As Head of Technology at EnviroNZ, Stephen Vidulich and the team help create solutions to environmental problems and use technology as an enabler to change things for good. 

The organisation has introduced an AI health and safety application and a weighbridge application that Vidulich says are “standard bearers for innovation that makes things safer, more efficient and easier for our people and the communities we serve through our national network of collections services and critical infrastructure.”

The AI health and safety application was developed alongside the team at Qrious and Spark to make EnviroNZ’s refuse station site at Constellation Drive on Auckland’s North Shore safer for visitors and staff. 

This breakthrough project is Spark's first 5G Multi Access Edge Computer pilot, according to Vidulich.

“In the past we’ve had instances at our sites where members of the public have bypassed safety controls to try to retrieve something from a clearly signed and barrier protected area where excavators work.  To help solve this problem for our business, a computer vision system pilot was rolled out using 5G edge compute capability. It can trigger alerts when a person is identified as being too close to an excavator in a specific detection zone, enabling our team to react in real-time.”

The benefit of edge compute means data transfers more quickly to the cloud-based application, and therefore hazards can be flagged more quickly.

“Our team constantly monitors for this type of situation and the big benefit of the AI application is that it provides another set of eyes. It’s vigilant and always on,” adds Vidulich.

The team has also rolled out a new weighbridge solution, developed in-house, which has shaved half a minute from average processing times for drivers across 27 EnviroNZ sites. 

“While 30 seconds may not sound like much, thousands of dockets are generated each year so this time saving soon adds up and is helping provide a faster experience for everyone using our facilities.   Traditional weighbridges can create bottlenecks for customers, reflecting the time it takes to process a transaction, from weighing to waiting for a receipt to print. With the new system this has been reduced from 30 seconds to 1-2 seconds.”
 
For EnviroNZ’s own trucks and some commercial vehicles, the process is fully automated. The new system recognises the licence plate, weighing in and weighing out of the site, and emails receipts directly to customers. The time savings increase site capacity and flow and decrease wait times, says Vidulich.

“Prior to putting in the new solution, traffic to Te Maunga Transfer Station [in Tauranga] doubled after the Maleme St transfer station closed – from about 380 to 700 vehicles on a busy day. Public concern was voiced in local media that the busy Te Maunga site would struggle to cope with increased demand. In response, we rapidly implemented the new solution. It now efficiently processes all vehicles with capacity to spare and has removed a pain point for our customers,” he adds.

Technology as a business enabler

The EnviroNZ technology team works across every level of the business, from frontline operational workers through to the C-suite and has prioritised open communication.  In doing so, the team is regarded as a trusted in-house business enabler, according to Vidulich.

They split work into two categories: maintenance projects and work that moves the dial. 

“On a micro-level we needed to make sure that personal technology was fit for use and that people could do their jobs. We listened. Over time it gave us credibility that the technology team deliver as a business partner.

“On a macro level, the systems were either not there, slow or at the end of their life. We know new technology is changing the game for all businesses – and the waste and resource recovery industry is no different. Our strategy now is to embrace the opportunities it brings. 

Tech transformation initiatives are rolled out in-house under the Project Aurora banner.   

“Getting digital transformation right is really more about people than it is the tech itself.  We’re working in a completely new way to support the project roll out. With Aurora, the project team is supported by subject matter experts in finance, technology and infrastructure, and we’ve put in place a 20-strong change agent network drawn from across the business. These change agents work hands-on in field ops and office-based support roles, and they’ve volunteered to take on extra leadership responsibilities to support their colleagues through the implementation process. This way of working helps give all our people on the ground a voice and it’s a powerful way to influence and embed change across the organisation,” says Vidulich. 

EnviroNZ’s CEO Chris Aughton and CFO Jason Miles have technology backgrounds, which Vidulich says means “we are fortunate to have strong leadership prioritising the business’s tech-enabled transformation and challenging us to take it to the next level.”