ScrapWare Corporation: #1 Brand of Software for the Recycling Industry

From an article in http://theconversation.com/us.

This is an interesting article that provides some of the basic science and common sense behind vehicle routing solutions.

Our ScrapQuest™ tool uses similar mathematics and game theory in order to create more efficient routes for our ScrapWare customers.

You can read the full article here:

http://theconversation.com/why-ups-drivers-dont-turn-left-and-you-probably-shouldnt-either-71432

From a Bloomberg.com article.

Could this be the way of the future for domestic scrap metal shipments that are made by truck?

It’s anyone’s guess as to whether or not the cost savings will be lower.

While it’s one thing to autonomously transport cases of beer in a semi-truck, it’s another to operate a self-driving roll-off truck.

It does make you wonder if automated roll-off trucks will be on the road in the not-to-distant-future.  Once their initial costs have been overcome, that could be a huge savings for recycling businesses that operate their own truck fleets.

In the meantime, recycling businesses should be making every effort to to run their truck fleets as efficiently as possible.

You can read the full article here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-25/uber-self-driving-truck-packed-with-budweiser-makes-first-delivery-in-colorado

This is a great article to read for anyone that operates their own truck fleets.

Especially true for those in the recycling business that operate several different types of rolling stock – including rolloff trucks, luggers, semis, etc.

To summarize the article from The Wall Street Journal:

Unwilling to bear the risk of large settlements and verdicts, Zurich Insurance Group AG and American International Group Inc. dropped coverage of most for-hire fleets earlier this year. Both insurers still cover trucks operated directly by retailers and manufacturers, brokers say. They had been two of the biggest underwriters for the business. Other insurers hiked premiums anywhere from 10% to 30%.

AIG stopped covering trucking fleets via its Lexington Insurance Co. unit as part of a wider effort to improve profits in its commercial insurance division, the company said in a statement. Other AIG units continue to cover truckers, the statement said.

Federal law requires trucking companies to cover drivers up to $750,000 per accident. Many self-insure up to around $1 million, then buy tiers of outside insurance to cover additional costs.

The cost of that extra coverage is putting fresh pressure on the trucking industry, which already is mired in its worst slump since the recession. The average U.S. trucking company spent about 9.2 cents per mile on premiums in 2015, a figure that is up 44% in two years and doesn’t include this year’s hikes, according to the American Transportation Research Institute, an industry group. The figure is dwarfed by the 40 cents per mile spent on fuel and 50 cents per mile paid out to drivers. But diesel prices have fallen and salaries have edged up slightly, making the jump in premiums stand out.

Large accident settlements and verdicts became more common starting around 2011, although settlement amounts tend to be private and aren’t easily tracked. Aon counts at least six cases topping $20 million this year, the most since 2012. Part of the reason is a tactical shift among plaintiffs’ attorneys.

If you are a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal, you can read the full article here:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-verdicts-have-insurers-running-from-trucks-1476437401

Here is a photo of a pile of scrap metal from a building demolition in Rockville, MD.

This photo was taken during a brutal cold snap.  As a result of the extreme weather, not much work was being done at the site.

This material was from the inside of the building and looks to be comprised mainly of aluminum.

The material was placed into a roll off container and sent to the scrap yard where it was baled and sold.

Since the photo was taken, the pace of the demolition has increased.  Several roll off containers have since been placed at the site and the building is coming down.

Scrap metal recycling companies are an important component of the demolition process.  They have the equipment and skills to store, cut-up and move the scrap metal generated by demolition projects.

Many of our customers use the ScrapWare Dispatch and Container Tracking modules to assist them in purchasing scrap from these types of industrial accounts.

ScrapWare generates the Dispatch Tickets used to move the containers onto the job site and keeps track of the containers at the job site.

Once a full container is returned to the scrap yard, ScrapWare handles the purchase of the material and prepares the Settlement, payment and the detailed reporting that will be sent to the demolition contractor.

This type of “end-to-end” or “cradle-to-grave” workflow provided by ScrapWare enables our customers to be very efficient at handling purchases from any type of industrial/commercial account.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal published an article about the above subject.

After the technology was described, its application was discussed with several over-the-road trucking companies.

The implications for those types of companies were simply staggering.

It’s implications for the recycling business are equally so.

The vast majority of our customers maintain their own truck fleets.  These fleets are used more or less locally to service industrial/commercial accounts.  This service is provided as a courtesy because local accounts usually don’t have the means to deliver material directly.

There are specialized trucks that drop off and pickup various types of containers. (i.e. roll off trucks).  A lot of this work occurs very early in the morning or at odd hours in order to avoid rush hour traffic.

Some of our customers truly excel at running their truck fleets.  Their trucks and containers are in top shape, and their drivers are equally presentable.

Other customers don’t run their fleets at a very high level.

In any case, our customers have setup a Dispatch infrastructure in order to manage their truck fleets.  When a customer calls in for service, that call is usually routed to a Dispatcher.  The Dispatcher then enters the pertinent information in their ScrapWare software to start the process.  ScrapWare maintains records of Driver as well as Truck fleet performance.

Regardless of the above, all of our customers find running their fleets to be a necessary headache.

The bane of our customer’s fleets are the drivers themselves.

Examples that we have seen include:  Tardiness, Not showing up for work, failing drug tests, disappearing in the middle of the day, taking material to a competitor, unsafe driving, etc., etc.  The list is endless.

Our customers expend a great deal of time, energy and resources in order make sure the trucks are properly staffed.

But what if there was a means to eliminate the driver entirely?  In short, take them out of the loop while using existing rolling stock?

Basis the WSJ article, that day may not be that far off.

If and when that occurs, many things would change.  One or more Dispatchers could be dispatching autonomous trucks based upon service requests.  Roll off trucks may originate from a leased pool of trucks, etc., etc.

Perhaps the biggest change would be that an entire cost center for a recycling business would be eliminated, resulting in increased profitability.