“We installed 1,200 units in Phase I and started seeing results immediately.” said Deputy Public Works Director David Allen. “Our most recent rate study recommended that we move to billing monthly rather than every four months to smooth out cash flow, better manage our water, detect leaks quicker and deliver more manageable bills to our customers. But we also knew we’d need an advanced automation tool to make the transition.

“MOSAIC is delivering on its promises. Having access to usage details is transforming the way we take care of our customers. Within the first few days, the system spotted a leak and we were able to notify the customer before they even knew there was a problem. Without MOSAIC, the leak wouldn’t have been found until the customer got their next four-month bill, if at all. So, we saved our customer money and saved our City a lot of wasted water.”

MOSAIC is a “mesh” network. This means that all Meter Interface Units (FIREFLYs) also function as repeaters for the transmissions of other neighboring FIREFLYs. Data is transmitted, or “hopped”, from FIREFLY to FIREFLY toward a Gateway, similar to the way someone might jump from rock to rock to cross a river. Transmissions follow any path necessary to efficiently navigate the network; circumventing environmental obstacles along the way.

From the Gateway, data travels to the office via Ethernet, GPRS or Wi-Fi backhauls. Once in the office, MOSAIC’s web-based interface makes data available to address billing, customer service and operational issues.

Allen continued, “MOSAIC has allowed us to be much more responsive to our customers. Now, when we get calls about high bills, we have hard data that can help them understand their usage. We can clearly see and explain their consumption patterns. It’s been extremely helpful in quickly settling customer concerns - without sending someone out to re-read the meter. We can now handle issues on the first call.

“We’ve developed an aggressive plan to automate the remaining 6,800 customers by late Spring 2009. We can’t wait to get the rest of the City up and running.” Allen concluded.

Rich Sanders, Datamatic Vice President of Sales and Business Development said, “I always get excited when I see our technology deliver measurable results and provide solutions to real-world problems. We know we’re succeeding when our customers can better serve their customers and be better managers of the resources entrusted to them.”