The water provider from Antwerp, Water-Link, decided to work together with the tech-company Suivo to provide all the company cars, machine and tools with energy-efficient trackers. These will digitize information from over a thousand assets through intelligent positioning and visualize it in the Suivo IoT Cloud Platform. This is the modern and user-friendly web application used for innovative Asset Management created by Suivo.
The challenge
To maintain their competitive advantage and enhance their margins, Water-Link was looking for a solution to track all of their assets, both indoor and outdoor, above and below the ground with ultra-precise positioning and management options (eg. maintenance, inspections, availability, etc.).
In their search for a sustainable partner to realize this project, they came across Suivo. This Belgian technology company located in Edegem offers innovative telematics- and IoT solutions. They produce both software and hardware, and is thus one of the few fully in-house produced tracking systems on the Belgian market. Grown from a track- and trace solution, they now also provide autonomous trackers with global coverage, and an small asset management solution that can be fully automated. All solutions are available with different hardware applications that collect data. This data is gathered in de Suivo IoT Cloud Platform that can be consulted through a web interface and various mobile apps. This cloud based software makes use of modern security protocols and ethical hacking.
Peter Geldhof, Commercial Director at Suivo: “IoT connections offer a big advantage for companies like Water-Link that want to work more efficiently, safer and more profitable. Usually we can base the solution on using our standard components in an intelligent way, supplemented with customizations that are taken care of by our in-house R&D department.”
The Suivo IoT Cloud Platform connects now full circle assets, vehicles, people, machines and tools. All of this in an easily manageable and clear cloud platform with an intuitive web interface and mobile apps. With a full integration with their business processes and ultra-smart asset trackers, Water-Link is very happy about their choice.
Steven De Schrijver, COO at water-link: “At Water-Link, we think innovation and thinking out-of-the-box are very important things. IoT, Big Data, Industry 4.0 are words we often use and discuss. Thanks to our collaboration with Suivo, we can practice what we preach, and truly become a trendsetter for innovation in the water- and utility industry.”
In concrete terms, the collaboration means that the Suivo IoT Cloud Platform enables water-link to further implement and optimize the availability, management, inspections and interventions of vehicles, tools and excavators with a view to full transparency of all assets of the water company.
The Implementation
The rollout of the new system started in February 2019 with all assets of water-link being provided with a tag, sensor and/or tracker that captures data (location, running hours, …). Suivo installs these trackers in vehicles and machines, sensors on machines and equipment, and intelligent tags on tools. The sensors and tags use energy-efficient and rechargeable batteries that last for years. The collected data is forwarded to the central Suivo IoT Cloud. For this, Suivo uses various communication and connectivity technologies, such as GPRS, Wi-Fi, LoRa and/or the Sigfox IoT network. Positioning and data transfer are done dynamically and always in the most accurate and energy efficient way.
By fully focusing on innovative Asset Management, water-link wants to create added value for the entire organization. The collaboration with Suivo also leads to even more synergies, thanks to the complementary competences. Now there is already a first integration of the digital data from the Suivo Asset Management system linked to the GIS system.
About Suivo
The technology company Suivo from Edegem offers future-proofed Internet of Things Cloud applications to manage mobile employees, vehicles, machines and tools in a single platform, the Suivo IoT Cloud Platform. This modern and user-friendly web application runs on Google Maps & the Google Cloud Platform. Suivo supports more than 700 customers in various sectors on a daily basis. Data from more than 35,000 vehicles, assets and mobile employees is captured, visualized, analyzed and integrated with other digital systems through smart APIs in the Suivo IoT Cloud.
About water-link
The world can’t live without water. People, companies and the environment must always have access to water of the right quality, at the right time and in the right quantity. This water must be supplied within the safety of well thought-out supply and drainage infrastructures. Water-link offers that security through the production, distribution and recycling of water. Water-link develops knowledge, shares it and works on innovative solutions to safely supply water to everyone and everything, at all times. Water-link wants to inspire everyone to really use the power of water.
