IoT Device Dev for Clean Water Nonprofit Organization
- IoT Development Other Design
- $1,000,000 to $9,999,999
- Oct. 2018 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 5.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
“What makes them special is how deeply they care about their client’s results — They’re deeply invested in our project.”
- Nonprofit
- New York, United States
- 51-200 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Twisthink has helped a nonprofit organization develop a new IoT device to measure the water flow of clean water systems and detect breakups in the service. Their work included hardware and software development.
The device created by Twisthink performs extremely well, and the project has been highly successful. The team is very transparent, proactive, and communicative, and they have impressive technical skills. They’re also timely and responsive, and they care about the client’s success.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the chief global water officer of Charity: Water, a nonprofit organization that builds clean water projects in 17 countries across Africa and five countries across Asia. Our company has been around for about 15 years, and we’ve built over 70,000 water projects in very remote parts of the developing world in that time.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Twisthink?
Over these past 15 years, we’ve learned that the communities we help sometimes face challenges with the maintenance and repairs of these projects that they can’t fix themselves. As the projects are very remote, we have delays in getting them repaired, and people go back to not having access to clean water.
Historically, the only way we had to know about an issue and fix it was to send a technician out on a motorbike and look at it, which was very expensive and unscalable. Thus, we started looking for other solutions, and we took inspiration from smart cities. We decided to implement IoT solutions to monitor our thousands of remote locations so that we could immediately know about any breakups and send technicians to help.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
Twisthink is helping us tackle our problems using human-centered design. They usually go to the root of the problem before they start thinking about a solution, so we initially went through a discovery process where they tried to understand more clearly the problem that we were trying to solve. After that, we started to look at options for technical solutions.
The great thing about working with Twisthink is that we’ve gone from problem definition to R&D and now to manufacturing and deploying the actual device. We started from zero, and it has been a challenging but very productive process.
Twisthink specializes in connected devices using IoT, and they have a lot of previous experience in this area. Our project required an original IoT device, so they’ve built the first sensor of its kind, tailored to the solutions we were trying to achieve.
They’ve been in charge of the whole project, from designing the hardware and its mechanical and technical engineering to developing its algorithm. Their work has included selecting the antenna, batteries, and plastics for the device’s housing. They also have deep knowledge of cloud computing, so we’ve used the AWS platform and its tools to develop our device’s management system.
This management system hosts all of the databases on the cloud, and it helps us with IoT fleet management, which is different from data management. Additionally, Twisthink has developed our platform’s frontend to deliver this data to the user. This includes the UI/UX design of a dashboard and the analytic reports that we email out.
The device they’ve created measures water flow in remote locations and transmits it to the cloud via the local GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network. It has a battery life of 10 years and costs about $250 to produce.
This device can be installed in less than 15 minutes without using any special tools, requires no calibration or maintenance, and has a global SIM card that immediately starts transmitting data when installed. Additionally, it is tamper-proof and safe to be in contact with water for human consumption.
What is the team composition?
I’ve worked very closely with the lead project manager and one of the partners at Twisthink, who have been my two main points of contact. I’ve also seen 25 different engineers working on the project at different times. They’ve brought various areas of expertise to the table, whether it is algorithm engineering, software engineering, hardware engineering, or electrical engineering. These engineers have been both employees and subcontractors, but they’ve all been managed by Twisthink.
How did you come to work with Twisthink?
Twisthink found me. They had been supporting another charity focused on clean water projects, and they read about some of the work that we had done on remote sensors. They reached out to me with the idea of building a remote sensor for this other charity, looking for advice.
After that, they invited me to a workshop where they gathered some water experts to do a human-centered design discovery process. I participated in that event, and I understood what they had to offer through those conversations. Finally, they channeled their design efforts over to a project with us.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent over $1 million.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in October 2018, and our engagement is ongoing. We’re currently manufacturing the device in China, and the first production run should get deployed to the field in November 2021.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Twisthink has brought to the table a combination of their experience and a fresh point of view to implement a new solution. Now, we have an original IoT device that is performing extremely well, and we actually have prototypes in the field that have been working for a year.
The device that they’ve developed is the fourth generation of this product. We worked with three other design firms, and I was working with one of them when I left them and went with Twisthink. This was the right decision because, compared to the three prior generations of the product, Twisthink’s has been the most successful by far.
For developing it, we had to overcome 8–10 significant constraints. Each of them seemed easy to tackle, but when we lined them up, the project got very difficult. However, Twisthink was able to achieve that task.
How did Twisthink perform from a project management standpoint?
Twisthink’s project management has been great. They’re great communicators, and they’re very transparent about the budget. Additionally, they’re very proactive about keeping me informed throughout the ups and downs of the project.
When working with innovative and complex projects, some things go better than expected, but others go worse. Thus, it has been key to stay well informed about it and understand where we are, and we’ve never had an issue in this regard in three years. Whenever there have been shortfalls, they’ve been very quick to correct them, and whenever they’ve seen an opportunity to save on costs, they’ve been very quick to implement them and move on.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Twisthink’s technical skills are very, very good. Compared to the other three companies I’ve worked with, their algorithm development is superior, and their testing process is more rigorous. As a result, we have a much superior product.
What makes them special is how deeply they care about their client’s results — They’re deeply invested in our project. When I talk to them, I feel like we’re on the same team, and I don’t feel just like a client of theirs.
Are there any areas they could improve?
No. Our experience has been very positive.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Think of Twisthink as a strategic development partner and as an extension of your business. If you can do that, you’ll get the benefits of their experience and thought process, and their approach will help you achieve your goals.
RATINGS
-
Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
"We’ve had delays, but I’ve never felt that it was their fault."
-
Cost
5.0Value / within estimates
"Initially, they gave me low, mid, and high estimates, and we’re right around the mid estimate."
-
Willing to Refer
5.0NPS
"I’d refer them to other people.