Problem overview
Traditional water tank management practices often rely on manual checks, which can be time-consuming, inefficient, and prone to human error. In today’s resource-conscious environment, businesses constantly seek ways to optimize water usage and reduce operational costs. To address these challenges, Vodacom sought a solution to remotely monitor water tank levels across multiple sites and automate alerts, enhancing operational efficiency and ensuring a proactive approach to water management.
About Vodacom Mozambique
Vodacom Mozambique is a telecommunication provider founded in 2003 to provide a dependable, high-quality mobile network. At the moment, the company services over 10.7 million consumers. Vodacom Mozambique emphasizes energy-efficient projects, improved security protocols, and cutting-edge technology infrastructure.
Solution structure
Vodacom chose the Kaa IoT platform to implement a scalable and reliable smart monitoring system. The system uses IoT gateways and submersible water level sensors strategically placed within tanks across multiple sites. These sensors capture real-time data on water levels. At the same time, the Kaa IoT platform is the central hub that integrates and manages the IoT ecosystem.
Kaa facilitates sensor data collection, processing, and analysis, providing Vodacom with advanced visualization tools and analytics capabilities. This allowed for comprehensive monitoring of water levels, trend analysis, and identification of potential issues before they escalated. Furthermore, the Kaa IoT platform enabled the configuration of customized notifications and alerts, ensuring that Vodacom’s personnel were promptly informed of any deviations from predefined thresholds or abnormal patterns. Because of this, timely interventions are made possible, and incidents of water waste or overflow are avoided.
Below, you can see the hardware and connectivity options used in the solution. The hardware components were carefully selected to ensure reliable data acquisition and transmission. The connectivity options provided by cellular networks and serial communication protocols facilitated seamless integration and data exchange between the sensors, gateways, and the Kaa IoT platform. The modular and extensible nature of the solution allows for easy scalability to accommodate additional locations or water tanks as needed.
Hardware components
- Industrial rugged LTE RS485 gateway: Teltonika TRB145
- Submersible liquid level sensor: WoMaster WS101-LL
Connectivity
- Cellular network: 4G/LTE (Cat 1), 3G, 2G
- Serial communication: RS485 2-wire Modbus
Implemented Kaa features
- Water sensor integration
- Real-time water tank level monitoring
- Advanced search and filtering of sensor data
- Early warning alerts and notifications for low or critical water levels
- Role-based access management for secure data access
- Historical data collection and analysis for usage pattern insights
- Malfunction detection and alerts for sensor or gateway issues
Outcome
Centralized water tank level monitoring
Vodacom Mozambique now uses an intuitive and user-friendly monitoring dashboard that serves as a central hub for real-time water level management. This interactive platform generates alerts, including active, critical, unacknowledged, low water, no reception, and sensor fault notifications.
The main dashboard consolidates water tank data from various sites into a centralized interface. This dashboard allows for seamless monitoring, analysis, and control of water levels, minimizing the risk of water shortages or overflows. Vodacom Mozambique can now access comprehensive insights and make data-driven decisions to enhance operational efficiency.
Enhanced remote monitoring capabilities
Each location under Vodacom Mozambique’s management has a dedicated dashboard, which offers precise data on water levels measured in liters, percentages, and centimeters. These dashboards also display gateway connection status, active and resolved alerts, and historical data, thus facilitating early detection and notification of critical events.
This solution provides real-time visibility into water tank levels, which facilitates efficient resource management and timely decision-making processes. The platform offers a holistic approach to water resource optimization through the seamless integration of IoT devices and advanced analytics.
Proactive alerting and notification system
The Kaa IoT platform incorporates an intelligent alerting and notification system that enables Vodacom Mozambique to receive timely alerts regarding critical water tank levels or potential issues. This proactive approach allows for rapid response and implementation of preventive measures, which in turn reduces the risk of service disruptions and minimizes potential losses. By staying informed about possible risks, Vodacom Mozambique can take necessary actions to mitigate issues before they escalate.