management in video
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As a publisher and integrator of IoT platforms, Synox supports companies and communities wishing to implement their IoT projects easily and securely, regardless of the objects and technology used.
The ASA Compagnie de Craponne is composed of private individuals, legal entities and public law entities. As a public actor, it acts on the scale of a territorial community.