Cutting-edge IoT and microservice-based platform
Water infrastructure plays a critical role in environmental resilience and public safety, especially in flood-prone areas. The MECHIS (Malaysia’s Electronic Centralized Hydrological Information System) project developed for the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), modernizes national water-level monitoring through a cutting-edge IoT and microservice-based platform.
With over 2,000 remote terminal units (RTUs) deployed across the country, MECHIS allows for real-time data collection, smart alerts, GIS-based asset management, automated maintenance workflows, and deep operational analytics.
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VIA delivers enterprise-grade IoT platforms, real-time data solutions, and intelligent operations software for governments and utilities. Our expertise in microservices, cloud, and connected systems helps transform critical infrastructure into smart, responsive ecosystems.
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Key Objectives
❓ Connect to 2,000+ RTUs to collect water level and environmental index data.
❓ Monitor threshold breaches and trigger real-time alerts via Telegram and SMS.
❓ Manage all RTUs, stations, maintenance plans, vendors, and contracts on a unified platform.
❓ Provide dashboards, maps, and flexible reporting tools.
❓ Build a scalable and resilient architecture that supports national-level operations.
Architecture & Technology Stack
To meet the complexity, scalability, and performance requirements, VIA designed MECHIS using a modern microservices architecture and best-in-class technologies:
Microservices Architecture
The system is decomposed into independently deployable services (e.g., Data Ingestion, Alerting, Reporting, Maintenance Management, GIS Visualization).
This enables:
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High availability
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Independent scaling
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Fault isolation
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Agile development and updates
Technology Stack
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Kafka | Message broker to ingest real-time water-level data from RTUs and stream it to internal services reliably and asynchronously. |
| PostgreSQL | Used for relational data like stations, users, contracts, tickets, vendors, and scheduling. Includes GIS support with PostGIS. |
| MongoDB | Stores semi-structured and flexible data, such as sensor metadata, alert configurations, and device logs. |
| Elasticsearch | Provides fast search and analytics, powering dashboards, filtering logs, and querying large volumes of historical sensor data. |
| Splunk | Enables system-wide log monitoring and security analysis, ensuring observability, audit trails, and proactive troubleshooting. |
| RESTful API | Standard API layer for web interfaces, external integrations, and mobile apps. All CRUD operations and user interactions go through this. |
| gRPC | High-performance RPC framework for low-latency service-to-service communication, such as alert propagation and ticket updates. |
| RTSP | Supports video stream integration for camera-enabled stations, letting users view water level footage in real time. |
| FTP | Used for legacy RTU data upload, particularly from manufacturers or third-party equipment providers. |
Platform Features
✅ RTU Integration & Data Collection
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Supports both modern and legacy RTUs through FTP, REST API, and MQTT-style ingestion.
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Water levels, temperature, turbidity, and custom indexes are streamed continuously.
✅ GIS-Enabled Station & Asset Management
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Visualize every RTU and station on a live interactive map.
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Drill down into station metadata, RTU health status, and maintenance history.
✅ Real-Time Alerting & Notification System
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Define thresholds and receive instant alerts via Telegram and SMS.
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Alerts are deduplicated and tracked in dashboards for follow-up.
✅ Maintenance & Vendor Management
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Track contracts, trouble tickets, jobs, and vendors end-to-end.
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Assign work orders, monitor execution, and automate job reporting.
✅ Dashboards & Reporting Engine
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Built with Elasticsearch and PostgreSQL for fast, dynamic reporting.
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Filter by station, region, alert type, vendor, or timeline.
Results
Since deployment, MECHIS has achieved:
❤️ Nationwide coverage of hydrological monitoring across 2,000+ connected stations.
❤️ Rapid emergency response enabled by real-time alerts and predictive maintenance.
❤️ Centralized management of maintenance, assets, and vendor contracts.
❤️ Transparent reporting and audit readiness through analytics dashboards and Splunk log monitoring.
❤️ Operational agility via modular microservices that support future expansion (e.g., flood modeling, satellite imagery).
