Improving Customer and Staff Experience through Technology Modernizations at the Montgomery County Transfer Station

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

In fiscal year 2020, the Montgomery County, Maryland Shady Grove Processing Facility and Transfer Station began reviewing the site’s operations and safety protocols. The 52-acre Transfer Station is the primary facility for the collection of refuse and recycling. Over 6,000 vehicles visit the Transfer Station daily and the onsite point-of-sales systems collects over $2 million in monthly revenues. As the population of the County has grown, so has the use of the Transfer Station. This growth has led to the need to examine business practices to ensure we are as efficient as we can be. Additionally, due to concerns about the safety of the operations, technological changes to enhance safety were developed in support of ongoing operational and other cultural changes to ensure the safety of county employees and contractors, who operate this large industrial site.From the planning phase, several technological improvements to address the need for business process improvements as well as safety improvements rose to the top. Among these were networking resilience to ensure continuity of operations and intelligent video surveillance that allows proactive prevention rather than reactive safety protocols. Over the past 18 months, the County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), along with the assistance and collaboration of the Department of Finance and Office of Risk Management, Network and Server Teams at the Department of Technology Services and Covanta, the facility’s onsite operator, has transformed the trash collection site commonly known as “the dump” to a state-of-the-art technology*This is the same abstract (approximately 200 words or less) that is included onthe Nomination Summary.hub that utilizes these modernizations to enhance customer experience as well as provide preventative safety measures.These improvements have led to the ability to be proactive in thinking and decision-making, have increased operational efficiency which has led to improved customer service and employee morale.