Ki. enables safer, smarter beacon management with remote CMS control 

The Challenge 

For years, managing school crossing beacon timings in Bolton meant manually visiting each site to manually switch on by a key, a process prone to human error, costly in operative hours, and inflexible in responding to last-minute changes such as school holidays or calendar shifts. 

With over 120 school crossing units across the borough, the approach was both time consuming and inefficient. Timings occasionally drifted out of sync, leading to situations where warning beacons were flashing outside of school hours, frustrating residents and raising safety concerns. In June 2025, a public news report highlighted beacon timing issues across multiple locations in Bolton, prompting calls for action. 

Bolton Council had already worked with Lucy Zodion on early CMS integrations using hard-wired nodes. When the opportunity arose to modernise their approach with a new generation of connected technology, they saw an opportunity to improve reliability, reduce costs, and deliver greater control over a critical public safety function. 

 

The Solution 

Bolton recently became one of the first councils to use Ki., Lucy Zodion’s smart city platform, to manage school crossing beacons via remote scheduling. 

Working closely with Lucy Zodion, Bolton tested the Ki. Gen3 NB-IoT node and antenna on their in-house test bed to validate compatibility and performance. Once satisfied, they replaced the legacy wired nodes with Ki. Gen3 NB-IoT nodes across all school crossing sites. Each device features a self-seeking roaming SIM, removing the need for dedicated collectors and simplifying installation. 

Lucy Zodion supported the rollout by providing training, mapping support, and calendar configuration assistance, making it easy for council teams to schedule term-time flashing patterns centrally through the Ki. dashboard. 

Installation took place over the summer holidays and was completed in just one week, thanks to a simple three-wire setup. Once mapped, the team could instantly configure and automate beacon operations for every school in the borough. 

The Impact 

Bolton’s school crossings are now smarter, safer, and significantly easier to manage: 

  • Safer for pupils – Beacons are always aligned with school schedules, reducing speeding risks during drop-off and pick-up. 
  • Lower costs – No more manual reprogramming visits across 120+ sites, cutting contractor and labour expenses. 
  • Greater efficiency – Council teams can focus on higher-value work instead of routine maintenance. 
  • More visibility – Real-time mapping and performance monitoring from one platform. 
  • Better public confidence – Complaints have dropped, and the new system has been well received by residents. 

The system also ensures resilience for the future, with NB-IoT technology mitigating the risk of legacy 2G/3G network decommissioning. 

Victor Janecki, Area Sales Manager, Lucy Zodion, says “This project shows the flexibility of Ki. in real-world applications beyond traditional street lighting. It’s been a pleasure working with Bolton to deliver a simple, effective solution that’s now inspiring interest from councils across the UK.”  

The Results 

With the new system in place, complaints have dropped, operatives are no longer exposed to roadside risks, and there’s growing public confidence that crossings are active when they should be. 

Paul Worthington, (Lighting Manager), Bolton Council comments, “Switching our school crossing beacons to the Ki. platform has made a real difference. We’ve eliminated the need for manual site visits, improved accuracy, and ensured our flashing lights operate exactly when they should. It’s a simple change, but one that’s helped us improve safety for pupils and reduce operational costs at the same time.”