The Solution

Smart routing for winter services

Mobility

Provision

Security

Smart routing and digitalization of winter services

To make the best use of smart routing solutions for winter services, routes should be planned on the basis of various data. A digital image of all roads and traffic areas subject to the municipality's traffic obligation can be created in a geo-information system. Sensors on the roads, floating car data and local weather stations provide information about the current weather conditions in the respective area. In this context, warnings should be passed on to relevant bodies if specified limits are exceeded or not reached. In this way, routes can be laid out according to demand and the availability of responders can also be planned effectively. The planned routes should be available to the responders via an app, which also notifies them in the event of an acute need or if there is no need for clearance.

Sustainability check: How does smart routing for winter services help?

Savings in emissions and (fuel) costs, as driving is only carried out when required, control runs are no longer necessary and route planning can thus be optimized.
More efficient use of gritting materials: Costs can also be avoided by preventing material bottlenecks in time.
Automated warning messages contribute to efficient clearing and thus to a reduction in the risk of accidents and traffic jams.
An app makes employees' work easier, as they are automatically shown optimized routes and can also take over services from others.
Time savings in documentation requirements when trips and material consumption are automatically documented by sensors on the clearing vehicles.
Automatic documentation also helps in the event of an insurance claim or against unjustified complaints.

Requirements: What is needed for smart routing for winter services?

Geographic information system (GIS) with digital image of the region
Data on weather conditions from weather stations, as well as sensors on the road
If desired, supplementary data from floating car data
Software for calculating routes
App/user interface for employees of the winter road clearance services
If desired, sensors on the snowplow vehicles to track routes and material consumption
If desired, sensors on the salt storage tanks to digitally monitor the fill levels

Our rating:

A comprehensive smart routing system that automatically plans the most efficient routes based on the data on the condition of the roads and compares these with the routes and material consumption actually driven increases the efficiency and effectiveness of winter services enormously. The implementation of such a system is accompanied by one-time investment costs: In particular, the equipment of the traffic routes as well as the vehicles used with sensors must be considered here. However, it is also possible to build up a smart routing system step by step by gradually making more data available to the digital image of the city - the more sensors, the higher the availability. For smooth clearing operations, an app for employees is extremely helpful, as they can view their routes and are informed about (non-occurring) operations.

Which SDGS are addressed?

In order to create globally sustainable structures, the member states of the United Nations have set themselves 17 goals by 2030, which are set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Associated challenge(s)

(The) Challenge(s) that can be overcome with the help of this solution.

Organizing winter services efficiently

1 Solution(s)
1 Datasource(s)

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Matching data(sources)

Obtain data(sources) for this solution here:

Open Weather Map API

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