Outdated technology made it difficult to deliver services effectively.

The third largest municipality in Palm Beach County, Florida, Boynton Beach is located almost 60 miles north of Miami. The City of Boynton Beach serves just over 80,000 residents with police, fire, public works, recreational programs, and other vital services. 

For the City, outdated technology was impacting their ability to deliver services effectively, an issue they were experiencing most acutely in their Solid Waste division. "We couldn't track where our garbage trucks were, so we couldn't address customer concerns about missed pickups and other issues,” said Dave Persad, the City’s Director of Fleet Management and Mobility. “Moreover, if a customer reported property damage, we had no way of proving that our trucks didn't cause it."

The City knew they needed to update their technology not only to improve service delivery, but also create a strong foundation for future improvements—such as consolidating data onto a single platform—that would deliver long-term benefits. They began searching for an advanced solution that would enable them to quickly modernize their fleet and systems, giving them the ability to deliver superior service to residents while better mitigating risk and preparing for the future.

A flexible, easy-to-use solution that offers a partnership for the long-term.

According to Persad, several public agencies were already using Samsara, which made the City’s decision an easy one. "Municipalities in the area share best practices and information on which solutions to use, and Samsara was at the top of the list," he said. “If something is working well, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.” 

Several other aspects also appealed to the City's team, including Samsara's ease of use. "We wanted to empower our supervisors to find information without needing to ask for help," said Stephanie Brown, Public Works System Analyst. “With Samsara, they can look at a dashboard and get what they need much more quickly and easily."

The City decided to do a phased implementation of Samsara, starting with deploying Vehicle Gateways and AI Dash Cams in their Solid Waste fleet, and then rolling out to several other departments across Public Works. As they continue to expand their use, Persad points to a strong partnership with Samsara as a key differentiator. "Samsara takes time to listen to you, understand your needs, and bring value to your operations. They are true partners in helping you achieve your goals,” he said.

Samsara helps modernize operations, lowering driver incidents and improving service delivery.

After implementing Samsara, the City has been able to fast-track the modernization of their operations. “Before, we were still using notebooks to record information,” said Brown. “Now, with Samsara, we’ve been able to improve how we track our equipment and train our drivers, and we’ve seen improvements across the board."

Those improvements include reductions across a number of driving risk factors, including a 17% reduction in speeding and a 12% reduction in harsh braking. The City has also lowered distracted driving by 19%, and reduced policy violations by 10%. Overall, the City has seen a 58% reduction in overall measurable driver risk factors compared to government organizations of similar size.

Persad points to better coaching as a key factor in improving driver safety. "We use Samsara to coach our drivers on incidents and identify areas for improvement and implement targeted interventions to further enhance safety and efficiency,” he said. “With improved driver behavior and coaching, this ultimately leads to reducing accidents.”

In addition, the City has been able to exonerate drivers with Samsara AI Dash Cams and video footage. "We've already had several driver exonerations, which is huge for us,” said Persad. “In one instance, a driver of a vehicle rolled back into one of our garbage trucks at a stop light. The driver of the other vehicle called the police and claimed the garbage truck ran into him. The police came, but after the driver saw the video footage from samsara, he just drove away. If those cameras weren't there, it would have been a claim against the City."

Moreover, the City is using Samsara Asset Gateways to track equipment to improve emergency preparedness. We get a lot of hurricanes in our area, and we have water pumps, standby generators, and specialty response equipment that we need to find quickly in case of an event,” said Persad. "Before Samsara, it would take hours to contact our departments to confirm asset location. Now, it takes only a few minutes to locate assets and make logistical preparations in case they're needed."

As the City continues their rollout of Samsara and explores additional uses for the technology, Samsara's adaptability is key. As Persad explained: "Samsara is always open to figuring out how to address a challenge. That ability to adapt and pivot to accommodate our needs is critical for us."