What does Distribution-and-Collection-Planning-as-a-service (CFG) do?
The KVA Thurgau association and its partners operate around 1,400 underground containers (UFC) for regional waste collection. However, the current rigid tour concept for waste collection leads to inefficient journeys, with some UFCs half empty and others overfilled. This causes unnecessary costs and pollutes the environment. However, the approach of equipping UFCs with sensors that display and transmit the fill level has been shown in tests to be comparatively error-prone, expensive and also incapable of making predictions: they only show the current fill level of a UFC. In contrast, standard weighing at every emptying forms the basis for creating precise fill level forecasts.
The DCP (Distribution-and-Collection-Planning-as-a-service) software from Thurgauer CFG AG enables dynamic waste collection by calculating the daily emptying requirements of UFCs and optimized route planning, taking logistical restrictions into account. This innovative approach enables the transition to more flexible and efficient waste collection, not only for UFCs but also for other containers. containers.
The 2 crucial functions in the data-generating process
The data-generating process forms the basis for precise and efficient delivery and collection planning. It is based on the evaluation of historical data and the use of state-of-the-art statistical methods (artificial intelligence) to ensure optimal resource planning and utilization.
Cloud-based delivery and collection planning as-a-service with s-peers AG
s-peers AG, exclusive sales partner of the solution and responsible for operation in the Google Cloud .
The cloud-based software service developed by Thurgauer CFG AG enables demand-based, dynamic and route-optimized waste collection. Thanks to this technology, locations are only visited when the container capacity is exhausted.
The solution is based on fill level forecasts that are created using an AI approach. These forecasts are based on historical weighing or sensor data and calculate the optimal emptying times for each collection point. The collection points are grouped geographically into clusters in order to optimize daily route planning. Various logistical constraints such as collection vehicle priorities, vehicle availability, driver deployment times, emptying times and calendars are taken into account.
DCP was developed in R in order to be able to use statistical methods efficiently. The concepts and methods are based on mathematical statistics and operation research.
The planned routes are transferred directly to the vehicles' navigation systems. Specifically, this service enables the innovative step from the static waste collection of today to the dynamic and flexible collection of the future. By using state-of-the-art technologies, CFG AG is helping local authorities and companies to make their waste management more intelligent and environmentally friendly.
DCP is available as a service and is seamlessly integrated into the user's process design. This service is provided via the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). A separate container is available for each project and each user, which houses both the software and the data.
The source code is managed and releases are maintained via GitHub.
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Download the matching whitepaper "Distribution & Collection Planning as-a-Service" free of charge now
The 4 steps of waste collection planning
The 4 most important added values of this solution: From static to dynamic waste collection
Find out more on the CFG website!
