Nola Reporter

NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today announced that they will use technology by Samsara Inc., the pioneer of the Connected Operations™ Cloud, to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of City fleet operations across 41 departments, including New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD), Department of Public Works (DPW), Division of Code Enforcement, Department of Parks and Parkways (PPW), Department of Sanitation and more. The City is investing $75 million in its fleet and views the technology partnership with Samsara as critical for maintaining and protecting its vehicles.  

“The City of New Orleans’ partnership with Samsara is just another example of how we are continuing to prepare our workforce for the 21st century and ensuring that City employees, especially our public safety and public works teams, have innovative technology to work more efficiently," said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. "These teams rely on the City fleet to get the job done and to get it done well. Additionally, Samsara is aligned with our goal to transition to the use of electric vehicles as part of our efforts to combat climate change and the detrimental effects of emissions. Partnerships like these deliver great results for City government, which, in turn, allows us to deliver more progress for our residents.”   

The City’s workforce operates a diverse fleet of approximately 2,800 light and heavy-duty vehicles and motorcycles. With a goal to become one of the top fleets in the United States, the City needed a trusted digital transformation partner that would provide the data insights needed to reduce costs, maximize taxpayer dollars and increase service transparency with its residents. 

Real-time data from Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud is expected to strengthen the City’s operations in various ways, including but not limited to:  

• Increased Vehicle Uptime and Proactive Maintenance: Samsara’s Vehicle Telematics solution will support the City’s ability to spot underutilized vehicles and those in need of service, increasing efficiency and extending the lifetime of its vehicles 
• Improved Driver Safety and Support: footage from Samsara’s Video-Based Safety solution will enhance driver coaching and support driver exoneration from false claims  
• Better Fuel Efficiency and Accelerated Transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs): Samsara’s Vehicle Telematics solution is expected to increase fuel efficiency and help the City transition to EVs as part of its climate action strategy, which includes the goal of transitioning 40 percent of passenger and light-duty vehicles to EVs by 2035 
• Faster Communications: with insights from Samsara’s platform, the City can better communicate service status and updates across departments and with its residents to ensure critical service issues are addressed and resolved quickly

NOEMS has experienced the positive impact of Samsara’s technology since 2021. NOEMS uses Samsara’s Video-Based Safety, Site Visibility and Vehicle Telematics solutions and has improved proactive maintenance, vehicle utilization and driver safety and exoneration. For example, NOEMS used footage from Samsara AI Dash Cams to successfully exonerate drivers from false claims. City leaders believed Samsara’s technology and team checked every box, but it was this proof of impact that further supported their decision to deploy Samsara citywide. 

“New Orleans EMS has been utilizing Samsara for several years, and I am very satisfied with the capabilities it has provided us to create a safer and better maintained fleet,” said NOEMS Chief Bill Salmeron. “We are happy to see that the City has chosen Samara to expand to more vehicles in the fleet, which shows our commitment to maintaining the vehicles that we have invested in and that serve the public every day.” 

“Fire apparatus is at the core of everything that we do,” said NOFD Chief Roman Nelson. “They transport our firefighters to incident scenes and provide the tools they need to mitigate emergency situations. Every new fire apparatus currently costs in the million-dollar range, and our fleet represents a massive outlay of taxpayer dollars. Maintaining these key pieces of equipment is a monumental task, and I look forward to the proactive maintenance aspect of Samsara’s Vehicle Telematics solution. The ability to proactively identify issues before they become major problems and extend the lifespan of these vehicles represents tremendous potential cost savings and improved efficiency.”  

With this agreement, the City of New Orleans’ 41 departments grow the list of government organizations that have selected Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud. Samsara partners with government and education customers at the state and local levels nationwide to digitize their operations, helping to increase service transparency and sustainability, improve community safety and take data-informed actions.  

“City leaders across the country want a technology partner that can help them make the most of their constituents' hard-earned dollars, and that partner is Samsara,” Samsara Area Vice President of Public Sector Rhonda Eiffe. “We’re excited to apply our public sector expertise and solutions to the City of New Orleans’ operations and make a positive impact on the community, together.”   

To learn more about Samsara’s solutions for state and local government, see here. 

Original source can be found here.