Tracking Success

There’s an old saying: When you’re holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail. In less pithy terms, this saying means that if you’ve got a specific tool or area of knowledge, you want to apply it everywhere you can. And that can be either a positive or a negative thing.

In the expanding world of handheld technology solutions, the possibilities are vast: nails everywhere you look. That’s a very good thing for Kings Mountain, N.C., where the Public Works Department is using the combination of a Nautiz X7 handheld computer, a customized Logic Concepts software program and a rugged radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna and reader to maximize its curbside recycling program. And that’s just the beginning.

Nautiz 7 units help to maximize efficiency when collecting residential recyclables.

Call to Action
It started with a simple sales call. Mack McCarter of Logic Concepts (www.logicconcepts.net), a technology company in Greenville, S.C., that specializes in data collection systems, contacted Kings Mountain about streamlining its sanitation collection process. As McCarter explains, “Get the right people to the right place [and] save gas.”

He talked to Jackie Barnette, Public Works director of Kings Mountain, a city of roughly 11,000 people. While Barnette was open to McCarter’s idea, he had something else in mind, too.

“We were just developing a curbside recycling program, with a grant from the state of North Carolina to get started,” says Barnette. “The grant indicated a preference for using RFID readers to track participation.”

Kings Mountain previously had considered using handheld computers for other applications but hadn’t been able to justify the cost. But a handheld computer with RFID capability built in? Now city officials had justification, and Logic Concepts offered a solution.

Jumping from the initial sanitation application to the RFID recycling application has been a common phenomenon among handheld users, McCarter says. “People see our products and the wheels start turning. They see that they push this button and it tracks this thing, and they start thinking, ‘How does this apply to other issues we have? We could make this button do that...’”
 

The Right Tool
Logic Concepts assembled the ideal tool for the job. It started with the Nautiz X7 (www.nautiz.com) handheld from Handheld US in Corvallis, Ore., a provider of mobile technology.

“Our software can go on a host of different hardware,” McCarter says, “but we prefer to partner with Handheld. After trying other hardware in the field in the past, now we go with Handheld because they offer the best product.”

According to Logic Concepts, the Nautiz X7 had everything Kings Mountain would need: a rugged, easy-to-operate handheld tool with an impressive array of functionality and performance. The 17-ounce Nautiz X7 has optional RFID capability, integrated GPS, an auto-focus three-megapixel flash camera, voice-note capability, a nonreflecting touch screen and a battery life of 12 hours. Plus, it’s impervious to dust and water, can withstand repeated drops, operates in temperatures up to 140° Fahrenheit and comes with a three-year warranty, the company says.

Logic Concepts then created a customized software program for Kings Mountain. The company’s software solutions are based on a simple programmable touch-screen interface, with buttons for different data-gathering functions.

“The customer knows the right questions to ask, based on what they need to know,” McCarter says. “We create a process that lets a field worker gather that data easily and consistently, using a simple button-level approach,” he adds.

The final piece of the puzzle was the RFID-specific functionality. Logic Concepts sought out ACC Systems, a Bohemia, N.Y., company that supplies a range of RFID equipment for clients as diverse as NASA and NASCAR. ACC provided an RFID reader and antenna combination for the Nautiz X7 that maintained the handheld’s waterproof, dustproof and vibration-resistant ruggedness, according to Logic Concepts.

Field Work
The Kings Mountain recycling program’s overall goals were straightforward: haul less garbage to a landfill, pay less in landfill charges and save money while helping the environment. However, at the detail level, the Kings Mountain Public Works Department needed to know which households were doing what.

First the city installed RFID chips in each of the approximately 4,200 recycling containers in the sanitation district, attaching a corresponding street address to each container. Barnette’s team then split the district into 10 zones: The pickup schedule is once every two weeks, so there are 10 different daily routes.

Using the dash-mounted Nautiz X7, field workers check recycling containers as they follow their route. The simple button-based software also enables field workers to gather detailed information, such as:

• Whether a container has been placed out at each address;
• Whether the container matches the address;
• How full the container is;
• Whether nonrecyclables are mixed in with the recyclables; and
• Whether the container needs repair or replacement.

Using the Nautiz X7’s Wi-Fi functionality, at the end of the shift the field workers upload the day’s data directly to the central Public Works Department computer with the touch of a button.

The department uses the information in a variety of ways but, most importantly, to monitor the recycling program.

“We’ve been keeping records for six weeks now,” Barnette says. “Already we can tell how much participation there is in each zone. We’ll target the zones with lower participation levels, providing those folks with more education on the benefits of the program.” He adds, “Having the RFID data helps us allocate our resources where they’re most needed.”
 

Expanding the Scope
“Once they got the system in there and accomplished the initial scope, they quickly recognized the ability to do additional data-gathering,” McCarter says of Kings Mountain Public Works.

“We can track low-hanging branches, roadside garbage...and now our local gas utility is looking at this,” Barnette adds.

McCarter says, “The gas utility wants to locate all the valves in town, document incidents and solutions and ensure regulatory compliance. The city could use it for stormwater management, police and fire [and] asset management. It’s like a library of applications people can share—You can adapt it to any need.”

ACC Systems’ Nicholas Addonisio says, “Simple asset tracking and inventory management applications using RFID technology are common today. But Logic Concepts has demonstrated that RFID readers no longer have to remain in a warehouse and perform simple tasks while mounted on a wall. The possibilities for mobile asset tracking and management are endless.”

Jim Moore is a freelance writer and the owner of Word Jones, a creative services company in Portland, Ore. He can be contacted at jim@wordjones.com.