Haste makes waste
Here’s an interesting article on the importance of route planning for Waste Management and how they tackled the daunting task:
Once dozens of variables are combined into a route knowledge bank, WasteRoute uses algorithms to pick the most efficient paths. These algorithms sort through the myriad issues Waste Management executives face daily: Is construction delaying a driver? Are there promised windows of time to pick up waste? Is a driver close to running more than the 60-hour-per-week maximum imposed by the Department of Transportation?
It is a fairly detailed and thought provoking article. The bottom line from an abstract point of view is that small gains in efficiency on a large scale operation can result in significant gains in productivity.