Sprightly Transport Solutions’ Brett Werner explains how its mobile asset management solution is helping the waste industry keep track of its valuable assets.
Increasing visibility is critical to managing one’s assets, according to Brett Werner, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sprightly Transport Solutions.
Larger skip bins typically cost between $5000-7000, and can be as much as $10,000 each, he says. For small companies with only 50 bins through to those with thousands, the book value is considerable.
“There are plenty of stories of drivers not finding bins where they should be when they need them, and driving around unnecessarily looking for them,” Brett says.
To help eliminate these issues, Sprightly Transport Solutions has created a mobile asset management solution for the waste industry, with a special focus on skip bins. Sprightly’s asset management system uses Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking to help equipment and operations managers monitor where their assets are located now, and where they have been. The company supplies a full kit, which includes batteries and SIM, and aims to provide a speedy set-up process to ensure simple deployment. In addition, they also provide full face-to-face on-site training.
Sprightly’s online platform provides GPS locations of vehicles, including where the vehicles are at that point in time and their direction of travel and speed. It also helps locate the most suitable asset for the job.
“Without GPS tracking, it can be impossible to know where an asset has got to. Suddenly a mobile asset in a city becomes a needle in a haystack,” Brett says.
“Knowing where your bin is right now helps your drivers get to them efficiently. Considering the asset value and industry estimate of $120 per hour for vehicle and driver, the savings can quickly add aup.”
Sprightly’s online platform allows assets to be categorised making it easier and faster to locate the right asset for the job at hand.
Brett says that in his experience, many companies don’t have adequate formal asset management in place. He says Sprightly Transport Solutions is therefore on hand to put a business’ mobile asset information online – where it is readily accessible.
“Is the bin where you think it should be? Where is the bin that I need right now? These are just some of the problems the technology helps solve. Especially when you’ve got an ad-hoc job on, such as a major client asking for an extra bin in a hurry.”
Brett says another example of the technology’s usefulness is identifying secret stashes – assets hidden by contractors. A third example is tagging special use assets, which means an asset manager is able to quickly locate the most suitable bin for the job, or put them aside, so they’re not used elsewhere.
“Everybody has their brand new and freshly painted assets that they want seen. If you’re supplying skips to a major sporting event, you want your best looking assets on display,” he says.
Another important advantage of Sprightly Transport Solution’s technology is security. Brett says knowing where your assets are and have been is crucial to identifying unauthorised usage and minimising theft. Brett adds that’s not to mention the significance of battery life – skips are unpowered assets so batteries are needed.
“We have had to very carefully tweak the hardware to maximise battery life. You want the tracker to wake up from movement only when the bin is being moved and not every time someone is simply throwing in bricks or metal or concrete. That has taken a lot of time and effort. You certainly cannot just use any GPS tracker for this purpose,” Brett says.
Brett says that Sprightly Transport Solutions is on hand to provide a customised service to help customers get as much as possible from the system. The location data captured can be further used to determine utilisation, optimise the use of assets at hand and help make informed purchasing decisions.