Government
The City of Poughkeepsie reduces accidents by 25% in four months with AI Dash Cams
In addition to improving safety, the City's Public Works Department protects $200,000 of specialized equipment with Asset Tag and optimizes spending on repairs.
Meet the City of Poughkeepsie
100 PUBLIC WORKS VEHICLES
60 EMPLOYEES
30,000 RESIDENTS
The Challenge
Better visibility to improve safety and service delivery
Located 80 miles north of New York City, the City of Poughkeepsie serves more than 30,000 residents. The City operates a robust Public Works Department responsible for maintaining the City’s infrastructure and providing essential services, such as trash pickup and snow removal.
As part of their operations, the Department manages a diverse fleet of more than 100 vehicles, including heavy-duty dump trucks, specialized mowers, boom lifts, compact tractors, and snow plows. Operating these vehicles safely and efficiently is a top priority for the Department, but a lack of visibility into their fleet was creating issues. "We wanted to have a more granular understanding of why we were having accidents and how to prevent them," said Joseph Donat, City Administrator.
In addition, the City wanted to improve accountability for service delivery, particularly for sanitation and during winter storms. "Citizens would frequently call to say that their streets had never been salted or their trash had been missed, and we had no way to verify these claims or provide accurate service timelines," Donat said. "We needed more visibility into our operations to help keep residents safer and serve them more effectively."
"Asset Tag gives us the ability to locate specialized equipment quickly, which means we can serve our residents more effectively in all types of weather conditions, any time of year."
CHRISTOPHER GENT
Commissioner of Public Works
Solution
A user-friendly platform for immediate operational visibility
Samsara’s ease of use was a key factor in the City’s decision to implement the platform. "We saw a tutorial of how Samsara worked and started with a pilot program that included 25 of our vehicles," Donat said. "The learning curve was easy, and we were fully outfitted and operational in just one week."
The City has continued a phased rollout, installing devices as vehicles and equipment is brought in for servicing. Now, the Department uses AI Dash Cams to help provide proactive safety coaching and to exonerate drivers. "We use the Dash Cams as a coaching tool rather than just a disciplinary one," said Commissioner of Public Works Christopher Gent. "We can immediately review footage with drivers and discuss how accidents could have been prevented. This real-time feedback loop has contributed to a more safety-conscious culture within the fleet.”
In addition, the City uses Asset Tag to proactively monitor the location and status of valuable assets, such as mowers and tractors, worth approximately $200,000. “We would track our equipment when someone filed a claim, but now we review tracking several times per week,” Gent said. “We can manage our assets effectively because we have visibility at all times.”
Results
Improving safety and service while optimizing spend
The City is early on in their deployment of Samsara, installing 180 devices across their fleet and equipment. However, the Public Works Department has already gotten significant benefits from the real-time data that Samsara provides. For example, in the four months prior to Samsara, the City recorded 12 accidents, none of which could be disputed due to a lack of evidence. In the same time period after implementing Samsara, the City reduced the number of accidents by 25%, and they were able to use video footage to prove they were not at fault for one major accident. With Samsara AI Dash Cams, the City continues to lower accident rates and protect drivers against false claims.
In addition, the Department has been able to improve compliance with strict safety requirements. For example, on dead-end streets where "blind backups" are necessary, the City requires all personnel to be off the back of a sanitation vehicle with at least one person directing the driver. Managers use Samsara to track these movements to increase driver and resident safety. Moreover, the footage helps the City provide proof of service delivery if customers have questions or complaints, helping to improve the customer experience overall.
With Samsara Fleet Telematics, the City has also been able to proactively maintain equipment and lower repair costs. In one instance, the Department was able to identify a vehicle that had been selected for outsourced repair. Instead, the City was able to bring the repair in-house and save thousands of dollars. "A repair that would cost $2,000 in house could easily be $10,000 if we used a vendor," Gent said. "With Samsara, it's easy to get insights into our maintenance costs and manage our spend."