Transformation

By Dave Murphy, Vice President of Innovation and
Business Optimization

I started writing this column in January 2013. It’s hard to believe a full year has passed! This month,
let’s take look at what we’ve accomplished this year. 

First, Service Delivery Optimization (SDO). You likely remember that SDO includes a whole bunch of
site-level changes that will  move us toward being a world-class logistics company. It also includes
technology: on-board computers (OBC), centralized dispatch, and centralized routing. So where are we?

Well, at the site level we have installed OBC in most of our collection trucks and, as of November, have 33
SDO-certified sites. Certification means these sites demonstrate the high standards needed to perform
at a world-class level. More certifications are happening every week.   

We have consolidated our dispatch operations in all Areas and are using new and improved software and
standardized processes to more efficiently dispatch our trucks. And, we have performed about 180 re-routes
using a new process that engages centralized logistics engineers with our managers and drivers to
improve efficiencies by 2 percent to 5 percent. 

The year 2013 was a remarkable one for SDO. We still have a lot of work to do in 2014 and 2015 to continue
installations and certifications, but we are well on our way. When will SDO be “complete?” The answer is
“never.” SDO is the platform we will use to drive continuous improvement every day, forever. It is our new
way of doing business.

What else did we accomplish in 2013?

• We piloted Maintenance SDO (MSDO), an effort similar to SDO but focused on our maintenance shops.
  MSDO will launch in early 2014 and lay the foundation for standardized processes, coaching, accountability,
  continuous improvement, and performance management.
• We continued to mine materials at our transfer stations and some  select landfills. In 2013, we expect to earn
  about $11 million in new profit by doing this.
• We continued to develop and refine the new procurement processes (P2P). While we had some deployment
  setbacks , we paused to fix those issues and will be re-launching in 2014.
• We deployed DriveCam and have seen positive results from our ability to work with employees to foster
  safer driving habits.
• We continued the transition from diesel to CNG and we accelerated this conversion with the beginning of the
  fleet glider program. As you know, when we buy a “glider” truck, we get a brand new truck with a couple of factory
  remanufactured components, which is much less than the cost of a brand new truck. So, we can afford to buy even
  more trucks than before. Expect this program to continue into 2014 and beyond.
• We began to look at technologies to save truck fuel and redesign our containers to make them less expensive to
  maintain and relocate. We are also looking at ways to extend the lives of our tires and reduce costs. Expect to see
  a lot of these things in 2014 and 2015.

We, together, did all of this and a whole lot more. What does it mean? It means that we are now firmly on the path to become world class.
There is no turning back. Just as a caterpillar turns into a butterfly but cannot turn back, our Transformation journey over the next few
years will be amazing. That’s Transformation!