City of Lubbock expects new smart technology to increase accountability, efficiency in trash pick-up

KCBD
By Brittany Crittenden
Published: Dec. 28, 2023 at 10:34 PM CST

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - The City of Lubbock says new technology will help it become more efficient and accountable when it comes to picking up residents’ trash, partly because the smart devices should help clear up disputes about property damage in alleys.

The city has already been using the technology and software for nine months now, through a pilot program with Rubicon Global. Earlier this month, the city council approved moving forward with a three-year contract.

The technology looks as simple as a phone or tablet mounted inside a truck, and a few cameras, but Solid Waste Director Brenda Haney says the data they gather will be invaluable.

“If a resident calls in and wants to know what’s going on or when we were there, or tells us that we haven’t been there, we can look in the system and find out,” she said.

Solid Waste has been utilizing 20 units on different trucks and routes through the pilot program but will soon expand to all 60 in the fleet. Cell phones or tablets mounted in the trucks give turn-by-turn directions, monitor collection routes in real time and re-assign them as needed.

“If we know that somebody’s really making great progress on their route right now and somebody else is, their route is extremely heavy and they’re not going to be able to get done, then I can reassign that person towards the end of the day that’s finishing up. I can send them over and I can circle those routes and say here goes, go do these,” Haney said.

The new technology collects a large amount of data in one spot, and Haney says it will eventually include a diagnostics port. Drivers can also use the phones or tablets to take photos.

“I get route miles, trips to the landfill, number of stops, weights on those routes. ‘How much diesel we put in there?’ ‘Are there mechanical issues with the truck?’ ‘Is there something happening on the route?’ So, we can take photos as we go and document those issues,” she said.

Drivers can input data like ‘fence damaged’ or ‘alley blocked,’ with the touch of a button. When the program is fully implemented, all trucks will have cameras that can provide video evidence if residents file a claim with the city for damage. Haney says it happens far more often than she would like.

“It is a daily occurrence for somebody to call in and say that we damaged their fence. And whether we did or we didn’t, we’re going to take responsibility for it,” Haney said. “At this point, we don’t have a way of defending ourselves, right now.”

The director says the video footage will give them the opportunity to do that, and ensure the city is only using taxpayer dollars, when necessary, to pay for damages it caused.

“We don’t want to damage anybody’s property, and we certainly want to take care of it, if we do. But we also don’t want to be taking care of something we didn’t tear up, because we’ve got to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars,” she said.

The first year of the three-year contract will cost about $197,000. The next two years will drop down to around $160,000; Haney says because the initial equipment costs will be taken care of. She says she’s talked with other directors who use the system who say it paid for itself in the first year.

In the next few years, the city plans to transition into the use of a transfer station, to cut down on trucks driving out to the landfill. Haney says this data will help her staff determine the time it saves and adjust routes.

“I just think it’s going to make us that much more efficient and effective and that’s really our goal. We want to be able to provide the best service to our customers that we possibly can,” Haney said. “We don’t always meet their expectations, but we try really hard and all the tools that we can add to our tool belt is really important to us.”

Haney says the new devices should arrive soon, and she hopes to place them in all of the department’s trucks after her staff settles into the new year.