How the OpenSLMS street lighting benchmark will measure network performance, and how to take part.
Why a benchmark
What the benchmark is for, and when the first figures appear.
Cities and contractors rarely know how their network compares with others. Is 96% share working good? Is a 30-hour average repair time fast? Few public numbers exist. The OpenSLMS benchmark will publish anonymised, aggregated figures from networks that take part, once there is enough data to be fair.
Note
No figures are published yet. The first edition will appear when the minimum sample sizes below are met.
What we will measure
Eight metrics, each with a fixed definition.
| Metric | Definition | Split by |
|---|---|---|
| Share working | Lights working ÷ lights in service, monthly average | Region, network size, with or without controllers |
| Mean time to repair | Time from job raised to job resolved | Priority, fault source |
| SLA met | Jobs resolved before the due time ÷ jobs resolved | Priority |
| Failure rate | Corrective jobs per 1,000 lights per year | Component type, luminaire age band |
| Repeat failure rate | Assets with a new job within 30 days of a resolved one | Component type |
| Fault sources | Share of jobs from residents, patrols, plans, alarms, staff | Region, controllers or not |
| Day burning | Burn hours outside sunset–sunrise ÷ total burn hours | Switching method |
| Dimming delivered | Measured saving ÷ scheduled saving | Dimming method |
Method and privacy
Opt-in, aggregated, and with no names.
- Opt-in only. A network is included only when its owner agrees in writing.
- Aggregated. No figure is published for fewer than 5 organisations or 10,000 lights in a group.
- No names. No city, contractor, or product brand is named. Component types are generic (for example “LED driver”, not a brand).
- No personal data. Resident reports are counted, never shown.
- Stated definitions. Each metric uses the definition above. Changes are listed in the changelog.
- Outliers. Networks with less than 6 months of data, or with incomplete job records, are excluded.
Industry survey
Twelve questions for city engineers, utilities, and contractors.
Before platform data is large enough, a survey of city engineers, utilities, and contractors gives a first picture. Questions planned for the first survey:
- How many street lights do you manage, and in which country?
- What share of your lights are LED?
- What share are connected to a CMS or CCMS?
- How do you receive fault reports today? (Phone, app, patrols, alarms, other)
- What tool do you use to manage maintenance? (Paper, spreadsheet, software)
- What share of lights worked at your last full patrol?
- What is your average time to repair a single dark light?
- Which component fails most often in your network?
- Is your street lighting energy metered or billed at a flat rate?
- Do you dim your lights? If yes, by how much and when?
- What is your biggest street lighting problem today?
- What would you change in your next street lighting tender?
To take part, or to add your network to the benchmark, email the OpenSLMS team.