Samsara > Case Studies > Berkeley County School District Enhances Student Safety and Streamlines Parent Communication with IoT

Berkeley County School District Enhances Student Safety and Streamlines Parent Communication with IoT

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Technology Category
  • Sensors - Autonomous Driving Sensors
  • Sensors - GPS
Applicable Industries
  • Education
  • Transportation
Applicable Functions
  • Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases
  • Onsite Human Safety Management
  • Public Transportation Management
Services
  • Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
  • System Integration
About The Customer
Berkeley County School District is a large educational institution in West Virginia, responsible for transporting over 17,000 students to and from schools every day. The district operates more than 200 school buses, covering over 3 million miles annually. Ensuring student safety during transportation is a top priority for the district. However, the district faced challenges in monitoring real-time bus locations, detecting risky driving behaviors, and efficiently responding to parent inquiries due to limitations in their existing systems.
The Challenge
Berkeley County School District in West Virginia, responsible for transporting over 17,000 students daily, faced significant challenges in ensuring student safety and efficient communication with parents. The district had limited visibility into the real-time location of their school buses, making it difficult to monitor and respond to safety concerns. Their existing camera system offered only basic functionality, and retrieving footage was a time-consuming process. This lack of real-time visibility made it difficult to detect and address risky driving behaviors. Furthermore, parents often raised concerns about school bus delays and student safety, but due to the lag time from their legacy GPS vendor, the district was unable to provide accurate and timely information. Each safety concern call took up to 15 minutes to investigate, highlighting the need for a more efficient solution.
The Solution
Berkeley County School District implemented Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud to improve school bus visibility, real-time GPS tracking, and parent communication. The solution included multiple Samsara products such as Vehicle Gateways, AI Dash Cams, Camera Connectors, and an API integration with Edulog. With dual-facing Samsara AI Dash Cams installed across their school buses, the administrative team gained real-time visibility into driver and student safety. In-cab alerts enabled proactive coaching of drivers, and video-based coaching helped eliminate risky behaviors like inattentive driving. The cloud-based video retrieval system allowed the team to quickly investigate call-ins and share footage with school faculty, saving hours of manual work. Additionally, Samsara’s API integration with Edulog, the district's school bus routing software, provided reliable, real-time GPS data and accurate ETAs for bus routes, helping to streamline parent communication.
Operational Impact
  • The implementation of Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud has significantly improved Berkeley County School District's operations. The district now has real-time visibility into school bus and student locations, enabling them to ensure student safety more effectively. The system's in-cab alerts and video-based coaching have nearly eliminated risky driving behaviors. The cloud-based video retrieval system has streamlined the process of investigating safety concerns, saving the administrative team hours of manual work. The integration with Edulog has also improved the accuracy of bus route ETAs, helping to alleviate parent concerns and optimize bus routes. As a result of these improvements, Berkeley County is now seen as an example of excellence by other school districts. The district plans to further enhance its operations by deploying NFC ID readers for automated student tracking and streamlined ridership reporting.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Reduced time spent reviewing footage from hours to less than 20 minutes per inquiry
  • Saved 10+ hours per week across 5 administrators by streamlining parent communication
  • Gained real-time visibility into school bus and student locations

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