The digitisation of waste management is gaining momentum – and for good reason. Rising fuel costs, staff shortages and pressure to operate more sustainably and reduce CO2 emissions are paving the way for the use of innovative technologies. For these reasons, the requirements for efficient route planning are also becoming increasingly complex. Axians Athos has therefore entered into a groundbreaking partnership with gts to take route optimisation in waste management to a new level.
Intelligent extension of proven systems
Traditional route planning in waste management is a complex balancing act. Dispatchers manually assign loading points to routes, and drivers often determine the order of their collections themselves – a process that is not only time-consuming but also lacks the necessary transparency regarding capacities and working hours. The situation becomes particularly critical when disruptions occur: traffic jams, roadworks or last-minute changes require quick reactions that the manual system is often unable to provide.
The Athos ERP system has already proven itself in waste management, enabling municipal waste disposal companies to systematically plan containers into route areas based on street sections. However, the demands for efficiency and sustainability are constantly increasing – and with them the need for even more intelligent optimisation.
Whereas previously, containers to be collected in Athos ERP had to be manually divided into tour areas based on road sections, these time-consuming steps are now handled by gts's AI. The software automatically analyses various planning parameters such as area topography, time units, performance points, provision quotas and many more. The following questions are also taken into account:
- Are certain roads not allowed to be used at certain times?
- Does the tour include busy routes where traffic is gridlocked at commuter times?
- Does the disposal include certain waste or packaging that requires special transport?
These parameters and information are then used to create optimised tour areas and routes.
The systems are interconnected via intelligent interfaces. This means that all relevant container data – from location and GPS coordinates (if available) to provision quotas – is transferred automatically. A particularly clever feature is that the gts software respects the proven road section logic of the Athos solution and keeps containers from the same section together. After AI optimisation, the results flow back seamlessly, including complex counterpart planning for different emptying cycles.
Immediately available and flexible in use
The good news: the solution is available now. A pilot project is currently underway to demonstrate the practical performance of the combined solution.
Interested in the possibilities of intelligent route planning with Athos and gts? Contact us – we will be happy to show you how you too can benefit from this innovative solution.
