Where a smart city project starts in a small locality

In a commune or a small town, the question is not “what is most modern”, it is “what do we start with so that it shows, and so that we can argue for the next step”.

Order matters more than the choice of equipment. A well-chosen first stage produces data; data produces arguments; arguments make the second stage possible.

The two categories of investment

Anything you can buy for a town falls into one of them:

• Those that reduce work or consumption — lighting that runs at reduced power when nobody is around, collection driven by fill level rather than timetable. They produce their own figures, comparable with the situation before.
• Those residents can feel — decent bus shelters, benches with charging, a car park that tells you where a space is. Visible immediately, but they produce no figures.

Both are legitimate. But if you start with the second category, at the next discussion you will have nothing to argue with — only impressions.

Stage zero: measure for a month

Before any purchase, record for a month:

1. Energy consumption for public lighting, by section where possible.
2. Kilometres driven for waste collection and the number of pickups.
3. The number of complaints about these services and how long they take to resolve.
4. The administrative hours spent on them.

It is the cheapest stage and the most frequently skipped. Without it, a year from now you will be able to demonstrate nothing — you will have new equipment and a feeling that things are better.

Stage 1: what produces data

Lighting and collection are almost always the starting point, for two practical reasons.

Solar lighting with sensors needs no trenching for power and does not depend on the grid — a real advantage on side roads, pavements, parks and anywhere extending the grid would be the hardest part of the job. It runs at reduced power for most of the night and rises when somebody passes.

Collection with fill-level sensors changes the route: the lorry goes where it is needed. The effect shows up in kilometres and in hours, both measurable.

Stage 2: what shows

Once the first stage is running and has figures behind it, come the investments residents feel daily. Now you can back them with the results of stage one, not just with intentions.

Three mistakes that keep repeating

Buying from different suppliers that do not talk to each other

You end up with four applications and four passwords. The question to ask at every purchase: can this integrate with what I already have?

Nobody is responsible for maintenance

A sensor with a flat battery sends wrong data. Decide from the start who checks, and how often.

Starting with what is most visible

It is tempting, because it shows immediately. But a year later, when continuation is discussed, visible things produce no argument.

What we ask for before proposing anything

The size and structure of the locality, what weighs on you most, and the stage-zero figures if they exist. Without them, any proposal would be a catalogue, not a solution.

The equipment and the 3D configurator are at oras-smart.ro. Write to us with your actual situation and we will tell you where we would start.

← Back to the blog