When innovation originates in our employees it is twice as valuable, because it answers to specific needs and it includes the knowledge in the field that they have amassed.
Such is the case of Sacyr Smart Ways, a project created by three Sacyr Concesiones employees: Juan Carlos Ruiz, Sergio Abellán and Ventura Martínez, who have brought on a paradigm shift by digitizing tasks that were previously done manually using printed forms.
This smart road O&M system, first implemented on the Autovía del Noroeste (Aunor) in Murcia, received a Natural Innovator Award, with which Sacyr recognizes internal entrepreneurial initiatives.
20 years ago, Aunor was our first ever shadow toll P3 project and one of the first in Spain.
Juan Carlos Ruiz, Head of O&M at this project says that the process to create Sacyr Smart Ways resulted from the workflow on site and the need to digitally transform processes. “We imagined a platform that could collect data in real time and use them afterward”, he explains.
Sergio Abellán, dispatcher at Aunor, highlights the teamwork effort involved in developing this tool. Ventura Martinez, Head of facilities at Sacyr Concesiones in Spain, provided the software architecture and design for the data collection process.
The program is based on a multiplatform (desktop and mobile) tool, that runs on an independent communications network and constantly shares the information that the conservation and surveillance workers gather via tablet devices.
This tool works with several reports, called ‘binnacles’. Binnacles log from incidents and repairs to accidents. The system encodes the incidents using the language sanctioned by the Ministry for Development. This data collection process takes place in real time, which enables total digitization and traceability.
“Thanks to Sacyr Smart Ways, not only have we eliminated tons and tons of paper waste, but we have also become more agile. Before, these internal processes would take weeks, and now we can do them in real time. This also involves the standardization of processes”, explains Juan Carlos Ruiz.
Smart Ways is also useful in preventing risks at the workplace, as it incorporates active prevention simultaneously into the daily workflow process. It registers the PPEs of each activity, as well as preventive and corrective maintenance work on vehicles and machinery, which has a positive effect on safety at work.
This system was implemented on Aunor in 2019 and other pilot tests were run on other roads, like the Autovía de Barbanza (Pontevedra) and the Autovía del Eresma (Segovia). Now, Sacyr Conservación has applied it in Huelva, where it is at the implementation stage.
“Smart Ways is a smart platform to interact with the road users via smart vehicles and artificial vision systems. With it, we can expand the scope of our development to create innovation projects with the DGT through the DGT 3.0 project”, explains Ventura Martinez.
In the future, this tool can be utilized as a basis to interact with new technologies, such as surveillance with autonomous drones.
