“Efficiency in the field is not about working harder. It is about moving smarter through every meter, every street, and every season.” – MJ Martin
Executive Summary
What is Geo-Routing? Geo-routing is the process of using location data to automatically create and continuously optimize meter reading routes, reducing travel time, increasing reads per day, and lowering the overall cost per read.
Geo-routing is optimized by using real-time spatial data and operational constraints to continuously calculate the most efficient sequence of meters, balancing proximity, travel paths, reader location, workload distribution, and changing field conditions such as access, traffic, and weather.
Geo-routing delivers clear operational and financial benefits by transforming how field work is planned and executed.
At its core, it reduces travel time by sequencing meters based on real-world geography rather than outdated static routes. This directly increases reads per day, allowing each meter reader to complete more work within standard hours.
It lowers cost per read by improving labour productivity, reducing fuel consumption, and minimizing vehicle wear. Overtime is reduced because workloads are balanced more effectively across the team.
It improves read completion rates by adapting to real-time conditions. Missed reads decline because routes can be adjusted dynamically when access issues, weather, or delays occur.
It enhances field safety, particularly in Canadian environments, by reducing unnecessary travel, limiting backtracking, and enabling smarter navigation in winter conditions.
It provides real-time operational visibility, giving supervisors the ability to monitor progress and rebalance work throughout the day rather than reacting after the fact.
Finally, it establishes a foundation for broader digital transformation by aligning field operations with data-driven decision making, supporting future integration with AMI, analytics, and smart utility systems.
In simple terms, geo-routing turns field operations from static and reactive into dynamic, efficient, and intelligent.
Introduction
In a mid-sized Canadian municipality or utility, a water, gas, or electricity utility serving approximately 10,000 endpoints faced a familiar but increasingly costly challenge. The utility operated a hybrid environment of urban neighbourhoods and dispersed rural service areas. Meter reading was conducted using a combination of a few manual reads and a mass of drive-by AMR, supported by Itron Temetra. Despite having modern tools, the operational model remained rooted in static routing practices developed years earlier.
The result was predictable. Field inefficiencies persisted, labour costs were rising, and winter conditions amplified every operational weakness. The utility recognized that incremental improvements would not be enough. A structural shift in how routes were created and managed was required.
The Operational Challenge
The utility relied on fixed routes that had not been meaningfully updated in over a decade. These routes were originally designed around legacy geographic assumptions rather than real-world travel efficiency. As new subdivisions emerged and rural service expanded, route fragmentation increased.
Meter readers frequently experienced excessive “windshield time,” travelling long distances between clusters of meters. In urban areas, poor sequencing led to unnecessary backtracking. In rural zones, gaps between endpoints resulted in underutilized field hours.
Winter conditions compounded the issue. Snow accumulation obscured meter pits, access pathways became hazardous, and certain reads became temporarily inaccessible. Static routes lacked the flexibility to adapt, leading to missed reads and increased rework.
Supervisors had limited ability to rebalance workloads in real time. If a meter reader fell behind due to weather, traffic, or access issues, the remaining work often spilled into overtime or was deferred.
The Geo-Routing Implementation
The utility implemented Geo-Routing within Itron Temetra as a core operational capability. The first step was foundational. All 10,000 endpoints were validated and corrected for GPS accuracy, ensuring that routing decisions would be based on reliable spatial data.
Route creation shifted from a static model to a dynamic process. Instead of assigning pre-defined routes, supervisors selected the population of meters due for reading and used Geo-Routing to generate optimized routes based on real-world geography and current field conditions.
Meter readers were equipped with mobile devices that synchronized daily assignments. Routes were sequenced logically, minimizing travel distance and aligning with actual road networks rather than historical assumptions.
Crucially, Geo-Routing was not treated as a one-time planning tool. Supervisors actively monitored progress throughout the day and re-ran routing as needed. If a reader encountered delays or inaccessible meters, remaining work could be redistributed across the team in near real time.
Field Execution in a Canadian Context
The impact of Geo-Routing became most evident during winter operations. Instead of forcing readers to follow rigid routes, the system enabled adaptive decision making.
In urban areas, dense neighbourhoods were sequenced efficiently, reducing redundant movement and exposure to icy conditions. In rural zones, routes were clustered to minimize long-distance travel, allowing readers to complete meaningful blocks of work before moving to the next area.
When snow or ice prevented access to certain meters, those endpoints were flagged and dynamically reassigned. This reduced the need for costly return visits and improved overall completion rates.
Field staff reported a noticeable improvement in daily workflow. Routes felt more intuitive, less fragmented, and more aligned with how a person would naturally move through a service area.
Operational Outcomes
Within the first full billing cycle, the utility observed measurable improvements. Reads per day increased significantly as travel time was reduced. Meter readers were able to complete more endpoints within standard working hours, reducing reliance on overtime.
Missed reads declined as routes became more logical and adaptable. Exception handling improved, with better documentation and faster resolution of access issues.
Supervisors gained real-time visibility into field performance. Instead of reacting after the fact, they could actively manage operations throughout the day, ensuring that work was completed efficiently.
Financial Impact
The financial implications were clear and compelling. The cost per read decreased as labour efficiency improved. Reduced travel translated directly into fuel savings and lower vehicle wear.
Overtime expenses declined as workloads were balanced more effectively across the team. The reduction in missed reads improved billing accuracy and revenue capture, particularly in areas that had previously been prone to access challenges.
The utility estimated an overall efficiency gain in the range of 15 to 25 percent, depending on the season. In winter months, the relative improvement was even greater due to the system’s ability to adapt to changing conditions.
Strategic Value
Beyond immediate operational gains, Geo-Routing established a foundation for future modernization. The utility is now better positioned to integrate advanced metering infrastructure, analytics, and predictive maintenance capabilities.
Routing is no longer a constraint. It is an intelligent layer within a broader digital ecosystem. As the utility continues to evolve, Geo-Routing provides the flexibility and scalability required to support long-term growth.
Summary
For this 10,000 endpoint Canadian utility, Geo-Routing transformed meter reading from a static, labour-intensive process into a dynamic and optimized operation. The change was not incremental. It was structural.
In a country where geography and climate impose real operational challenges, the ability to adapt in real time is not a luxury. It is essential. Geo-Routing delivers that capability, turning data into action and inefficiency into measurable performance gains.
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees – in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 80 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) [aka Micro Learning] continuous education programs in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.