WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – SOFTWARE
Future-proofing your facility WITH WASTE MANAGERS FACING INCREASINGLY COMPLEX OPERATING ENVIRONMENTS, MANDALAY TECHNOLOGIES’ ROSEMARY BLACK OUTLINES THE STREAMLINING CAPABILITIES OF CLOUD-BASED FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.
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egulatory environments are constantly changing and are variable state-to-state. As such, it can be challenging for waste managers and councils – often dealing with external pressures – to keep on top of changes and how they affect their day-to-day operations. In June, for instance, the Queensland Government announced a six-month deferment to the waste levy increase, which was set to begin in July. The deferment falls in line with industry requests to temporarily halt regulatory changes in the wake of COVID-19. However, the 11th hour notification raised concerns, with industry given little time to adapt to pricing impacts. “Reporting data to meet state and national regulatory requirements is complicated and involves a lot of manual work,” explains Rosemary Black, Head of Customer at Mandalay Technologies. “Added to this is the often-rapid nature of change, as illustrated by the Queensland levy, which highlights the complex operating environment faced by waste managers and councils.” To mitigate these challenges and ensure facility compliance, Mandalay has integrated levy and chain of responsibility reporting that matches legislation requirements into its Facility Product Suite. “We believe in approaching facility
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Rosemary Black says data is critical to the success of an organisation.
management from the front foot, providing practical solutions to take the pain away from clients,” Black says. “Mandalay’s Facility Product Suite complies with various state and national regulatory bodies and regulatory requirements, and as requirements change, the system is updated to suit.” In today’s digital economy, data functions much like oil in the 18th century – an immeasurably untapped valuable asset. In the waste sector, data extraction benefits extend beyond economics, with the role of big data increasingly understood within the context of positive environmental outcomes. The NSW Government’s March 2020 Cleaning Up Our Act issues paper, for example, suggests significant
opportunities exist for data and analytics to drive improvement in waste management efficiencies. According to Black, the role of data towards a successful circular economy transition is well understood by Mandalay. “Mandalay is committed to a world without waste – where materials generated by the community transition from a cost centre to a revenue generator,” she says. “The right data is critical to the success of an organisation and so too are the processes that utilise and audit that data.” An awareness of the latent value hidden in waste data was the central driver behind the development of Mandalay’s Facility Product Suite, Black explains. “The system integrates a range of products for waste and facility applications to capture and process vehicle movements in and out of sites, delivering critical functions including hardware interfaces, transaction capture and point-of-sale payment processing,” she says. Designed for landfills, transfer stations, resource recovery facilities, tip and buy back shops, recycling centres and material recovery facilities, the Facility Product Suite can be configured to suit all facility situations. Black adds that software products can operate with or without a
