In addition to monitoring vehicles and drivers' habits, tracking software can also increase office workers’ productivity—by streamlining reports.
Tracking software offers many benefits to its users. Firms can track where their vehicles are at any given moment, or within a workday; companies can also analyze routes to identify and solve traffic problems or collection bottlenecks. Most software also helps with the “number crunching,” as trucks can “tell” the home office how many customers have been served, how long that took, and how many roundtrips to the landfill were required each day, waste firms can save many person-hours to generate reports needed for internal or external use.
Tyler, TX’s Solid Waste staff needs such reports for its own, as well as the city’s, use. “We’ve been using tracking software since 2004,” says Tyler’s Special Projects Coordinator Kristi Boyett. “It would be nice to have real-time tracking, but we’re currently using historical tracking. Data is stored on each truck’s hard drive; when the truck drives by our office at the end of the day, it radios the data to my computer.”
The city of Tyler uses Shadow Tracker Vision II, created by Sugar Land, TX’s Advanced Tracking Technologies Inc., www.advantrack.com. With its simple-to-install onboard modules, the program allows for live (10-second updates) vehicle tracking, including Microsoft mapping with live traffic feed. Shadow Tracker’s highly detailed history allows Boyett to generate her daily reports with a minimum of tedious paperwork. “You pull up yesterday, and you’ll see everything the truck did, everywhere it went. I can set Shadow Tracker up, tell it what data I want it to pull, and it e-mails me a report at 9 a.m. each day. I don’t have to pull all that data by hand now.”
“We pride ourselves on our fast, 10-second information transference updates, and a price point better than much of the industry,” says Ben Van Avery, executive sales manager for Advanced Tracking. “Depending on a customer’s needs, our Shadow Tracker units—although our largest unit is only 6-by-6-by-three-quarter inches—can be as small as a pager, small enough to be installed on a dashboard behind the steering column, where 99% of them are installed. When customers buy their first packages, we suggest quietly installing them, without telling their drivers, so they get a baseline of ‘standard operating procedure.’ Then they tell the drivers these units have been installed, which should stop any ‘bad behaviors.’ In some instances, the Shadow Tracker system has paid for itself and three years’ worth of data transmitting service in one week. In most cases, with better productivity, it’s paid for itself in one month. Customers often report between 15% and 25% increases in productivity, while also spending 10% to 20% less on fuel.”
Tyler’s version of the software isn’t integrated with any other system, such as billing. “We also use Route Smart and Air Track; the software doesn’t all ‘talk together.’ As every resident gets a standard price, we don’t use Shadow Tracker’s reports for billing purposes,” Boyett explains. “Oh, a resident can ask for ‘pack-out’ service—meaning, the trash is located near your garage, et cetera, and our employees have to lug it out, but that’s an additional charge. As there are hardly any recycling vendors here in east Texas, recycling is an optional program; customers have to pay for it. Recycling routes are smaller, but pickups are spaced farther apart. We make two trash pickups a week for each resident, using side-arm automated trucks. Four days a week we pick up trash. On Wednesdays we collect recycling, using the same trucks.”
Shadow Tracker does allow Boyett’s department to keep tabs on its trucks. “The tracking works with Microsoft’s Virtual Earth; you can go online, hit ‘play,’ and see where the route has gone,” she says. “We mainly look at how much trucks are stopping. Is it more than three minutes? It shouldn’t be—is there a problem? How much time are they spending at the landfill? We can also note if a driver has been speeding, due to how long a route takes, or how long it takes them to get from their last route stop to the landfill.” Aside from a few hardware problems, the system seems to be working well. “We had some issues with the hardware back in May; we bought a new one, which then had a bad power supply. We sent everything in—it made the base go bad. We got everything back together in early September.” Boyett seems pleased with productivity gains, but says about Tyler’s drivers: “I don’t know that goofing off was ever a problem.”
Trash or Toilets—Get Tracking!
“We’re in the rolloff dumpster business, construction waste, and were routing manually,” explains Andy Underhill, treasurer for Capital Waste Services Inc. in Richmond, VA. “We decided to take on porta-toilets business, and that routing became a problem, so we looked for a software to do that.” Approximately three years ago, Capital Waste Services purchased a RouteOptix program from RouteOptix Management Systems Inc., www.routeoptix.com, which proved to be the software for the task. “Along with routing and dispatch, the software also does billing,” he says. “RouteOptix helps us prioritize during the day. Dumpster hauls are done when a customer calls in. We can easily route our trucks after doing the regular pickups, as after collecting each rolloff dumpster, we take the load to the landfill. Porta-potties, are recurring monthly charges; you know in advance where the stops will be, and the dispatch part of the software helps with this.”
Among its many features, RouteOptix allows recording of detailed customer information—mailing/billing details, map-based locations, multiple services, notes on follow-up calls, asset details, charges, and routing—all on a single screen. Customer Service personnel receive accurate real-time information, for easy creation of work orders. A secure, full-featured billing system gives users accurate, timely billing and invoicing capabilities.
Productivity has improved with the system. “On the portatoilet side, the software tracks how many miles the truck runs per day how much time was spent on the route at each location. As we put in predetermined costs of delivery, et cetera, RouteOptix lets us know how much the Monday route cost us that day, and we can compare it to other Mondays, for example. If the costs seem out of whack, we can investigate. Did we have a stop on this route that wasn’t scheduled for that day? We know how long it should take—is there something wrong with the route?
“There’s always the unknown of traffic,” Underhill goes on. “Radios in our trucks, plus GPS tracking, will tell us if a driver’s stuck in traffic. When a driver radios in to tell us he’s stuck, we’ll use Microsoft MapPoint, to find the best alternate route for him. We have a hard-mounted unit in the truck that reports back to the software and tells us when the truck is running, if he’s speeding, et cetera. Drivers also have a separate GPS unit, so they can find their way around, but that’s not integrated with the RouteOptix system.”
How do their drivers feel about the systems? Do they resent being watched? “No, it’s actually very helpful for drivers: The tracking tells us if driver did clean out the toilet, and that the pump was turned on. When driver comes in with his tickets, we check them off. The client signs that they got a new dumpster. Everything happened that day goes into the system, done and completed today. If anyone has a question or complaint, we have backup, to show the work was performed.”
Underhill doesn’t worry about “material shrinkage.” “For the porta-toilets, people aren’t walking away with our supplies, and we didn’t have a problem before the software. As for shrinkage with trash, if someone takes the garbage, we don’t have to pay to dump it!” he chuckles. “As for time and cost savings, I don’t have a measurement, but we could see drastic changes in product and cost savings from when we were doing all these tasks manually. The paperwork was time-consuming, and we know we were missing billings. RouteOptix cuts down on the billing time; it used to take a couple of hours a week, as we had to log onto the dispatch board, then key that data into accounting packages. The billing process is now down to 30 minutes!”
Charlotte, NC’s Metro Waste also uses RouteOptix. “We’ve been using it about two years in our industrial and commercial waste operation,” states owner Perry Whisnant. “I like its flexibility, as well as Ron Davey’s support; he takes care of all problems that come up. If we want something new, we explain it, and he makes it happen. For example, if we want to change some information on a particular type of customer, such as noting we use a front loader rolloff, Ron does it remotely, puts it online for us, and the new feature is working within a couple days. RouteOptix is integrated; it’s my billing program, too, and it’s integrated with the GPS/MapQuest on our trucks. We can route pickups on our computer, finding the most expedient way to do the job.” Whisnant’s drivers have no problem with the tracking. “They don’t think much about it. We were keeping track of them via radio before that, so they’re used to being ‘watched.’”
Metro Waste had previously used a software product, but “...we’d been looking for another product for several years. The one I had, they wouldn’t upgrade. A friend in the business from Augusta, GA, recommended RouteOptix. Ron’s a great guy to work with; I highly recommend him.”
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Photo: Advanced Tracking Technologies Inc.
Shadow Tracker allows firms to know exactly where their trucks are and how they are operating at all times. |
Onboard Systems
U-Pak Disposals is a leading waste and recycling service provider in the greater Toronto and southern Ontario area. For over 35 years, U-Pak has been developing industry-leading sustainable recycling alternatives with a fleet of over 100 vehicles and a commitment to the highest environmental standards.
U-Pak was looking for a technology solution to assist with managing its routes and the effort that is associated with running a fleet of more than 100 vehicles. With ongoing data-processing requirements, ineffective service verification, and limited visibility to each driver, U-Pak was growing but needed a way to maintain costs and provide better customer service.
The solution came from a partnership that was formed prior between FleetMind and Soft-Pak, two leading software solutions for onboard computing and back-office operational software for the waste and recycling industry. By extending the Soft-Pak back-office directly to the truck, customer service, operations, and billing improved.
The combined system provided immediate access to all required data, allowing drivers to immediately notify customer service of block containers, added pickups, and other deviation that can be associated with a normal route. U-Pak started with a pilot project of 20 vehicles and has since expanded to more than 50 trucks with onboard computing.
For the past four years, U-Pak has enjoyed a number of benefits from the Soft-Pak/FleetMind integration, including a 60% staff reduction for data-entry positions; an 80% reduction in data-entry times (from 10 minutes per route in rolloff to less than two minutes) with real-time direct entry from the driver; an increase in customer-service efficiency in dealing with missed calls; a decrease of credits and write-offs resulting from real-time service verification; accurate service times for operations and pricing evaluations; and overall reductions in time for driver check-in, dispatching, and service verification. Moreover, real-time vehicular data monitoring has led to cost reductions on maintenance and verification of driver usage of the rolling stock, while real-time vehicular tracking and monitoring has earned U-Pak a top-grade fleet status for insurance purposes. Accident reporting has assisted in several vehicle incidents.
“Using FleetMind’s onboard computer coupled with our Soft-Pak back-office system has brought tremendous benefits,” says Mary Molony, chief financial officer for U-Pak. “I can see how this will help our operations be more efficient, especially on routes that take us into alleys in Toronto’s downtown core, where we are often blocked and can’t service the customers. Now we can show them why in real-time. This brings us one step closer to achieving our mandate of reducing the amount of paper we produce.”
Good Software Support Is Important
Recycling businesses have routing needs similar to those of waste haulers, and Pratt Industries USA, in Conyers, GA, finds that Trux Route Management Systems, www.trux.com, of Cambridge, ON, fits the bill.
“We don’t do household pickups; we use front-loader trucks for commercial clients, picking up cardboard and paper,” says Jerry Harrison, Pratt’s regional manager. Pratt keeps the cardboard it collects. “We use the cardboard for our own mills—we have three in the US,” Harrison explains. “We bring it back here and make new paper out of it—mostly more corrugated cardboard.”
The Trux system was already in place when Harrison signed on with Pratt five years ago. “We upgraded to Trux 7 four years ago. It’s our main database for our routing; it does our billing and history—Trux does everything we need for running this system. You can print out a route sheet every day for drivers, generate flash reports from yesterday, or anything in that data field. Productivity reports I pull weekly. We use SAP for our profit-and-loss system, but we upload Trux into SAP for P&L reports.”
Problems in the field are uploaded to Trux, so the office can make adjustments. “Let’s say a driver reports that client A’s bins are blocked by parked cars. Our customer-service reps will call up that account on the computer and make a note. We can send clients an e-mail straight out of Trux. A month or so down the road, if there’s a question about that event, there’s a backup—all that’s logged in.”
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Photo: Routeware
Routeware displays for different tasks |
Harrison worked at other waste haulers before Pratt, so he’s had experience with other software. “As far as being user friendly, I think Trux is the best,” he says. “The biggest thing is the owners—just good, down-to-earth people. They always have time to talk to you; their support is the best I’ve seen. I’ve had buddies start their own waste-hauling businesses, and I suggest Trux systems to them.”
Reports and Rerouting Made Easier
When a firm has to answer to someone else—a government agency, for example—accurate reports are a must; and, as creating these documents can be time-consuming, any software that helps in the task is valuable. “That’s the primary reason why we purchased the software,” notes Jason Barnes, IT director of Hillsboro, OR’s Hillsboro Garbage Disposal Inc. “We have to report to city and county governments, and we hadn’t felt our reports were accurate enough. So, we went looking for a comprehensive package that would give very accurate information. As we’re a franchised hauler for the city, offering residential, commercial, and drop-box services, we need to show how we do our job.”
Three years ago, Barnes’ firm had a very old system; no information was coming from its vehicles. The decision was made to purchase software from Beaverton, OR’s Routeware, www.routeware.com. The program allows tracking what has been picked up, where and when; dispatchers can use it to quickly assign work orders and send helper routes. The mapping feature shows all driver activity while on or off the route, and for reports, users can arrange management summaries of customizable key data.
For Barnes, the improvement was astounding. “Waste software has come so far, it blew me away with what they’ve added, like RFID scanning, and scale modules to weigh carts or the truck.”
Hillsboro’s productivity went up. “Routeware’s in-truck monitors will show inactivity, and the way it does it is like a time clock. It will tell us how long it took a driver to get to his first pickup, or how much time elapsed during his trips to the transfer station or the landfill. It shows the time crews are actively working. We use these both for our collection and transfer routes,” Barnes explains.
“Routeware uses cellular communications for data transfer, sending the information from the trucks back to office, via cell towers. You can have this data transmitted every second or every minute—ours is by the minute.”
Because the routing software allowed the company to see actions and results on paper, Hillsboro was able to change some routes, to increase productivity.
“Our routes had varying density,” he says. “Maybe one had 35 stops, closely spaced—the other had 16, with more driving between. Of course productivity is not the same; how far is each barrel from the next? As we were able to look at a year’s worth of collection data, we could easily recognize if maybe someone had too much to do, and we could reroute, to give someone else more to do.” As for actual productivity gains, Barnes estimates that “We probably gained 20% more productivity in labor, which is our highest cost. We haven’t yet analyzed the fuel costs, but I’d guess we’ve saved there, too.”
How do Hillsboro’s drivers feel about the systems; do they complain that Big Brother is watching? “With drivers, there’s a tricky way to roll this out,” Barnes says. “We made it clear that ‘checking on them’ wasn’t our first concern. I told them that productivity and reports were what I’d be focusing on, and that we wouldn’t be ‘using the data against them’ unless they showed us a reason to do so—for example, long, unscheduled stops during the day, et cetera. We also pointed out that this system was a great tool for drivers—no paperwork! With the computer system, they don’t have to write out extra slips and route reports. They don’t have to fill out and submit cards when someone drops or increases service. They don’t have to do ‘extra’ work—if we have customers on credit hold, or customers who have stopped their service, this information will show up on the truck’s computer screen, which is like a laptop without a keyboard, it’s all touch-screen. With all these ‘pluses’ for them, drivers quickly ‘bought into’ the system.”
Routeware is used in conjunction with other waste management software. “We use a combination of software to do the route audits and management. PC Scale Tower, an RMS source management system, is in our office; it does billing, and runs the entire company. Data from Routeware is fully interfaced with it.”
What would Barnes next like from his software? “Maybe an integration of communications between the truck and the office. I’d like to see one button for the driver to push for this, or maybe voice activation. We currently have two-way radios in our trucks.”
There’s a lot to like about Routeware, as far as Barnes is concerned. “We can update how the route works and send turn by turn directions, if the driver needs that. Problems with the route? The driver can take photos of cans knocked over, then input that shot into the database, noting that customer had a mess. It also allows for ‘proof’ if a customer says we didn’t take his trash; we can show a time-stamped photo that notes his trash wasn’t at the curb. I could go on and on—it’s an exciting time for trash. Technology has changed how we do business.”