Those Customers looking for a cost effective solution for their difficult or dangerous to read meters should look no further than our fully integrated Remote Meter Reading Solution. Meter Readers can read both manual and radio read meters within the same route and the Customer can select these first to benefit from the low power radio technology. The FIREFLY provides the ability to make the most difficult to read meter the easiest to read and also provides Profile Data on a needs must basis.
FIREFLY for Water Meters
TheFIREFLY for water meters represents a breakthought in AMR technology. It is the first solution to deliver a universally compatible interfacing strategy teamed with integrated ProfilePLUS™ Usage Profiling in an economical package.
Universal Compatibility
FIREFLY Meter Interface Units (MIUs) install in under five minutes on virtually any meter. The unique optic sensor automates meters without electronic output registers. The FIREFLY Optic Sensor Model is the first technology for automating meters without electronic registers. Wired-end Model FIREFLY's support all the popular pulse and encoder registers. FIREFLY eliminates the need for meter changeout for the purpose of AMR implementation and can save utilities millions of dollars in meters and installation labour.
ProfilePLUS Usage Profiling
All FIREFLY MIUs archive consumption data at user-definable intervals. For example, when set to record at 60 minute intervals, each water FIREFLY MIU holds more than 74 days of hourly usage! ProfilePLUS graphs are an invaluable tool for settling usage disputes, monitoring/enforcing conservation compliance, meter right-sizing, leak detection, virtual turn offs and much more.
REVERSE EVOLUTION
Never a day goes by in the MTS office, when the words "if only" are uttered. With the formal mission statement of "Providing solutions to meet our Customers' specific needs" and a dynamically changing market place, the trick is to listen intently and manage the change as effectively as possible.
Developing a Company like ours is not without its challenge and in terms of products, services etc the professionals would have you strategise and set up a tried and tested route to market.
IF ONLY!!
These routes to market, as we know, are many and varied, 'product-led', ' market-led' but here at MTS we are proud to state we are most definitely 'customer-led.'
It was as a result of the paradigm shift in water companies' own strategic plans, that late in 2007 MTS changed its own longer term strategies. 'Intelligent metering', 'leakage' and 'tariffs' became the order of the day and at MTS we had to change our business/operating plans for the future.
Our position in the low power radio (868 MHz) market was based on a 'selective deployment' basis whereby the low-power radio meter interface units would be applied to the most difficult/dangerous to read meters.
Meters would be read manually or remotely within the same route, providing our Customers' with a real return on their investment. But the change in our Customers' thinking required fixed Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) with the ability to have hourly meter data. Rising-block, falling block, seasonal and the most recent social tariff requirements being on the wish list of most of our customers. Add leakage and the wide range of functionality around the intelligent meter our plans changed, almost overnight.
The HomeRider Systems partnership, delivered cost effective, functionally rich solutions that had been tried and tested for the fixed AMR customers. If only that had been enough. What we had was two distinct solutions, a 'walk by' integrated RouteSTAR MVP package for selective deployment or a 'fixed network' AMR solution from HomeRider.
The evolutionary process of a Customer starting with a small number of radio installations until such time as the volume dictated the value of switching to a fixed AMR solution was well understood, but not feasible.
The fixed AMR solution, was exactly that and did not provide the means by which to deploy the HomeRider MIU's in a 'Walk-by' scenario.
Our Customers', of course had requirements in both fields and significant investment in their electronic meter reading systems, hand held terminals and interfaces to Billing Systems.
These Customer demands were instrumental in MTS formulating its reverse evolution strategy whereby the AMR HomeRider products would also be fully functional in a 'Walk-by' situation.
The co-operation and support of our two major suppliers, Datamatic and HomeRider Systems has been nothing less than phenomenal. This unique 'partnership' has met each and every challenge head on and developed a fully integrated RouteSTAR MVP/HomeRider 'Walk-by' solution. MTS's current customers can pick and choose the most cost beneficial solutions to meet their needs, whilst at the same time secure their current capital investments.
These developments providing low risk, cost effective solutions for any part of a Water Companies' meter park. High rise flats, cattle troughs, corporate monthly read accounts, quarterlies can all be matched with a discreet solution.
The Challenge of responding to our UK Water market is well understood, MTS never stops listening and responding to them, if you have an "IF ONLY" concern in your meter reading business, why not give us a call and put us to the test.