AMCS Marketing Manager, Wim Hoek, discusses how the latest technology can help waste managers reduce the costs associated with the sustainable management of construction and demolition waste whilst improving environmental performance and the availability of valuable secondary resources.
Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) represents the highest single waste producing activity in the EU and probably worldwide. The latest published figures (2016) show that UK generates around 66 million tonnes of non-hazardous C&D waste, much of which contains high value resources, such as metals, glass, wood and concrete.
When dealing with this volume of material, any improvements in our ability to manage it more sustainably can realise considerable commercial and environmental benefits.
The recent AMCS ‘Overcoming hurdles in the construction & demolition waste industry’ webinar explored how the latest smart technologies utilising an Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP) platform, designed specifically for waste and recycling companies managing CDW, can automate and standardise waste management processes to realise significant cost savings while supporting the development of a more circular economy.
The first part of the webinar focused on some of the commercial challenges faced by CDW managers and how these issues can be felt across the business, from operations to IT departments and customer service teams, as well as in the boardroom. These include:
- management of multiple and disparate systems
- variable processes
- cost management
- cash flow
- reporting.
The audience then heard how AMCS users have been able to employ the latest technology to standardise and optimise their operations through end-to-end digitalisation and benefit from scalable architecture delivered through cloud-based SAAS (Software as a Service) systems.
The resulting access to a range of features – including margin analysis, product grading and pricing, mobile technology, customer web portals and connected subcontracting – has enabled these users to improve both their margin and service levels.
The second part of the webinar homed in on operational efficiency and asset utilisation with an overview of the latest route optimisation software.
The ad-hoc nature of CDW waste collections, coupled with the wide range of assets used, presents a number of challenges when compared to the more structured nature of commercial or municipal waste collections
The ad-hoc nature of CDW waste collections, coupled with the wide range of assets used, presents a number of challenges when compared to the more structured nature of commercial or municipal waste collections. The result can often be poor service levels and depressed margins resulting from under-performing assets and labour-intensive processes.
Deployment of products such as AMCS Fleet Planner, AMCS Mobile and Web Portals, however, has supported businesses in shifting from traditional sequential processes to more agile optimisation models. This enables planning to be directly integrated with execution and allows users to understand the implications of various scenarios in real time.
As a result of this transition, AMCS customers have realised significant commercial and environmental savings, which include:
- 5% – 20% reduction in CO2
- 5% – 15% reduction in vehicles
- 25% – 30% reduction in planning time
The AMCS on demand webinar is available to watch free of charge for any business wanting to better understand how the latest technology can help to relieve ‘pain points’ and realise their operational goals.
