Transfer Division On-Board Scales Program

About the Program

Category: Transportation (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

The Miami-Dade County Public Works and Waste Management Department (PWWM) operates one of the nation’s largest integrated solid waste disposal systems, consisting of County transfer facilities, landfills and a resources recovery facility. Last fiscal year, the PWWM’s Transfer Division transferred 1.2 million waste tons to PWWM disposal facilities. In order to remain competitive, waste transfer costs were evaluated in 2012 using Six Sigma, a set of business methodologies used to achieve extremely low failure rates in any process. The Six Sigma project analyzed 12 months of actual data to assess and eliminate process defects and focus on improving efficiencies, as well as targeting inefficiencies. Six Sigma participants discovered costly waste transfer trips with underweight loads. As a result, a pilot project was developed utilizing two tractor trailers with on-board scales. The pilot began April 2013, with the Transfer Division constantly maximizing weight capacity throughout the project. The Division’s goal was to reduce the cost per ton by 25 percent using established countermeasures such as load parameters (high and low), a landfill scale report, a new measure in the Department’s performance benchmark report, the mentoring of new operators by experienced operators, and the purchase and installation of weight scales on trucks.