An upwardly mobile sector

When Motorola launched their first commercially available mobile phone in the early 80’s it cost around $10,000 in today’s money, only had 30 minutes talk time and took about 10 hours for a single charge. Whilst for some it was a must have accessory, no one could have predicted the consumer demand which has driven such rapid development to the capability we see in our smart phones today.

So what has the fact that we have moved from a brick to iPhone 6 so quickly got to do with recycling and resource management? Well, following what was a relatively slow start to the development and uptake of technology in the sector we are now experiencing something of a tech revolution of our own.

There are a number of reasons for this accelerated development. Perhaps most important is the fact that we now have a high level of familiarity with technology in all areas of our lives and expect a certain degree of capability. This expectation is now mirrored in the resource management sector and is driven by a need for increased operational efficiency and real-time information in order to remain competitive. It also stems from waste and recycling operators who are demanding increased levels of accurate and current information to better mange their own costs and improve their internal business intelligence in terms of customer, job and route profitability.

Waste

It is no surprise then that mobile technology for the waste and recycling sector is one of the most rapidly developing markets for companies like AMCS. The functionality and ability to provide real-time information enables users to constantly refine and optimise their operations. Gathering real-time information on progress of collections, missed and unplanned jobs enables a more effective debrief at end of day. The ability to add unplanned jobs to vehicles in closest proximity drives huge efficiencies in schedules. This does not just apply to regular round work. For example additional jobs for skip and RoRo drivers can simply be dragged and dropped on to drivers’ electronic route sheet using software that is intelligent enough to reject jobs, which are not appropriate or compatible with a collection vehicle type or mode.

Fully mobile systems also greatly improve confidence and transparency in the work being undertaken. Electronic signatures provide instant and unambiguous proof of service. Real-time mapping allows the transport office to see a vehicle’s location at any point in time, helping remove the likelihood of any ‘unplanned’ collections. The use of photos can also be useful in addressing any issues with service such as obstructions, locked gates, failure to present bins for collection and also to record instances of contamination or misuse.

The development of Cloud-based and lower cost hardware options have also increased the availability of systems that previously would have been unaffordable. Solutions that until recently would have required an investment of say £3000 in on-vehicle technology are now available as Android systems meaning that the hardware element can be as little as £300-400 for a tablet.

Hardware savings are not the only benefit to companies. The availability of cloud-based and hosted solutions provide users with comparable and often enhanced capability at a fraction of the set up cost. The removal of the need to install software on customers’ systems significantly reduces implementation and maintenance costs and also ensures that they are always working with the latest version of the software.

Future

Who knows where user demands and technology may take us in the next two, five or ten years but what we do know is that the potential is really exciting. We are already looking at systems that will enable householders or businesses to grade and photograph their own material, for example. This would enable resource managers to create a profile of each recyclate stream before it is collected, enabling better processing decisions and optimising the market value of each material.  This closer level of engagement between the user and the system would also, we believe, help to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the material being presented for recycling particularly when combined with incentive schemes that directly benefit the producer.

Next Tuesday (July 14) AMCS are holding a breakfast seminar in London where we will outline capability and benefits of the some of the latest software and technology and talk about new innovation that is currently in development. We are also keen to hear from waste and recycling mangers to better understand their business issues and opportunities and discuss the role technology could play in mitigating or exploiting them.

If you would like to attend this free of charge event please email marketing@amcsgroup.com or click here for more information.