The company c-trace GmbH specializes in IT solutions for waste collection logistics. Since 2005, the Bielefeld-based company has been equipping not only vehicles but also container systems of all kinds worldwide with state-of-the-art hardware. The associated software solutions complete a comprehensive service package for municipal and commercial waste management with telematics systems.
As a digitalization pioneer in the industry, c-trace has always made the latest technological developments available to the waste management sector. Working conditions in the office and on the road are constantly being improved and the efficiency and security of logistics processes increased.
sustainable and data-driven
In the next evolutionary stage of these solutions, the number of sensors installed and operated in the field will be significantly increased once again. More and more data is being recorded on vehicles and even individual waste containers are now going online via the Internet of Things. As a result, the volume of data is literally exploding, which of course also needs to be used intelligently: in sustainable and data-driven waste management, for example, containers are emptied as required and routes are dynamically optimized to minimize emissions, fuel consumption and traffic congestion.
Strategic decisions
This is based on a long-term strategy, as entrepreneur and Managing Director Michael Eikelmann emphasizes: “We are taking our services to a new level with real-time functionality, smart services and smart applications. To this end, we are using standard components, cloud services and the right amount of in-house development to design a future-proof loT platform that perfectly reflects our business development and can be rolled out to our customers without any noticeable disruption.”
But how do you select the right technologies and system components? And how do you manage such an extensive development task in parallel with day-to-day business? Building up the necessary technical expertise from scratch would take too long and involve considerable technical risks. This gave rise to the idea of working closely with a selected external partner in software development for this topic.
As an expert in customized software and business-oriented loT platforms, Smartsquare GmbH, located just a few streets away, was the ideal contact for c-trace. The collaboration began with a concentrated workshop in which the most important requirements were collected in a structured manner and a possible new loT software architecture was outlined. The basic idea was to rely on the open MQTT protocol, open source software components and cloud technologies. Michael Eikelmann sums up: “The first workshop was extremely productive and helpful. After an exhausting day, we went home in the evening with a sorted catalog of requirements, the first architectural design and a schedule.”
Minimizing uncertainties in a targeted manner
The next step was to carry out a proof of concept (PoC), i.e. a feasibility study based on a prototype. A development team from Smartsquare implemented the architectural design within four weeks using a selected use case. A two-week phase was then scheduled to check together with c-trace whether the basic requirements had been met:
- Real-time processing of at least 5 million vehicle events per day
- Development of a data lake for big data projects
- 24/7 availability and high IT security standards
- Automated IT operations and updates without downtimes
- Can be integrated into the existing software landscape
- Expandability with new software functions and loT devices
Requirements met and even exceeded
The PoC was a complete success for c-trace, as Michael Eikelmann summarizes:
“After the presentation of the results by Smartsquare, it was clear that we had created an extremely powerful loT architecture tailored to our needs in just 6 weeks. We have now been able to focus on the gradual expansion and creation of new offerings for our customers on this platform.”
Agile platform development
The subsequent four-month development phase included several intensive workshops to analyze the current situation and requirements, find solutions and coordinate organizational matters. After all, the entire development had to take place in parallel with day-to-day business on the basis of the existing systems and the resources of the internal development department were correspondingly limited. The Smartsquare development team therefore remained in close contact with the c-trace development department during the implementation phase. This has ensured that all new developments fit perfectly into the c-trace system landscape, can be successfully put into operation and can later be further developed without the help of Smartsquare.
The implementation was concentrated on a small number of functions and was carried out quickly on the basis of well-timed milestones. The initial aim was to connect individual new customers and newly developed sensor types to the loT platform. With increasing experience and stability, the range of functions, interfaces and data volumes are now being continuously increased. Monitoring is an integral part of the new loT architecture.
One aspect of this is technical operating data such as resource consumption, response times and the status of individual sensors, which are clearly displayed in dashboards. However, information from customer contracts and loT data will also soon converge here, and agreed service levels will be monitored automatically.
Summary and outlook
The new loT platform from c-trace is designed to be expanded step by step to include additional vehicle sensors, different data protocols, device types, quality criteria as well as AI functions such as anomaly detection. Customers receive real-time functionality, intuitive applications and a high level of service orientation. In addition, there is a long roadmap of innovative product and service ideas, the implementation of which is now within reach. And when existing customers and systems have also been migrated to the new platform in a final step, the old loT infrastructure will have been completely replaced.
Text taken over from original – Smartsquare
