Enhancing Customer Service with RFID Technology in the Solid Waste Industry. Creating a shift from Being Re-Active to Becoming Pro-Active

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2 Enhancing Customer Service with RFID Technology in the Solid Waste Industry Creating a shift from Being Re-Active to Becoming Pro-Active 2

3 Common Issues within Solid Waste Lack of Service Verification Data Almost daily, customers call and claim they were not serviced, when in reality, they just didn t put their container out or they want to be serviced twice Servicing Non Paying Accounts Account Audit studies have shown that in most mature container collection programs, up to 10% of the accounts could be receiving services that they are not paying for Container/Capital Loss It is a known fact in the industry that more than 2% of a container fleet can become lost or stolen during each year of service (38K containers x 2% = 760 X $50 = $38,000 in capital loss per year) Speaker s company logo here 3

4 The City of Lakeland s Goals for Using RFID Prevent the common issues before they happen Improve customer service Being Pro-Active, not Re-Active Create Pay As You Throw Program Rates are based on size of container selected by resident (3 variable rates, 35 Gallon =$13.50, 65 Gallon = $14.50 and 95 Gallon = $15.50) 4

5 Choosing the Right Technology Existing Technological Infrastructure GPS on all collection vehicles Other Technologies Considered GPS only Why RFID and not GPS Only? GPS could not tie a container to a specific account, just general area of service RFID combined with GPS provided the most valuable and accurate data possible for our program 5

6 Choosing the Right Technology continued.. Passive vs. Active in Solid Waste Due to asset costs and requirements in this industry, passive technology made the most sense Pitfalls of Active Technology in Solid Waste Limited Battery Life Cost of Tags vs. Container Asset Cost Passive Tags can be embedded into the containers, away from the rigorous environment and concealed from customers 6

7 Choosing the Right Partner What did we look for: A partner with experience with containers & RFID processes (One Stop Shop) A proven solution tailored toward our industry The benefits of the Rehrig solution include: Development of a accurate database from the start Accuracy at the start is key, otherwise if you put Garbage In, you get Garbage out! Automated Inventory Management Designed to Maintain the accuracy of the database at all times Standard & Customized Reports Providing complete visibility of daily operations 7

8 Implementation Time Frames Phase 1 Complete 10,000 containers Phase 2 Complete 10,000 containers Phase 3 Implements September ,000 containers Benefits of a phased in approach Provided opportunity to learn the systems and software on a smaller and more manageable scale Had opportunity to customize reports and make deployment changes to benefit the overall program (IE: GPS capture as part of the delivery process, which now provides pro-active tracking of lost/stolen containers) 8

9 Key Features of Our Program Service Verification The reports give us transparency of what is truly happening in the field, allows us to properly bill for the services that is provided to customers Pro-Actively Tracking Movement of Containers Prevents theft, container capital loss and verification on the location of each container each time it is serviced Pro-Active Customer Service Observation Reporting allows us to: Fix damaged containers before it becomes a service issue Identify Accounts that receive extra services (4 free per year after that addition service fee) Schedule Bulk Pickups for customer needing service 9

10 Service Verification Data On average we identify 6 people per month that claim to be on seasonal service (not at resident) for discounted rates, but are actually still receiving weekly services 10

11 Common Missed Collection Calls Customer claims their container was not picked up! 11

12 Service Confirmed! Report shows the container was serviced! 12

13 GPS Confirms As Well! Truck was at location at time of tip! 13

14 CUSTOMER STATED YOU DELIVERED ME A DAMAGED CART AND I CUT MY HAND ON IT" 14

15 THIS IS THE CART WE DELIVERED 15

16 FOUND THE CART WITH THIS 16

17 TIPPING RECORDS INDICATE 17

18 RFID TAG READ FINE UNTIL OCTOBER 18 TH SOMETIME BETWEEN THE 18 TH AND THE 25 TH THE TAG WAS CUT 18

19 Pro-Actively Tracking Movement of Containers Retrieved 98.5 % of lost/stolen containers this year! 19

20 Observation Tracking OBSERVATION BUTTONS Used for TRACKING: EXTRA DUMPS BULK PICKUPS DAMAGE D CARTS 20

21 Results Capturing accurate revenues Better asset management Improved efficiencies Ability to produce reports that show visibility to each and every service provided in detail 21

22 What is Next for Lakeland as it relates to RFID? Showing skeptics that RFID is cost effective and reliable Deploy RFID technology into all of our solid waste service areas Continue to refine current back office process to improve efficiency & move operations into a paperless process 22

23 ROI The ROI is expected to be less than 18 months 2% more accurate on customer billings = $120,000 per year Capital loss reduced by just 1% per year = $20,000 per year Verification with Transparency $ PRICELESS $ 23

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