My own product · PixelStream
Signs someone had to drive out to change
Put changing information where decisions happen.
City staff used to drive out to change the fire-danger level on the signs, several times a week. PixelStream now connects the source to the panels, so the signs follow the information on their own.
Visit PixelStream Managed by my company PixelTrail
What changed · The fire-danger signs
Before: city staff spent a few hours on the road, several times a week, changing the fire-danger level on signs. After: PixelStream connects the source to the panel, and those routine trips are no longer needed.
How I measured thisBeforeSomeone drives outThe changeConnect the sourceNowThe panel follows
01 The friction
The level changed. The sign didn’t.
One of PixelStream’s customers is a municipality that shows the fire-danger level on physical signs. The level was already published at its source. Getting it onto the signs was another matter.
The information already existed. Getting it onto the sign took a drive.
When the level changed, city staff drove out to the signs and changed the display by hand. A few hours on the road, several times a week, for information that already existed somewhere else.
Nobody needed a new source of information. The work was in carrying it that last stretch, to the sign.
02 The change
Connect the source to the sign.
The panels didn’t start with fire danger. We first built them for GetTrail, so visitors could see trail statuses at the trailhead. Then we started asking what else people would find useful in that same place. Fresh snow tomorrow? Enough wind to go sailing? The current fire danger?
Where the information can come from
- A shared spreadsheet
- Another system’s data feed
- An alert sent by another tool
- A schedule
- Someone on the team
Managing all those sources inside a trail application no longer made sense. We took the panel-management component out of GetTrail and built PixelStream around it. GetTrail became one source among others.
For each situation, we configure what the data means, which label and light signal to show, and which panels should receive it. One source can supply several panels. The work is in making those connections and rules useful to the people looking at them.
For the city, PixelStream reads the fire-danger level where it is published and checks it every minute. When the level changes, the panel follows.
03 Simpler work
See it. Decide. Get on with the day.
The signs show the level in effect without anyone driving out to change them. People passing by see the level the city has published.
The same question works elsewhere: what does someone need to decide, right here? Then we look for the information that would help. For example:
- At a ski resort, show grooming and lift traffic where visitors choose their next run. A less busy lift may mean more skiing and less waiting.
- Near a lake or a trail network, turn a wind or snow forecast into a signal people notice as they pass. It can help them plan tomorrow without searching several sites.
- Beside energy-intensive equipment, show an upcoming high-cost electricity window. The operator can consider whether the work should run now or wait for the next shift.
In their words
The trails switch to red at closing time on the dot and back to green the next day, without anyone having to think about it. One less thing to watch.
04 The result
No more drives to change the sign.
How I measured this My account of one city’s routine, not a timed study. The panel checks its source every minute: that is how often it looks, not a promise that every sign changes within the minute.
Sometimes the useful change is connecting information you already have to the place where someone needs it.
- Every minute the panel checks its source for the level in effect
- No drive to wait for a new level shows without anyone going out to change it
The trips were the visible cost. There was a quieter one too: until someone got there, the sign still showed the previous level.
For other situations, the useful result might be fewer questions at a desk, a visitor choosing a better route, or an operator spotting the right time to act. The light is only useful if it helps someone do something.
Is someone on your team carrying information from one place to another? Let’s talk