The City of South Daytona, Florida, announced in July 2023 that it is beginning the deployment of Mueller Smart Water meters as part of infrastructure upgrade efforts. The Fieldman Work Management solution was chosen as the software to plan and organize all fieldwork, from dispatching work orders to collecting photos of newly installed meters and antennas.
The project was ambitious right from the beginning: LoRaWAN was chosen as the new Mueller Network as a Service (NaaS) AMI system.

Meters were planned to be read via a fixed transmitter on the Cell Tower located on Segrave Street.
The strategy was to rely on  LoRaWAN endpoints that will allow South Daytona to efficiently collect data remotely and give visibility into its customers' water use. Caitlin Weiss, Utility Billing Supervisor and Spokesperson for South Daytona said in an interview to Water Online, "Our goal is to better serve our citizens by using smart meters that allow for more timely reads, billing consistency, and better access to data when troubleshooting usage inconsistencies with customers."

South Daytona is a small, residential, and business-friendly community bordering the Halifax River, located only minutes away from the Atlantic Ocean beaches. It was originally known as Blake and was a town with a focus on orange culture and vegetable gardening. Today, South Daytona, Florida, has transformed into a dynamic locale known for its diverse attractions, amenities, and beaches. 5565 smart meters were planned to be installed in 2023 and 2024.

Solutions:

• Mueller Systems 420 remote disconnect meter 
• Mi.Node Meter Interface Unit
• Residential meters up to 1 inch
• Commercial meters 1 1/2 inch 2 in 3, 4 in and 6 in

The Fieldman team set up a Fieldman work management platform, integrated it with Sentryx, and created work orders for a team of technicians to replace meters in commercial and residential locations.

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Fieldman workflow for technicians included mandatory steps like: 

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• collect images of removed old meters
• collect old meter read
• collect images of old meter read
• collect images of new meters installed 
• collect images of new antennas installed 

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The image collection is a crucial step in all mass meter deployment projects and helps with quality control and resolving issues. "If there are issues with new meters, such as a newly installed meter not communicating its reads to the AMI network, the first thing the  city employees should do is to check photographs from the field," explains Vlad Kravchenko, CEO at Fieldman.

Meter images save a lot of time because instead of going to the field, locating and checking a meter, this can be done instantly by inspecting photos that are stored in the work management system.

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"The great thing about photos is that they allow troubleshooting issues in an office, avoiding the need to dispatch technicians to the meter location again," - adds Vlad Kravchenko.

Fieldman platform brought together everyone involved in this project. Muller's technical team, the South Daytona billing department, and the Aqua meter consultants team that was installing the meters. Real-time information with search capabilities was available throughout the project to troubleshoot any issues, allowing for quick resolution of any problems and preventing potential project delays.
Field technicians were able to install the first 3940 meters by September 2023. The next phase for more than 2000 meters is scheduled for 2024.

Key Benefits of the AMI Program for the City of South Daytona: Enhancing Efficiency and Service

Operational Cost Savings: A smart meter deployment offers cost savings through the reduced need or elimination of manual meter readings, which in turn decreases vehicle trips.

Read Accuracy: AMI systems produce more accurate readings, leading to revenue increases. These systems have a 99.9% accuracy rate and can read meters down to the gallon.

Increased Field Service Safety: Enhanced communication through AMI increases safety for both service crews and residents, while also reducing the costs associated with unnecessary field visits.

Improved Customer Service: The new AMI system will provide real-time data to the Utility Billing Department and residents through the new Neighborhood Portal. This upgrade will enhance the efficiency of the water system, lower operating costs, and improve customer service.