Six ways telematics reduces costs for waste management fleets

The Australian waste management industry is changing, as state and local governments seek to discourage landfilling, promote resource recovery, fund new infrastructure and support a circular economy. Many waste management businesses operate with thin margins, driven by rising fuel and compliance costs. Local councils need to balance costs and changing expectations around the environment and sustainability. Whether your organisation is private or public, reducing waste management fleet costs has never been more critical.

Garbage trucks, which are the lifeblood of these operations, must be managed precisely to maintain cost-effectiveness and reduce the likelihood of downtime. This is where telematics technology makes the biggest impact. Waste fleet management software can help fleet managers gain real-time insights into fleet health, pinpoint inefficiencies and help uncover substantial cost savings opportunities. With proactive oversight and data-driven decision-making, waste collection fleets run more smoothly and economically.

Here are six ways telematics can help reduce costs for your waste management fleet:

1) Reduce your fuel spend 

Telematics technology helps waste management fleets significantly lower costs by collecting and presenting data on fuel usage, idling trends and engine performance.

Telematics helps minimise the costs associated with excessive idling and inefficient driving by monitoring and analysing driving behaviours and engine performance. Optimising routes through telematics can also decrease unnecessary travel, lowering fuel expenses and carbon emissions.
 

• Lower idling costs: Minimise costs from excessive idling and inefficient driving.
• Optimised routes: Decrease unnecessary travel to save fuel.
• Lower emissions: Reduce carbon footprint through more efficient operations. Telematics data also makes it simpler to prepare a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Scheme.  

Telematics data can also help provide the "off-road" versus "on-road" data required to claim higher Fuel Tax Credit rates for auxiliary equipment, such as waste compactors or lifts. For some businesses, the amount saved on fuel tax credits alone is enough to cover the cost of a telematics program.
 

Learn more: Discover how The Dubbo Regional Council reduced its costs using Geotab and integrated waste management solutions. 

2) Reduce your liability risk

Telematics technology reduces liability risks for waste management fleets in two ways:

1. Boosting driver safety
2. Protection against false claim.
    

Boosting driver safety: Key features such as driver and fleet scorecards, integrated driver coaching and video telematics powered by AI  are just a few of the tools that allow fleet managers to swiftly identify and address unsafe driving behaviour, equipping teams with the knowledge to help prevent collisions before they occur. These tools also help with workplace health and safety compliance in Australia. They also help managers meet their CoR obligations under Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

And with AI, it’s now possible to predict future collision risk. With Geotab’s Predictive Insights, our AI-enabled calculation takes into account specific attributes of your fleet and its operating conditions, then provides an accurate score of how likely your fleet is to experience a collision over its next 100,000 kilometres. Using forward-looking metrics like these, your waste management fleet can develop better safety policies and coach drivers on best practices to drive down risk. 

Protection against false claims:

If a collision involving one of your waste collection vehicles does occur, it’s critical to know who was at fault to help promote safer driving, determine liability and potentially exonerate your drivers. Unlike eyewitness accounts, telematics data can serve as an impartial witness to the event, providing reliable and irrefutable evidence of what occurred. A telematics platform can collect and report relevant data through the following capabilities:

• Collision detection - When a telematics hardware device detects a collision, it will automatically detect the incident and report data about what happened, including accelerometer data at the time of impact, the collision’s GPS location and any corresponding braking data. It can also distinguish minor collisions from  major ones with classifications based on severity of impact, which are graded based on the level of G-forces felt.
• Collision reconstruction -  This feature builds on the functionality of collision detection, enabling you to analyse insights about what occurred leading up to and immediately after an incident. It can help fleet managers gain perspective on the point of impact, accelerometer data, speed profiles and other key metrics.
• Video telematics - Learn even more about collisions by adding AI-powered video telematics to your operational toolkit that automatically surfaces  critical footage . These insights can help exonerate your waste collection drivers of wrongdoing and refute potentially fraudulent claims made by other involved motorists.

Did you know? Through Geotab’s Safety Centre, you can study all of your fleet’s safety data from a single location and easily spot where improvements may be needed. Additionally, Geotab’s video telematics solution is natively integrated with the MyGeotab platform, providing you with a seamless, unified management experience to support the safety of your fleet. You can holistically analyse collision risk metrics, camera data and insights on driver behaviour to gauge your fleet’s overall safety profile and make smarter decisions.

Learn more: Discover more about Geotab’s safety features by exploring our Safety platform tour.

3) Reduce the number of call backs

Call backs drive up expenses through increased fuel usage and additional employee hours, potentially leading to overtime pay. Telematics can significantly reduce the number of call backs you have to perform by helping you precisely track trucks and monitor pickups. Integrating telematics with a waste management routing software allows you to verify that all routes are completed as planned, lowering the chances of missed pickups. By having detailed records of each stop and route, managers can verify that services were carried out correctly, eliminating the need for costly return trips to missed locations. This boosts customer satisfaction, saves money and optimises resource use.

• Accurate route tracking: Know when pickups were completed and where to eliminate missed stops.
• Enhanced service verification: Confirm completed pickups with detailed records to dispute missed collection claims.
• Higher customer satisfaction: Increase reliability and trust in the community with timely waste collection services.

4) Reduce your team’s downtime 

Fleet management software provides teams with advanced tools to enhance efficiency and minimise downtime. By utilising real-time data and predictive maintenance, these technologies enable waste management teams to optimise their operations, keep their vehicles in top condition and effectively manage their routes and schedules. Incorporating fleet management software can significantly improve operational performance and cost savings.

• Optimised vehicle maintenance: Telematics helps waste management companies optimise vehicle maintenance by providing real-time data and predictive analytics to identify potential issues before they become major problems, helping extend vehicle lifespans and reducing the chances of breakdowns.
• Enhanced route planning with integrations: Telematics integrations enable precise route planning and real-time adjustments based on traffic and waste collection progress, allowing you to complete routes more efficiently and reduce idle time.
• Timely intervention with regen alerts: Know precisely when it’s time to run a regen cycle and burn off harmful particulates from your trucks’ filters with automated reminders. For example, Geotab’s waste management fleet software offers features such as custom rules which you can set for notifications that help you stay on top of filter regen needs and take better care of your trucks. This is particularly useful in Australian operating conditions, which tend to be hot and require frequent stopping and starting on collection routes. 

5) Lower your fleet’s total cost of ownership 

Waste collection operates seven days a week with little downtime, making efficient maintenance management and vehicle longevity critical. Extending vehicle lifespans is essential, given the substantial cost of replacing waste collection vehicles.

• Prolonged vehicle lifespans: Predictive maintenance scheduling helps identify potential issues before they become major problems, extending the life of costly vehicles and reducing the frequency of replacements.
• Reduce downtime and maintenance costs: Proactive maintenance planning and real-time vehicle health monitoring minimise the chance of unexpected breakdowns and expensive repairs.
• Better management of vehicle health: Comprehensive tools such as a maintenance centre dashboard and vehicle inspection history history allow for precise tracking of vehicle health conditions and driver behaviour, improving safety and promoting informed decision-making regarding vehicle utility and replacement cycles.

You stand to save more on fleet ownership when you calculate trucking cost per kilometre; making informed decisions can prolong the lifespan of your fleet and reduce unexpected expenses.

Cut costs, not corners: Learn the four key strategies to slash inefficiencies and boost savings in your fleet operations by downloading our waste management ebook.

6) Decrease your administrative overhead costs

Telematics significantly reduces the administrative overhead and costs of manual paperwork in waste collection fleets. Paper route sheets and work orders are inefficient and increase the risk of errors, leading to increased operational costs. By automating these processes, fleets can significantly reduce expenses related to paper and printing while streamlining operations for greater efficiency. Integration with ERP and billing systems through an open API and software development kit (SDK) directly connects operations and billing, maximising savings. Tracking overflow or additional waste collection helps keep the data relayed accurate, leading to precise billing and simplified management processes.

Additionally, the automation of processes saves thousands of hours of cumulative staff time, allowing employees to focus on more critical tasks. Furthermore, optimised routes and integration with the new billing system will save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the contract's lifetime.

• Significant cost savings: Automation eliminates the need for paper route sheets and work orders.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automated processes free up staff time, allowing teams to focus on essential tasks and improve overall efficiency.
• Increased revenue potential: Integration with advanced systems keeps billing accurate and tracks additional collections, optimising savings through precise data management.

Cutting costs and boosting efficiency with telematics

Telematics helps reduce liability risks, eliminate unnecessary return trips, cut fuel expenses, reduce downtime and lower administrative overhead. These improvements don't just drive down costs; they make operations smoother and more reliable. Geotab’s solution for waste management fleets helps both public and private waste organisations achieve these benefits through a best-in-class solution. 

Start your journey to a more efficient, cost-effective and safer waste management operation by leveraging the power of telematics. Transform your fleet through optimised routing, reduced liability, enhanced service verification and streamlined administration.

Find out more about the Geotab advantage for waste management fleets.