11 ways technology transforms public and private operator return on investment.
Breaking Down the ROI of Waste & Recycling Fleet Digitization 11 ways technology transforms public and private operator return on investment.
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What does return on investment (ROI) look like for solid waste and recycling operations?
chief operating officer for the City of Houston, TX, who oversaw the $3.5 billion annual operations group, which includes waste management.
It’s a fair question. ROI can take several forms for public and private haulers under pressure to deliver exceptional daily results with limited resources. For a private hauler, the end goals may be increased revenue, profit, or accounts. For municipal operations, ROI may be fewer 311 calls, improved driver retention, higher community satisfaction, or new revenue sources. Yet there are many similarities. “The commodity is the same. The equipment is the same. General customer expectations are the same. The CDL driver pool is about the same. One group expresses ROI as profit; the other as a measure of efficiency,” says Harry Hayes, former
Both public and private haulers are also under pressure to increase ROI, a mandate that has many moving away from paper-based, analog processes and toward modern, digital workflows that promise greater efficiencies and cost savings. This playbook examines the role of digital tools in boosting ROI for public and private sector solid waste and recycling service leaders. What works? What’s a fair and reasonable return? What’s the best way forward? Read on to see what these service leaders learned and for best practices on making (or continuing) the digital transition within your organization.
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TAKING THE FIRST STEP TOWARD DIGITAL ROUTE MANAGEMENT
“Do more with less” is an operational mantra familiar to many in the waste and recycling industry.
CITY OF HOUSTON
Yet operational breakthroughs are seldom achieved with a mild tweak or two. Those results require critically rethinking business as usual and testing alternative methods in a limited, low-risk environment to validate or disprove assumptions confidently. That, in a nutshell, describes a macro roadmap for transitioning from a paper-based route management structure to a real-time, cloud-based digital one. Here’s a look at the early experiences of a public and private hauler:
IMMEDIATE SCALE AND ROUTE MANAGEMENT BENEFITS
Hayes remembers the first stages of Houston’s digital journey. “I felt very strongly that a digital routing solution would be immediately impactful,” he said. First, it meant his team could seamlessly manage its entire customer base, comprising 400,000 stops across 93 routes weekly. “Having a tool like that was huge,” he said. The other significant change was sharing routes in real time when equipment broke down. “That wasn’t in the cards with the old system,” Hayes says. “Now we simply send over another driver’s route via a tablet. The new driver knows where to go, how many stops to make, and the estimated time required. System impact is immediate and profound.”
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Bin Not Out
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Pot Hole
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Overflowing Bin
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MERIDIAN WASTE
POWERFUL NEW MARKET CATALYST
The stakes are just as high for North Carolina-based Meridian Waste, a commercial and residential private hauler. The fast-growing company’s business model often involves acquisitions, requiring a seamless transition to new markets, routes, personnel, and equipment. “When you change 5,000 people’s collection day, it’s a big change,” says Meridian area president Patrick Messinger. Going digital allows Meridian to optimize routes and vehicles, reducing route miles and retiring older vehicles without replacement costs — yielding rapid and robust ROI.
AN INDUSTRY INSIDER’S ASSESSMENT
Mark Fournier has seen ROI transformations like these two examples many times over his 20-year career in waste management. The industry veteran is director of solutions consulting for Routeware, a leading provider of cloud- based technology for the waste and recycling sector. “A new generation of leaders is starting to run private haulers and municipal solid waste departments,” Fournier observes. “They want real-time information on collection status as it’s happening. It’s not just about reducing the number of go-backs, but also improving field insight and analytics for better decision-making.”
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11 RETURN ON INVESTMENT PATHWAYS FOR OPERATIONAL DIGITIZATION
ROI in solid waste and recycling route management can take many, often overlapping forms, from better customer experiences to reduced operating expenses. Yet that range is frequently overlooked in pursuit of one or two key performance indicators (KPIs), such as lowering inbound call traffic or slashing worker overtime hours.
Achieving even half of these activities could significantly transform ROI for a public or private hauler. All 11? That possibility underscores the power of digital enablement. The same forces that continue to reshape nearly all aspects of commerce, from manufacturing and entertainment to communication, finance, and health care, are now available to waste and recycling fleet operators. “Some wonder why our pilot programs are so successful,” says Fournier, referring to the Routeware SmartCity fleet management software. “The report we produce at the pilot’s conclusion is presented to city councils. City officials see the irrefutable performance data, which pushes their acceptance over the finish line.” Routeware sees a similar demand for actionable insights on the private side, addressed through the company’s Elements offering. To get a sense of what life is like on the digital side, consider the following ROI goals and how digital routing solutions can help waste and recycling haulers achieve them >>>
Today, ROI can be viewed across a benefit spectrum that includes the following possible mandates:
• • • • • • •
Optimize fleet operations
Reduce route times
Reduce go-backs
Reduce new driver training time Increase dispatcher productivity Increase back-office productivity Reduce incoming customer calls
• Increase revenue from overages, service increases, and accurate route sheets • Reduce expenses related to accident/property damage exoneration • Reduce printing and mailing costs • Reduce contamination costs
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
IMPROVE ROUTE EFFICIENCY
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Harrisonburg, VA, saved as much as 61 minutes per route and nearly cut route mileage in half for waste collection drivers. The reductions translate to more than $194,900 in annual savings and diminished vehicle emissions.
Digital solutions help city leaders monitor, analyze, and improve existing routes, providing visibility into average trip time, pickups per hour, and idle time. This data supports route optimization and balancing, increasing the number of daily pick-ups, reducing fuel usage, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and enabling more significant cost savings.
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
IMPROVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Denton, TX, recorded a roughly 70% reduction in needless go-backs. Based on this decrease and related data, it’s estimated Denton now saves over $150,000 per year on go- back reductions. Kansas City, MO, improved citizen satisfaction by 17% over solid waste collection improvement directly attributable to digital technology.
Route management software verifies the service performed and empowers drivers to note curbside issues, which mitigates go-backs (saving approximately $50 to $100 per incident). Issues can now be addressed in real time, reducing customer service complaints.
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
ENHANCE VEHICLE UPTIME
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
By using digital monitoring, an Arkansas community discovered that just six vehicles accounted for 93% of critical fault codes. This allowed them to focus their preventative maintenance efforts to make the biggest impact.
Real-time data insight on vehicle telematics, GPS, driver performance, and critical fault codes is possible with route management software. Issues are identified quickly, reducing maintenance costs. Studies show that preventing a single on-route breakdown per year can save up to $50,000. What’s more, on-route breakdowns triple repair costs.
ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
DIGITIZE OPERATIONS
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
By using digital routing solutions, Spokane, WA, saves $25,000 each year in printing costs and the equivalent of 56 trees in reduced paper use.
Digital tools transform existing operations , including route sheets, pre/post trip inspections, scale tickets, and route details.
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
LEVERAGE EXISTING ASSETS
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Santa Fe, NM, uses digital technology to identify and geolocate graffiti hot spots, yielding a report shared with other city departments to guide clean-up efforts.
Integrated, cloud-based systems help identify non-waste and recycling issues affecting the community, such as potholes, graffiti, low-hanging tree branches, and vacant homes.
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
CUT OPERATIONAL COSTS
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Meridian Waste used route optimization software to free up 34% of its solid waste fleet, cut 26% of its waste routes, and lower route miles and associated admissions by 21% at one of its companies.
Digital technology can be used to sequence and balance driver stops, which helps to streamline operations, reduce the number of vehicles needed, cut down on route days, and even eliminate routes altogether.
Memphis, TN, optimized and balanced routes, resulting in overtime wage savings of $1.35M over two years.
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
INCREASE REVENUE
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Peoria, AZ, identified 800 households with containers they weren’t paying for, netting the city an additional $134,000 in revenue.
Automatically detect when a collection is made while accounting for overage billing, all with minimal driver intervention. Taking photos of overloaded containers is easy, which helps settle billing disputes and empowers drivers with tools to end collection abuse.
ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
IMPROVE SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Casella Waste Systems prevented a hit-and-run damage charge using the onboard camera to prove that another vehicle had committed a sideswipe.
Digital technology allows supervisors and managers to confirm what is happening in the field. Vehicle inspection reports help ensure safety checks are completed to minimize accident risk and compliance violations.
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
INCREASE ROUTE DENSITY
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
American Refuse, a 30-truck hauler, incorporated a two-hour reroute to attract more customers and increase trip density and profits.
New, on-route customer opportunities can be identified and added to the existing route map, helping private haulers focus on growing volume rather than just price.
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ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
REDUCE GO-BACKS
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Grand Rapids, MI, reduced go-backs to one missed stop per route daily (a minuscule .025% of all stops).
End costly go-backs, driver frustration, and poor customer behavior. GPS location data, photos, and video help prove collection verification and settle disputes over skips.
ROI OBJECTIVE
ROI RESULT
REDUCE INCOMING CALLS
USING ROUTEWARE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Oakland County, MI, estimates that its incoming call volume is down by 200 calls daily, a savings of five hours per day, since adding alternative education and outreach tools.
Offer customers alternative ways to contact the collection service with chatbots and other support, freeing 311 reps for other duties and calls.
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BONUS ROI
MUNICIPAL BOND RATING
Cities often depend on municipal bonds to help finance civic improvements. Municipal bonds are rated by an independent bond ratings agency, such as Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch. The rating agency investigates the city’s financial health and assigns a letter grade (i.e., “AAA”) to label bond risk for potential investors. “When underwriters evaluate cities, proactive, forward-thinking management practices influence their determinations,” observes Harry Hayes, former chief operating officer for the City of Houston, in Texas. “Practices like automating waste and recycling collection with a digital management solution like Routeware SmartCity speaks well of city leadership and may help the city earn a higher, more attractive bond rating. Continued reliance on old school, paper-based route sheets puts that favorable bond rating at risk.”
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MULTIPLY WASTE COLLECTION PERFORMANCE
Imagine for a moment a solid waste and recycling world with no route sheets, minimal customer calls (“Hey, you missed my house!”), near- zero go-backs, and happier drivers. It’s a world where you can count on at least a dozen ways to optimize routes, vehicles, schedules, and ROI —all repeatedly researched and verified across tens of thousands of collection days. Hundreds of U.S. cities already live that dream, thanks to the work of public and private haulers. Your peers in communities large and small assessed their options and chose to improve the lives of route drivers, supervisors, managers, city officials, and customers with digital performance, speed, and simplicity. As you consider your next steps, keep the proven performance of Routeware SmartCity and Elements in mind. Test it with a pilot program of 10 vehicles or less. See for yourself how it yields expected and unexpected results for your operation. To learn how Routeware can help your organization digitize routes, workflows, and more, visit routeware.com .
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