Waste-A-Way Recycling Ltd who provides specialist bulk haulage for the disposal of waste and recycling materials across the South and East of England, the East Midlands, and London, had an interesting journey on its way to achieving Earned Recognition (ER).  It included a complete change in the way its depots in Basildon, Colchester, and Rochester operate and report on driver and vehicle data.  And it was a move with the help of Aquarius that not only helped them achieve ER accreditation, it also revolutionised their business model and created far-reaching benefits. 

The first step on the journey, came when Ian Malone, the Transport and Health & Safety Manager at the Rochester depot called Subir, our National Account Manager, to discuss his motivations and aspirations for becoming the first waste disposal and recycling haulier to achieve ER – at the time Waste-A-Way was using Aquarius’s tachograph analysis software. It’s important to note that before starting on the pathway to ER each of the Waste-A-Way depots worked autonomously when it came to managing driver and vehicle data.

After consultation with Ian, Subir advised the first step forward for ER, as per the DVSA’s application criteria, would be for all three depots to combine and amalgamate their driver databases through one tachograph analysis software system. This way the company’s full driver compliance rating could be assessed against the ER standard, using Aquarius’s approved ER system. 

On completion, they could see where the infringement gaps were and what steps were needed to achieve ER.  Overall, the tachograph results were very good for Waste-A-Way, and by working with Subir to embed Driver Debrief and E-sign for example, and the company investing in remote downloading, Ian said infringements “soon dropped off a cliff”.

Alongside this, Waste-A-Way had put out a tender for a DVSA-approved ER vehicle maintenance software solution and subsequently agreed to put Aquarius’s Asset Maintenance on trial.  Previous to this they had always used a paper-based system to manually manage vehicle PMIs.  

They immediately saw all the benefits of having an integrated tachograph analysis and asset maintenance IT solution, which gave them full visibility in real-time of all the depots’ drivers and vehicles.  As busy transport offices, maintaining one data set made the process of managing compliance much easier and meant they could drill into, and report on, linked driver and vehicle information easily – and remotely.

A great example of this is with their in-house team of mobile fitters who do all the PMIs for each of the depots.  Ian explained, that before Asset Maintenance, the mechanics worked across all three depots, but there was no visibility, it was difficult to track their movements and there was no cohesiveness; but now, with all the depots working together on one live system, our mobile mechanics can immediately see where and which vehicles need fixing, creating massive time and cost efficiencies.

The final stage of the digital roll-out came via the Aquarius App, by introducing driver defect checks.

With Asset Maintenance and Driver Defect combined, when comparing with similar vehicle systems, Waste-A-Way said they preferred the flexibility and useability of Aquarius’s systems and they have significantly reduced VOR days. Integration with the Defect Check App, has enabled defects and PMIs to be instantly assigned to the mobile mechanics with a simple click of a button, providing 360° integration.

As a waste and recycling company, the number of assets, and the different types of assets the company manages is huge.  Whilst for ER, Aquarius’s approved Asset Maintenance system naturally ticked every box as it provided a full reportable audit trail for all vehicles requiring periodic maintenance or inspection, Waste-A-Way also wanted to go one step further.

Uniquely, they also wanted as part of the daily walkaround and maintenance checks for all their 161 assets to be included and integrated into the App and Asset Maintenance, including tractor units, walking floor trailers and fleet support vans, as part of their overarching aim of having full visibility and creating measurable efficiencies across the three depots.  With ‘other’ driver defect apps they wouldn’t have been able to achieve this, but by working with Aquarius’s in-house IT development team, a solution was created.

ER was a full-on fifteen-month journey for Waste-A-Way, of which Aquarius provided critical support for over six months. Not only did Waste-A-Way become the first waste disposal and recycling bulk haulier to successfully achieve ER, but they have also completely changed the way they work at every touch point of their business.

Ian Malone said: “This journey began by us wanting to achieve ER, so that we could stand out as a business and be formally recognised for operating to the highest standards of compliance – show customers how conscientious and committed we are.  We achieved all of this, in no small part thanks to Aquarius – in fact at one stage, while we were sorting out all the checks for the asset listings, Subir was a constant feature on my recent calls list!”

“Moreover, operationally for us as a team working across three depots on a day-to-day basis, we have gained so much more than just ER by implementing this company-wide digital process. 

“Moving away from a paper-based system to manage all our vehicle and asset maintenance procedures digitally and the integration with defect checking and tacho-analysis has been a game changer for us. “We’ve been able to deploy people’s time more efficiently and quickly, including our mobile mechanics; and having full visibility in real time of our driver / vehicle / asset data for all three depots on one system is not only helping us keep our excellent ER compliance rating, but it’s also completely revolutionised the way we work for the benefit of our staff and customers,” confirmed Ian.

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