I  n an era of climate volatility, aging infrastructure, and growing public safety demands, the ability to monitor, predict, and respond to environmental and structural conditions in real time is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. As the founder of Alegna Technologies, a company built on empowering institutions through smart sensor-based automation, I’ve witnessed firsthand how integrating geospatial engineering with IoT-driven predictive maintenance can transform how our facilities—and even cities—operate.

Across the U.S., billions of dollars are lost annually due to undetected water leaks, equipment failure, and preventable infrastructure damage. Schools shut down for mold remediation. Hospitals suffer critical downtime due to HVAC or MRI cooling system failures. Municipalities struggle with maintaining underground utilities until after a failure has already occurred.

These issues are often compounded by:
– Staff shortages in facilities management,
– A lack of real-time, location-specific data,
– And limited budgets to overhaul aging systems.

Yet, what if we could turn every pipe, pump, HVAC unit, or wall cavity into a source of intelligence? What if the geography of our built environment could not only inform decisions—but automatically alert us before things go wrong?

That is the power of geospatially-aware predictive maintenance—and it’s where Alegna Technologies is leading the charge.

At Alegna, we deploy a suite of over 100 encrypted smart sensors—capable of monitoring temperature, vibration, water presence, pressure changes, and even corrosion—into schools, hospitals, and public facilities. Each sensor transmits real-time data to our proprietary AlegnaSense™ IoT Platform, which combines predictive analytics and spatial intelligence to assess risk and deliver early alerts.

But what truly amplifies our technology’s impact is its geospatial integration.

By mapping sensor locations across a facility using GIS (Geographic Information Systems), we create a digital twin that allows stakeholders to:
– Visualize areas of vulnerability,
– Analyze performance trends by location,
– Prioritize asset management based on geographic risk clusters,
– And plan preventive maintenance with location-specific precision.

Geospatial intelligence bridges the gap between raw data and actionable strategy—turning smart buildings into self-reporting systems with geographic awareness.

In Atlanta, we’re working with Grady Memorial Hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in the Southeast, to install remote early warning predictive sensor solutions in areas most prone to water damage, overheating, and mechanical vibration. By overlaying sensor networks with the hospital’s floor plan and historical maintenance data, we help facilities managers:
– Monitor heat fluctuations in MRI cooling systems,
– Detect plumbing leaks before visible damage,
– Predict the failure of aging air handlers and pumps,
– And generate compliance-ready reports tied to sensor GPS or floor coordinates.

This approach not only mitigates equipment downtime and costly repairs—it helps ensure continuous patient care and operational resilience.

Our recent invitation by Equalis Group, a nationwide Group Purchasing Organization (GPO), opened the door for Alegna to scale predictive maintenance automation across 250+ U.S. school districts.

In K–12 environments, where flooding from a single pipe can close a school or cause long-term health issues, geospatial sensor integration is key. We use building maps, drainage path overlays, and proximity to external risk zones to prioritize sensor deployment. When a leak is detected near a server room, kitchen, or science lab, the system not only alerts custodians—but also geolocates the exact source for rapid response.

While Alegna’s current focus is institutional—healthcare, education, and government—the broader vision is to bring our platform to the climate-resilient smart city landscape.

Imagine city infrastructure embedded with corrosion and leak sensors tied to GIS data. Imagine flood zones mapped in real-time, streetlight vibration sensors detecting structural fatigue from seismic events, or bridges reporting air pressure anomalies before a failure. These are not future concepts—they are existing technologies that, when combined with geospatial engineering, create powerful systems of resilience.

As a Hispanic, woman-owned small business, Alegna Technologies is proud to be SBA-, WOSB-, and DBE-certified by the Department of Transportation in five (5) southern states, Georgia Department of Administrative Services-DOAS (.gov) allowing an additional 10% tax rebate to Alegna Technologies’ customers.

But beyond certifications, we see diversity as central to innovation. We bring underrepresented perspectives to the table—particularly in infrastructure equity, school safety, and access to resilient technologies for underserved communities.

We believe the benefits of predictive maintenance and geospatial intelligence should not be reserved for high-end facilities. That’s why we’ve made our solutions affordable, scalable, and modular, so any public school or rural hospital can adopt smart automation without costly overhauls.

As we move deeper into the age of digital infrastructure, I encourage the geospatial engineering community to partner with IoT innovators. The power of your mapping, modeling, and spatial analysis becomes exponentially greater when combined with real-time sensor intelligence.

Together, we can move from reactive repair to predictive protection. We can create data-empowered infrastructure that not only knows where it is—but what it needs.

The future of resilient infrastructure depends on it.

Angela Cabrera is the Founder and CEO of Alegna Technologies, Inc., a smart automation firm specializing in predictive maintenance using encrypted, AI-powered sensors. She has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who and chosen as in Innovator in 2022 and 2024 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s IMPEL+ Program. Learn more at                                                                         ww.AlegnaTechnologies.com