HMNB Portsmouth Uses Smarter Technologies’ Orion IoT Data Network

Smarter Technologies, a provider of Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions, has been supporting the digital innovations team at His Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth, with their Orion IoT Data Network, to maximize the efficiency of port operations. 

The Infrastructure Asset Management team at HMNB Portsmouth, keen to adopt digital innovations, approached Smarter Technologies to assist with the provision of real-time data from multiple sensor platforms across a large geographic footprint, in order to inform critical operational decision-making. 

Following an earlier demonstration of their smart sensor technology and Orion real-time IoT data network, Portsmouth invited Smarter Technologies to install depth sensors in each of the dockyard’s key operational and historic basins (No 3 Basin alone, is said to hold over 300 million gallons of water) and transit locks to monitor water levels.

Via an intuitive and customer-configurable dashboard, the sensors provided the Asset Management and Waterfront teams with the empirical evidence they needed to adjust how and when the locks and pumps were used to optimize water levels, assets to target for remediation to minimize unintended water flows and maintain effective waterfront operations. As a result, unnecessary pumping operations were avoided, both long- and short-term targeted mitigation measures were implemented and material operational efficiencies were realized, almost immediately delivering a return on investment.

Simon Kierstan, the Navy’s Strategic Infrastructure lead at Portsmouth, said; “The management insight that Smarter Technologies have brought to the waterfront operation has been incredibly helpful, and it’s been amazing just how quickly it gave us the evidence-base we needed to do things differently and do things better. This is just one part of a much broader digital innovation programme at Portsmouth Naval Base, which is gathering momentum and delivering significant step-changes in capability with each enhancement.” 

Mark Read, CEO of Smarter Technologies, added; “We’re just delighted to be working with Simon and the management team at Portsmouth and to deliver value for them. We pride ourselves in delivering the end-to-end solutions that our customers need. It’s our knowledge and expertise, working in partnership with our clients, that enables such digital transformation programmes to succeed and enable end users to improve their critical operational decision making using real time data.”