Transcript 0:00 [gentle piano music] We need the funding to fix our roads. With smart people at the helm, we know we need to build roads and cities to be a little bit safer and smarter for all the drivers. 0:17 Now, I might sound like a broken record, like my grandmother used to say, repeatedly making the same point, but here's what needs to be repeated, and it's a two-pronged approach that we need to be taking. 0:29 We've been talking about, even with the heated debates in Washington, both sides of the aisle tend to agree we need to be doing something about our infrastructure. 0:38 Sadly, as usual, there's a lot of talk and very little action. Look, come on, they can't even agree on getting a stimulus bill passed in a time of COVID, so how in the hell are they going to pass an infrastructure bill? 0:57 [upbeat music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation, with your host, Peggy Smedley. 1:24 Hello, listeners, and welcome to today's edition of The Peggy Smedley Show. I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. 1:30 This month on The Peggy Smedley Show, I'm going to be talking all about distracted driving and smart cities, and today I'm going to be focusing on what is on the horizon for smart infrastructure. 1:40 Later on in the show, I have a couple of amazing guests. 1:42 First, I will be talking with Srini, the chief customer officer of Career Launcher, and then I'm gonna be wrapping up the show with Ken Mendelsohn, senior managing director of Guidepost Solutions. 1:54 So we've got a lot to talk about, so let's get started. If we're going to be having a conversation about distracted driving this month, we also need to have a conversation about our roads. 2:05 Our infrastructure highway system was built in the 1950s under the leadership of then President Dwight D. Eisenhower, so just think about how many miles we have put on the road since that time. 2:18 Think about the wear and tear of the roads. If you live in Illinois, you know exactly what I mean. 2:24 I mean, we kiddingly joke around it that construction is one of the four seasons, or maybe we should say a fifth season, but it does seem like the roads in... are constantly under repair here in our state. 2:37 But we do need to acknowledge that they were first built many years ago, and with weather and heavy road construction and wear and tear, there's... Eh, everything's happening, right? That's what we're talking about. 2:49 But here is what we do know. Vehicle miles traveled, or VMT, for those who love three-letter acronyms, is that these stats reveal how much we all drive. 3:01 According to the Federal Highway Administration, travel on all US roads was 213.2 billion vehicle miles in May, the latest month available, down 25.5% versus the year before, 2019. 3:17 This year, the state budget's transportation revenues have declined in gas tax receipts as people have more often been staying home and off the roads. Now, we can all understand that because of COVID. 3:31 Revenue from the Federal Highway Trust Fund dropped actually 49% in May 2020 as compared to May of 2019, and some are even projecting, now get this, a 30% revenue decline over the next 18 months. 3:47 So what have we learned from this experience? People don't need to work in an office anymore, so that means less people on the roads. So you think less people on the roads would mean less distracted drivers on the roads. 4:02 Well, uh, kinda yes, kinda no, and I'm gonna explain that in a minute, but first, one out of every five miles on highway pavement is in poor condition. Did you hear that? One out of every five. 4:15 Our roads have a backlog of rehabilitation needs. 4:19 Now, NHTSA says about 8,870 people have died in motor vehicle traffic accidents in the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of about 3.3% compared to the second quarter of 2019. 4:34 As I see it, one life lost is one too many to driver distraction. 4:39 So according to the folks at the National Safety Council, who will be on the show in a couple of weeks, also agree that COVID has impacted how much people are driving. 4:50 According to the NSC, the number of miles driven in the first seven months of 2020 have decreased about 16% compared to 2019. 5:00 But deaths for 2020 so far total 22,110, too many lives lost to bad roads and driver distraction. That's absolutely what's happening still. 5:12 So the preliminary estimate, though, shows the numbers are up 2% compared to the first seven months of 2019. 5:23 So the distraction, go figure, we are not on the roads as much, but accidents are still too high, so I'm making the case that we need the funding to fix our roads. 5:36 Thus, with smart people at the helm, we know we need to build roads and cities to be a little bit safer and smarter for all the drivers. 5:46 Now, I might sound like a broken record, like my grandmother used to say, repeatedly making the same point, but here's what needs to be repeated, and it's a two-pronged approach that we need to be taking. 5:58 We've been talking about, even with the heated debates in Washington, both sides of the aisle tend to agree we need to be doing something about our infrastructure.Sadly, as usual, there's a lot of talk and very little action. 6:16 Look, come on. They can't even agree on getting a stimulus bill passed in a time of COVID, so how in the hell are they going to pass an infrastructure bill? Let's be serious. 6:31 Unless all of us, and I mean all of us, all of us citizens, put pressure on the elected officials, nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to happen, and it's not going to save our lives. That's right. 6:46 All of our lives are at risk because they can't get their act together in Washington to pass a bill, to pass an infrastructure bill. So let's talk about the Mayor's Conference. In the U.S. 6:58 Conference of Mayors study released last month, there was agreement among mayors investing in infrastructure on their mind right now and in the long term, as a long-term priority. 7:09 Roughly sixty-nine percent say investing in infrastructure is an immediate priority, and that's good news, while seventy-one percent say it's a long-term priority. 7:20 Hey, I think we are taking some steps in the right direction. That's really great news. We know that President Trump and the Trump administration wants to invest one trillion dollars in our infrastructure. 7:32 We've heard that. You've all heard that. Much of the funds would be used for roads, bridges, 5G wireless infrastructure, and rural broadband. 7:41 We see the money is already being infused into our infrastructure in rural areas already. 7:47 In September, the administration put forth two hundred and sixty-eight million dollars in rural water and wastewater infrastructure improvements in twenty-eight states. 7:59 The USDA is funding seventy-six projects through the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program. 8:07 These projects will improve rural water infrastructure for two hundred and sixty-seven thousand rural residents and businesses. 8:15 We are talking about replacing water treatment plants, building an elevated water treatment facility, and so many other new projects to deliver safe and sanitary water. 8:26 This all helps in improving outdated infrastructure. Now, I'll be interested to watch as these projects move forward. This is all important to see. All of these projects are very critical to the months ahead. 8:41 We don't just need to rebuild our infrastructure, we need to see things happen. We need to build smarter infrastructure. We need to build truly connected communities. We need that connectivity. 8:57 Here is the part of that U.S. Conference of Mayors study that I find compelling or perhaps most ironic. 9:04 The majority of mayors say cities need to implement smart technologies to help employees return to work with confidence. Hello. Isn't that what we all want on both sides of the aisle? Really, come on. 9:19 More than nine in ten mayors agree that investment in technology to reimagine, rework, and change or adapt is necessary for the future of their city, and I think that will be essential going forward. Don't you? 9:35 We can't just build infrastructure without thinking about our future. The Internet of Things touch so many aspects of our lives. We need it in order for our infrastructure. 9:50 We need to connect it for all the things we talk about when we talk about the edge. We need it in the very fabric of our country if we want autonomous vehicles. 9:59 Earlier this summer, Black & Veatch completed a study that found roughly fifteen percent of water infrastructure leaders reported having a fully integrated approach to data management. Only fifteen percent. 10:14 This is up from just five percent last year. While data management is improving, it still often isn't fully integrated. So how are we going to know what's happened if it's not doing that? Here's the challenge. 10:27 While a majority of water utilities report they're collecting a lot of data, only twenty percent say they are leveraging it effectively for digital transformation. Come on. So here's my question for you today. 10:43 If the funding is starting to roll in in your area, are you ready to take advantage of it? I mean, all of us should want that to happen. Why are we collecting all this data if nothing's being used with it? 10:57 Are you helping city managers understand the data? They're collecting all of this. Based on these numbers, I'm not quite sure we are ready to connect our cities. 11:06 It's great we talk about it, but we're not doing anything with it at all. That's the problem. So okay, so here's my opinion for today. 11:14 We need to start thinking about how to best leverage the data that we are collecting from our infrastructure, that that's what we're going to do. If we're going to build an infrastructure, it better be connected. 11:26 Sensors, data management, everything. Connecting our water systems, our roads, and our cities gives us an unprecedented amount of data once we do it. 11:36 We need to use it to better manage our assets and to engage with customers in new and different ways. That's what we're talking about. We're just not talking about patching the roads here. 11:46 We need to use it to minimize crashes on our roads. We need to have a better future. The opportunities are really endless, but we better get our act together when we do this. How about this for an idea? 11:59 We can use it to prioritize those investment dollars which are so critical in today's environment. That's what we're talking about. So here's my tip for today. Let's do our research. 12:11 Let's understand what we're talking about. Look at where we are headed in the next few months. 12:17 A lot is hard to predict with the election and COVID and everything right around the corner, but I am confident funding will be coming for our infrastructure. 12:28 We need to continue to focus on a better connected infrastructure. Then you can work a plan for how you're going to collect and manage the data that's associated with that. 12:40 We know the amount of data we have and we can access it will be exploding. How awesome is that? But we need to prepare for that if we're going to be good stewards and keeping us all safe. That's the real challenge here. 12:55 All right. That's all the time I have for this segment. But you know what I want? I want you to tweet at me. We have to do this together, and we have to understand it. 13:03 Tweet at me at ConnectedWMag or send me a message on LinkedIn, because I want to hear from you, because that's how we do the best we can here. All right. Tweet at me at ConnectedWMag. All right. 13:13 This is the end of the first segment. This is The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. 13:22 We'll be right back after this commercial break. Go get that quick cup of coffee. [outro music]
