Waste Management – a comprehensive definition that makes sense to me: Waste Management involves the processes of waste collection, transportation, processing, as well as waste recycling or disposal. Sustainable waste management systems include advanced management strategies to minimize environmental challenges and protect resources. (Demirbas, 2011).

The city or community in charge of local waste policy

Among others in Belgium, the city (or intermunicipal company) is responsible for waste collection. The regulations for waste pick-up or collection are unique to each municipality. The city or municipality often calls on a waste processing or recycling company to do this.

An inter-communal association is an association of municipalities whose purpose is to accomplish tasks of common interest, especially in the areas of:

• waste collection and processing
• utilities (electricity, gas, water and cable distribution)
• social housing
• regional development.

Clean public spaces appeal to residents and tourists

Although campaigns have been running for years to sensitize every individual to deal more intelligently and responsibly with waste (or better yet, avoid it), waste management remains the responsibility of local governments.

It is more pleasant for residents and tourists to be in your city if you can keep public places such as streets, banks, parks, cemeteries, squares, …tidy. Of course, it is sometimes very complex to arrange, because there are a lot of places (bins and containers) that you have to constantly keep an eye on.

Fortunately, there are new technologies that simplify the process and keep the enormous cost of waste management under control. Great for residents and local authorities!

Automating waste container management and optimizing waste collection is getting smarter by deploying IoT. 

However, the waste management sector has traditionally been a “late adopter” of new technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, GPS and integrated software packages that enable better quality data to be collected. (Better quality than estimates or manual data entry.) This all knew a slow start, but in the meantime there is much more focus on available technologies balancing environmental impacts, affordability and technical feasibility.

Logistical challenge: Locating your waste containers

By equipping movable storage and waste containers with trackers, the location of each container becomes visible via IoT in a specialized SaaS platform (such as Suivo’s IoT Cloud Platform). It prevents containers from being unused somewhere for long periods of time.

The containers can be used more efficiently, but if you, as a city council, work with an external party that takes care of waste management, they are also able to bill more correctly.

Real-time insight into the location of containers means a huge leap in asset management and waste handling. The trackers record movements and make the locations visible. One requirement is that the trackers must function in all weather conditions. They must be able to take a punch.

Dynamic waste pickup

Even for fixed garbage cans, it is helpful to have visibility into how many times it is emptied or how full it is. Sensors in trash cans and containers also let you know if it is (almost) filled and (almost) needs to be emptied. So that can all be monitored remotely. That way you no longer have to predetermine pickup frequency. You can send the waste collectors only when it is really necessary. You save a lot of time, because you eliminate the sometimes unnecessary and manual checking of garbage cans on site that turn out to be empty or half-full on arrival. And no more bulging garbage cans either! Just calculate the savings for about 20,000 empties per month!

Plan more efficiently

The data collected also provides relevant information for scheduling your mobile workforce. If you use Suivo Scheduling, the planning can easily be created or automated. Based on that data combined with pre-selected criteria, you can even leave the scheduling to AI (artificial intelligence). The chance of human error is reduced and the planning process speeds up considerably.

The (route) planning is dynamic, so can still be easily changed even if your mobile workforce is already on the road. In-vehicle route optimization is possible. The driver (and companions) are informed of the route or task change via a tablet in the vehicle.

Clearly, the IoT solutions are also a leap forward for the Dispatching service.

Do you work at a local community, intermunicipal or a waste collector or processor? Contact us to further optimize your waste management.

The post What IoT can mean for Waste Management in your city or community? appeared first on Suivo.

Of course, the appropriate identification method for your organization depends on where your priorities lie and on the sector in which you operate.  What do you want to achieve with the identification?

Do you want to provide or deny access to a certain location or vehicle to certain people? Do you want to get rid of paper timesheets? Do you want to map your staff’s travel times? Do you want to be able to invoice easily (per project)? Do you want to comply with government obligations such as the Check-in-at-Work at work sites without too much fuss?

So the priorities can be very diverse and often it is more than desirable that your identification methods work seamlessly with things and systems you already have in place (for example the ConstruBadge or Alfapass). Therefore it’s not unthinkable that you might not see the wood for the trees when you have to decide on a suitable identification method.

We advise you to discuss your needs with your account manager in any case, but here we already give a short overview of the identification methods that are supported by Suivo today.

An identifier is linked to a person in the Suivo IoT Cloud Platform. In this way, one or more identifiers can be linked to that person. When this linked identifier is used, the registration will be linked to the person. This registration and status (at work, on break, on the road, …) can be found per person on the platform.

1.     iButton

An iButton is a device with a microchip with a durable stainless steel housing of 16 mm thick. This electronic key has a chip with a worldwide unique serial number. This serial number cannot be changed and is therefore unique for every iButton.

An iButton can be used for:

• Identification in a vehicle
• Identification via a site post

iButton registration vehicle

Do you want to identify people in a vehicle? Then the vehicle can be equipped with a:

• Mini iButton Reader with LED
• Dual iButton Reader with LED and Buzzer

One or more people can register via an iButton in a vehicle/machine. The identification can be for:

• Driver registration
• Registration of mobility (possible for both driver and passenger(s))

iButton registration site post

A person can register with an iButton on a yard post to:

• Register for Check-in-at-Work.
• Register for working hours.

 USB iButton Reader (for desktop).

In the Suivo IoT platform, the unique serial number must be linked to the person concerned. This can be simplified by using a USB iButton Reader. Scan the iButton with the reader and the serial number is completed in the platform.

Related products

2.     RFID card

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and can also be used to identify individuals. Suivo reads the serial number from the RFID chip so that it can then be linked to a person in the Suivo IoT Cloud platform.

The following technologies can be read:

• MIFARE
• 125Khz
• DESFire

RFID identification in a vehicle

The vehicle can be equipped with:

• a Mini RFID Reader (125KHz) with LED only
• RFID Reader (125KHz) with LED and Buzzer

• Mini RFID Reader (MIFARE) with LED Only
• RFID Reader (MIFARE) with LED and Buzzer

• XL RFID Reader (MIFARE/DESFire) for Encrypted Sector Data with LED and Buzzer

One or more persons can register via RFID in a vehicle/machine. The registration can serve:

• to register as a driver
• to indicate mobility (possible for both the driver and the passenger(s))
• As an access control (who is allowed to drive which vehicle/machine)

Identification via RFID on a yard pole

ATTENTION: The yard stake only registers MIFARE.

A person can register with an RFID badge at a yard pole for:

• registration for Check-in-at-Work
• registration of working hours

USB RFID Reader (for desktop)

In the Suivo IoT Cloud platform you need to connect an RFID card to a person. When a person registers with his/her RFID card his/her name appears in the Suivo platform. Suivo reads the unique serial number of the card. If the serial number is not known, a USB RFID Reader can be used to easily read the serial number and enter the information in the platform.

Suivo offers a USB RFID Reader so that a RFID smart card can easily be linked to a person.

Related products.

3.     ConstruBadge

The ConstruBadge is a personal visual identifier for each construction trade worker.

Workers who belong to PC124 receive a new ConstruBadge every year.

The ConstruBadge contains the following information:

• First name
• Last name
• Social Security number
• VAT-number of the employer

ConstruBadge Reader

A vehicle or yard pole can be equipped with a specific ConstruBadge Reader.

Identification via ConstruBadge Reader

When an identification is done with a ConstruBadge on the ConstruBadge Reader, Suivo checks if the social security number is known in the database. There are following options:

• Option 1: National registry number is known in the Suivo IoT Cloud platform
  • An identification is added for the given person
  • A Check-in-at-Work registration is performed (if applicable and if the module is activated)
• Option 2: State registry number not known in the Suivo IoT Cloud platform
  • A person is created in the Suivo platform where First Name, Last Name and National Registry Number are taken from the CostruBadge.
  • An identifier is added for that person
  • A Check-in-at-Work registration is performed (if applicable and if the module is activated)

4.     Alfapass

Alfapass offers a unified ID control for ports. The pass serves as an entry ticket to the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge and is valid for 3 years.

The Alfapass Reader reads the following encrypted data:

• Unique Alfapass number
• Port Facility number
• Group ID
• Subgroup ID
• End date

For the person where the use of the Alfapass as a means of identification is indicated in Suivo, the above data will be completed as an attribute. When reading the Alfapass all these data will be updated.

It is also possible to use a MIFARE badge on the Alfapass reader, but in that case only the unique serial number of the card will be read.

5.     eID card

Suivo offers the possibility that a person can register for Check-in-at-work via a Belgian identity card (eID). The eID contains a QR/barcode on the back. The QR/barcode contains the person’s social security number.

A wharf post can be equipped with a QR/barcode reader. When a person scans his identity card via the QR/barcode reader then he/she is correctly registered with the NSSO, provided that the employer has a VAT number.

This solution is ideal for Belgian (sub)contractors with employees who are not known before they arrive on a construction site.

6.     Limosa Document

Anyone who is not subject to Belgian social security, and who comes to work in Belgium on a temporary and/or part-time basis, must be able to present a Limosa-1 reporting document.

A wharf post equipped with a QR/barcode reader can scan a person’s Limosa document. He or she can thus also be correctly registered with the NSSO and thus comply with the mandatory Check-in-at-Work.

This solution is ideal for foreign contractors.

More on Limosa and Limosa application.

7.     Driver card (Tacho)

The driver card replaces the tachograph disk and is personal to the driver. This card contains the data of each individual driver and stores performance data (driving, resting, etc.). The driver card has a validity period of five years. Each driver may have only one driver card and may not use an expired or defective card.

When the vehicle is equipped with a Suivo black box + “FLEX” CAN-BUS Interface + Tachograph Download upgrade, the Tacho statuses are automatically displayed in the platform.

If the driver is linked to his Driver Card via the serial number (B4100000117400) in the Suivo IoT Cloud platform, then this person will also be automatically linked to the Tacho statuses.

Related products.

8.     People Tracker

A People Tracker can be seen as a fixed identification or location device for a person. The tracker can be linked to a person as a location in Suivo. This location can then be used in combination with the Suivo Timesheet app or Time Logger app to combine hours with mobility.

Thereby the location of the People Tracker can be used to make additions in the Suivo Time Logger app, see next point.

9.     Suivo Time Logger App

A person can use the Suivo Time Logger App to identify themselves digitally.

One or more persons can register through the app by choosing a predefined status.

Registering can be done in the following ways:

• Manual entry: person chooses their name from the displayed list
• Via scanning your RFID badge: activate scanning by clicking on the icon in the app.

If the person is already known in the Suivo IoT Cloud platform, the Suivo Time Logger app can also serve as a Check-in-at-Work tool.

Overview of our apps.

The post Wanted: matching identification methods appeared first on Suivo.

Key advantage of a non-branded strategy for trailer and container tracking: avoiding scattered data.

It is a good reflex to ask the question why you would opt for connectivity solutions from a third party (such as Suivo) rather than the solution that container and trailer manufacturers provide themselves. After all, there are already many manufacturers today – whether trailers or tools – that incorporate proprietary technologies to provide traceability.

There is nothing wrong with those solutions, per se; they usually do what they are designed to do. The point is that each brand designed its own platform or software to effectively make use of track & trace functionalities.

You then have to log in for each brand and users then have to get to know and use different platforms. Moreover, all the data is in different places. You don’t have an overall view.

It is therefore a smart idea to adopt a non-brand-dependent strategy and opt for an open platform.

Thanks to an open platform you can centralize all data, regardless of which suppliers or brands you use. This centralization of data provides a complete overview and also makes it much easier to connect data with each other. This enables you to see ‘the bigger picture’, to gain insights faster and to make smart decisions. 

The Suivo IoT platform is such an open platform. It enables you to read and collect all available data from the CAN bus of your trailers in one central place. Relevant data such as weight, loading info, tire pressure, etc. can be seen at a glance, during or not during driving time.

Even if there is no data available from the CAN bus, it is still possible to locate your trailers.

A few steps ahead: reduce the threshold to smart asset management and driver identification.

On top of that, an ‘aftermarket’ solution offers additional features (if desired) that are not feasible for trailer manufacturers. By using a Hydrogen tag for example, you also know which trailer is linked to which tractor and even driver identification becomes possible. If you use Oxygen tags (Oxygen = a Suivo product family that mainly includes small and budget-friendly tags) for tagging other assets, you will also know exactly which materials and tools are in your containers or on your trailers.

Keeping it simple: implementation is a picknick.

An additional advantage is the limited installation time. These solutions are very easy and quick to deploy. After following a short hands-on workshop, your own employees will be able to install the solution themselves. It doesn’t get any more ‘plug & play’ than that. In one hour the installation is done! 

Flexible with range, frequency and communication protocols.

The need for accuracy of location determination, may well vary.

The big advantage of the open platform is its flexible use. For example, when you have been using your trailers for a while and you notice that you don’t need such precision, then we can just reconfigure it. Perhaps you then choose less precision in combination with less power consumption (or vice versa).

Of course, it is also conceivable that you will not always want to localize trailers to the same extent.  

For a stationary container or trailer it is often sufficient to know its location only once every 24 hours. Is the trailer in motion? Then you may want to track it in real time. These are things that we can all customize to suit your needs.

There are therefore numerous possibilities in terms of range, frequency and communication protocols (GPRS, 2G, 4G, LTE-M, LPWAN, Sigfox, LoRa(WAN), RFID, NFC, QR, Astrid, WiFi, etc.). By cleverly combining these in function of your goal or application, you always remain very flexible. Moreover, the solutions from the different product families can be combined very well. You choose the modules that suit your needs.

Reporting and Dashboards: the bridge between your data and smart decisions

The Suivo platform allows you to centralize a lot of data, not only the data captured by Suivo tags and trackers. The possibilities go much further.

There are many possible integrations with suppliers of materials or tools, but also with ERP systems, personnel tools and software from inspection authorities etc. Such an open platform with so many integration possibilities creates real added value. You can imagine what a data enrichment it means to link these different things.

In addition, everything is displayed in clear dashboards. So not only do you optimize your workflows, but you also waste less time on administrative tasks. Tailor made dashboards visualize your most important or relevant data. You can select the widgets that apply to your organization.

These dashboards are the bridge between your data and smart decisions.

More than easy planning of maintenance and inspections

Thanks to the links with parties that perform inspections and tests, you know for each asset (or trailer in this case) in what ‘state’ it is.

For example:

• “approved”,
• “needs to be inspected”,
• “in maintenance”,
• “damaged”, …

This makes it a lot easier to plan and it guarantees the safety of your employees who have to handle the materials / assets.  So it is effectively clear when trailers must be inspected or repaired or when they are available. The entire workflow and planning is transparent, enabling you to make substantial optimizations.

Impact on your purchasing policy

There are more examples of how data can help you on your way to more efficient processes.

Some examples:

• Suppose you notice that x number of trailers have been stationary for more than 60 days, but you rent trailers from third parties in the meantime, then this is very useful information for the purchasing policy, leasing / rental costs and planning.
• The fleet manager who has been able to deduce from the data that tires are being driven for too long with too low a pressure, can avoid premature wear by adjusting the processes where possible.

The optimization possibilities are endless when you discover the power of power BI.

Stay tuned!

Suivo will soon be launching a new 5G-ready Trailer Unit. What’s special about it?

• ultra-simple installation
• best-in-class autonomy
• the connection with the Suivo IoT Cloud Platform offers the possibility to further enrich your data by expanding with other (Suivo) tags and sensors.

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As the old expression goes, time is money. And that’s increasingly true when you work in mobile teams. Having a transparent overview of work and travel times is vital if you don’t want to quickly run into a lot of administrative problems. Without this overview, how do you know how much to pay your employees if you don’t know exactly how long they’ve been working? And what can you charge customers if you don’t have the exact transport data?

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The Check-in-at-work system

The Check-in-at-work system (CIAW system) is a user-friendly solution for construction companies. In Belgium, it comes with the added bonus of ensuring our Belgian customers comply with the national law regarding registering attendance with the RSZ local authorities. The automatic time registration of your employees, plus other data, flow directly into your own software and applications – fully automatic and error-free.

Interested to know more? Here are two flexible methods to keep track of your employees’ working and travel time;

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1. On the work site

Depending on your preference, Suivo can place a time clock or site post on your construction site that can be easily moved to your next project when this one finishes. Both options work in the same way: your employees sign in with their individual ConstruBadge or RFID card by simply tapping it against the registration tool and their registration is complete. Super easy, super fast.

2. In the car

Suivo’s registration solutions can also track your employees’ travel times. Here’s how it works: our installer mounts a registration device in all the vehicles in your fleet, which your employees tap with their personal driver card to sign in.

The data you receive shows you the driving time, mileage and mobility allowances. Want to receive even more detailed data, such as real-time status updates of your drivers? Then feel free to check out our Track & Trace solutions. You might also be interested in other options we offer, like API integration and theft protection.

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What’s the benefit for you?

“Thanks to Suivo’s time registration methods, one of our customers saves a day a week that he used to devote exclusively to administration. Another customer estimates that it reduces workload by two full-time administration jobs – time that employees can use in a different way.” – Robert Hauboudain, Product Specialist

Time and money. Check-in-at-work systems save you both. Plus, by registering your employees’ time and other data directly in the Suivo web app, mobile app or your own software, you can be certain that the data is error-free too.

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Check out this interesting client case we’ve made with Cegelec with our Check-in-at-work solution!

Or this case with B&R Bouwgroep!

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Contact us to find out how your company can benefit from CIAW systems.

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