A Machine Learning Decision-Support System Improves the Internet of Things’ Smart Meter Operations

An Internet of Things' (IoT) connected society and system represents a tremendous paradigm shift. We present a framework for a decision-support system (DSS) that operates within the IoT ecosystem. The DSS leverages advanced analytics of electric smart meter (ESM) network communication-quality data to improve cost predictions for smart meter field operations and provide actionable decision recommendations regarding whether to send a technician to a customer location to resolve an ESM issue. The model is empirically evaluated using data sets from a commercial network. We demonstrate the efficiency of our approach with a complete Bayesian network prediction model and compare with three machine learning prediction model classifiers: 1) Naïve Bayes; 2) random forest; and 3) decision tree. Results demonstrate that our approach generates statistically noteworthy estimations and that the DSS will improve the cost efficiency of ESM network operations and maintenance.