ITAPA AWARD 2022

SOFTEC, which recently announced its cooperation with SHMÚ in the field of road safety, has achieved another success. Its intelligent winter road maintenance management system ROWES meteo for the Road Administration of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region, on which it collaborates with SHMÚ, won the ITAPA award for the most innovative project this year. The jury appreciated not only the special meteorological forecast model for winter maintenance, the practical use for the public and the significant reduction of accidents by 28%, but also the low energy consumption, greater coverage, ease of installation and affordability of the new IoT weather stations.

Winter road maintenance is one of the key activities of every road manager from autumn to spring. The aim is to keep the roadway safe and passable for drivers and other road users. The departure of a winter maintenance vehicle should therefore be the result of careful planning and organisation of the work of the control room. Such an approach can lead to significant savings as well as being good for the environment. Salting before snowfall, for example, can save up to two thirds of the salt. However, the authorities need reliable forecasts and information on road temperatures.

SOFTEC has therefore designed and developed a new range of IoT weather stations with low procurement and operating costs specifically for winter road maintenance that can be densely deployed on the road network. The stations are designed for easy installation. They are thoroughly energy optimized and capable of operating with a small solar panel or purely on batteries for several years. They just need to be placed on any lighting pole or traffic sign post in a matter of minutes.

"Becoming the holder of the most innovative project in Slovakia is a great success for us. However, it is also a commitment that we will continue to participate in projects that have an impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. I believe that many new employees will come to us for this very reason - to work on projects that change society and affect the everyday life of the country," explains Peter Morávek, CEO of SOFTEC.

Before the deployment of such a solution, road dispatchers could only rely on general weather forecasts for the entire city. With IoT weather stations, they can perform more localized, targeted salting operations as opposed to citywide salting operations. Slovakia has a very diverse meteorological environment; sometimes it's warm and sunny in the city, but it snows heavily on the mountain pass where the traditional weather station is located. The new IoT stations serve as an "extended eye" that offers instant monitoring of the area, reducing the need for physical trips to different locations.

After deploying the solution, the number of traffic accidents dropped by 28%. The data also helped social workers better prepare to help the homeless during cold spells, enabling them to act as soon as news of the first frost arrived.

Today, the Group's solutions and services are used by clients in ten Central and Eastern European countries. Among the most important are the VIG, Raiffeisen, Generali, KBC and Orange groups.

For more information about ROWES solutions, please visit: https://rowes.digital/