Noosa Council has partnered with Queensland-based innovator, TechnologyOne, to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to address the problem of potholes on the region’s roads and paths.
The Council has installed a camera on a waste truck to identify and automatically kick off the process of getting damaged pavements fixed as the garbage trucks complete their regular rubbish collection routes.
The system has scanned all pathways and roads across the 871 square kilometres council area in just two weeks.
The solution’s innovative AI and ML software picks up defects, triages them so the most urgent are addressed first, and connects directly with the TechnologyOne Enterprise Asset Management system.
From there, asset repair work orders are automatically created, including location data, work instructions, maps and photographs, enabling problems to be identified and fixed quickly. Work crews are dispatched to the precise location of the problems, and armed with images to help them find what they are looking for.
During the program’s first two months of operation, a record 4,356 defects have been identified and rectified.
“This technology has removed the need for manual data entry and processing,” said Noosa Council Coordinator Asset Systems, Devon Wilson.
“The goal is to correct defects before we get a customer request to help reduce those requests, so our crews can focus on preventative, rather than reactive maintenance.”
Previously, identifying, recording and flagging defects including potholes, faded line markings and overhanging branches was either via Customer Requests or time-consuming defect collection.
“As a result of the 2022 floods we‘ve seen road defects increase significantly. Last year we received over 1,100 requests from the community alone relating to road defects and trees. Manually inputting the information into our system was a lengthy process,” said Ms Wilson.
“Every defect results in at least one person going out to physically view and assess the area. After that, the worker would have to manually input their findings into our system to help council establish the best suited service needed to fix the issue, a process that could take as long as a week from start to finish.”
She said that since introducing the camera, AI-driven detection solution and intelligent asset management, Council has easily identified and begun rectifying a huge number of issues that will benefit the Noosa community.
“This software allows us to concentrate our efforts on fixing roads and pathways and spend less time on reporting them.”
The Council plans to install another two cameras on a waste truck and e-scooters in the months ahead.
“For the last 37 years we have embraced and integrated innovative technologies into our solutions to ensure we are providing future-focused support for our customers,” said TechnologyOne’s CEO, Ed Chung.
“We are thrilled to be working to deliver safer and more accessible quality roads to Noosa Shire Council’s residents and visitors.”
