Manhole cover safety monitoring terminal, securing the safety barrier of urban lifelines.

With the accelerated urbanization process, the number of urban underground pipelines and road manhole covers keeps rising. Due to the lack of effective real-time monitoring and management, frequent problems such as stolen manhole covers, excessive concentration of flammable gas inside wells and water overflow not only disrupt the normal operation of facilities and cause economic losses, but also pose serious threats to the safety of pedestrians and vehicles.

To improve the management of urban manhole covers, the Firstar smart manhole cover monitoring system is of great significance for safeguarding the safety of urban underground pipe networks, optimizing pipe network monitoring and management, and elevating urban construction quality and people’s livelihood security.

Market Background and Pain Points

Policies and Industry Background

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other relevant authorities issued the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Safety Management of Inspection Well Covers, which clearly proposes to innovate the management mode of inspection well covers by adopting information-based and intelligent technologies, promote the application of new technologies and products, improve overall safety performance, prevent safety accidents, make up for management deficiencies, and effectively protect people's safety on the road.

Driven by policies, technological progress and market demand, the smart manhole cover industry is embracing broad development opportunities and has become a key part of smart city infrastructure. In the future, smart manhole covers will effectively improve urban management efficiency and public safety, reduce operation and maintenance costs, optimize public services, and provide solid support for the sustainable development of cities.

Pain Points of the Manhole Cover Monitoring Industry
/ Large quantity and wide distribution of manhole covers
Urban manhole covers come in various types with a huge quantity and scattered layout, making unified supervision difficult.
/ Complicated ownership and fragmented responsibilities
Manhole covers are under the jurisdiction of different departments including water affairs, power and communication. The division of rights and responsibilities is unclear, resulting in difficult collaborative management.
/ Vulnerable to damage under harsh working environments
Operating outdoors for a long time, manhole covers suffer from vehicle rolling, rain erosion and aging, leading to frequent damage and functional failure.
/ Low efficiency of traditional manual inspection
Relying on on-site manual patrols is time-consuming and labor-intensive, with incomplete coverage and high operation and maintenance costs.
/ Unavailable real-time status perception
Lacking online monitoring methods, abnormalities such as manhole cover loss, displacement and water overflow cannot be detected in a timely manner, causing prominent potential safety hazards.

Firstar Manhole Cover Monitoring Solution

Firstar's manhole cover safety monitoring solution involves installing manhole cover safety monitoring terminals under each manhole cover, assigning a unique number to each cover. When an abnormality occurs to the manhole cover or the underground environment, the manhole cover safety monitoring terminal will report the abnormal information to the base station immediately. The data is then transmitted to the manhole cover management server through the network, promptly notifying the management personnel to send staff for handling, thereby achieving the goal of intelligent and rapid manhole cover management.

Firstrate manhole cover safety monitoring solution involves installing manhole cover safety monitoring terminals under each manhole cover, assigning a unique number to each cover. When an abnormality occurs to the manhole cover or the underground environment, the manhole cover safety monitoring terminal will report the abnormal information to the base station immediately. The data is then transmitted to the manhole cover management server through the network, promptly notifying the management personnel to send staff for handling, thereby achieving the goal of intelligent and rapid manhole cover management.

Functional Features

Manhole Cover Management: Manage information including manhole cover numbers, latitude and longitude, and affiliated roads.
Status Monitoring: Real-time monitoring of the online status of manhole covers.
Multi-platform Data Access: Compatible with China Telecom E-Link Cloud, AEP, Huawei OC, China Mobile OneNet, and supports UDP point-to-point communication.
Alarm and Positioning: Real-time alarm transmission, highlighted alarm positioning, and synchronous SMS alarm notification.
Alarm Disposal: Work order assignment, on-site maintenance, alarm clearance, and alarm database management.
Alarm Inspection: Forward alarm information to inspectors, support on-site handling and on-site photo feedback.
SMS & Email Notification: Trigger timely alerts for abnormal conditions and low battery of manhole covers.
Maintenance Setting: Configure maintenance time and record maintenance status of manhole covers.
Map Display: Show the location, basic information and real-time status of manhole covers on electronic maps.
Text Display: Present manhole cover location, basic information, real-time status, historical records and other data in text form.

Manhole Cover Safety Monitoring Terminal

The Firstar manhole cover safety monitoring terminal enables remote online monitoring of key factors including manhole cover tilt and displacement, water overflow, water level and methane gas concentration. Adopting wireless communication and low-power design, the product features long battery life, compact size and easy installation. It has passed salt spray tests, obtained explosion-proof certification and reaches IP68 protection grade. With adjustable signal transmission power, it is suitable for remote areas with weak signals and harsh working environments.

Full-scenario Intelligent Monitoring
It real-time monitors abnormal opening, tilting and flipping, disassembly, low battery, water immersion, water overflow, abnormal methane content and over-limit water level inside the well.
Ultra-low Power Consumption & Long Battery Life
The static current is only 10~20μA. Powered by 3.0~3.6V lithium battery, it delivers a service life of more than 3 to 5 years and avoids frequent battery replacement.
High Protection & Durable Performance
With IP68 protection grade and official explosion-proof certification, it features corrosion resistance and salt spray resistance. The operating temperature ranges from -20℃ to 80℃, fully adapting to harsh underground environments.
Wide-coverage Wireless Communication
Dual-mode of NB-IoT and 4G-CAT1 is supported, covering three major domestic operators. It is compatible with LWM2M and MQTT protocols to ensure stable and uninterrupted data transmission.
Multi-platform Compatibility
It connects with mainstream IoT platforms including E-Link Cloud, AEP, Huawei OC and China Mobile OneNet, and supports UDP point-to-point communication, realizing seamless access for municipal, water supply, power and other systems.
Easy Installation & Maintenance
Available in integrated and split types with compact size and no wiring required for simple on-site installation. Remote configuration and upgrade are supported to greatly reduce construction and operation and maintenance costs.