Waste Management Company Operations
Sanergy Waste Management Company bills over 10,000 corporate and individual customers in the city it is located. The company utilizes various methods to track its waste bins and trucks as they transport and deposit materials at various designated locations. To manage their inventory and keep track of their assets such as trash bins, Sanergy has implemented manual, bar-code tracking, truck-based global positioning systems (GPS), and container-based GPS solutions. Tracking their assets helps to provide complete and up to date information about the quantity and location of their containers. These data are important in streamlining their operations, reducing costs, and ultimately expanding their operations (Hannan, Al Mamun, Hussain, Basri & Begu 2015).
The manual tracking System is the original low tech system that works by visiting the site physically to measure the size of each container and count the total number of containers. The notes are then uploaded to an inventory management software. The truck-based global positioning system allows for continuous tracking of a collection vehicle and automatically pairs a certain container with its associated customer. There is a manual process involved in verifying the pickups and deliveries. The container-based tracking GPS is a fully automated system that allows full tracking of up to date location and quantity of containers. These trackers are built to withstand the severe conditions found in waste management industries. The barcode tracking system involves placing black and white coded labels on waste bins. The barcodes are scanned by the drivers when the container is picked up or delivered. The data are then stored and uploaded to the inventory management system. Sanergy employs the above methods to deliver a complete container count and automation of containers.
Reasons for Not Using RFID Technology by the Company
The company has not embraced the use of Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFID) technology. There are many benefits to this technology, but it comes with many limitations as well (Hynes & Martin, 2016). Sanergy Company has not adopted this technology because of the many drawbacks that come with it. RFID System often requires high installation and maintenance costs compared to other systems. Although the return on investment of these systems is realized in the long term, the initial cost of installation makes it impossible for Sanergy Waste Management Company to install it.
Advantages of RFID Technology Compared to Other Methods
RFID systems have constantly demonstrated their effectiveness, durability, and reasonable data accuracy (Hynes & Martin, 2016). These systems are versatile and have a high capacity for data storage. They are also solid and logical for starting out. Manual systems, on the other hand, are affordable and straightforward to implement because they require no equipment installation. However, some of the drawbacks of a manual tracking system include the danger it poses to employees in terms of safety, it is labor-intensive, and is a high susceptibility to human errors. It also requires a full-time employee to carry out the tasks.
Disadvantages of RFID Technology
Apart from cost implications, the technology used by RFIDs is not simple to comprehend. To make them friendly to users, graphical management software must be developed. RFID systems also require the tags to be within a close range to be read by the scanners, which may result in the scanners picking up unnecessary information waves thereby causing errors in the data collected. The systems also tend to be less reliable as they depend on the strength of the waves. The accuracy of the locations provided by this system depends on the distance between tags. The shorter the distance between two tags the more accurate the information provided, which implies that many tags should be used thus raising the cost. The issue of security is also a concern as the RFID can easily be tapped.
References
Hannan, M. A., Al Mamun, M. A., Hussain, A., Basri, H., & Begum, R. A. (2015). A review on technologies and their usage in solid waste monitoring and management systems: Issues and challenges. Waste Management, 43, 509-523.
Hynes, E., & Martin, J. (2016). U.S. Patent No. 9,396,453. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.