Embracing circular economy principles is about more than just turning trash into treasure – it’s also about maximising the lifespan of all your resources.
Across Australia, councils and utilities are grappling with an era of growth amidst rising costs, ageing infrastructure and mounting environmental pressures.
Customers expect faster, more personalised services, but at the same time, it’s paramount that services and rates remain affordable and our ecosystems remain protected.
By integrating circular economy strategies, councils and utilities can reduce landfill dependency, encourage water reuse, lower operational costs and improve resilience against climate and supply chain disruptions.
For Bucher General Manager – Engineering and Technical Services, Andrew Mitchell, the key to doing this is in looking at your business as a whole and embedding a long-term commitment to get the most out of all your resources.
At its core, the circular economy aims to reduce waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use for as long as possible, and regenerate natural systems. But embracing a circular economy isn’t just about conducting resource recovery trials and minimising waste in major construction projects – it’s a philosophy that can also be embedded in small ways across your entire business, especially with your equipment.
In for the long-haul
When investing in high-value equipment, such as refuse trucks or vacuum tankers, rather than focusing solely on the upfront purchase price, Mr Mitchell said it’s important to look at the total cost of ownership, which encompasses all costs incurred throughout the equipment’s lifecycle – including acquisition, operation, maintenance and eventual disposal.
By taking a holistic view, councils and utilities can make more informed procurement decisions. Ensuring that the equipment delivers long-term value, not only supports sustainability from an environmental perspective, but also the sustainability and longevity of the business too.
Mr Mitchell has spent almost three decades engineering and manufacturing products for the waste industry in Australia, and he explained that there are a large number of factors that impact the total cost of a product’s ownership and they all interlink with each other.
This is where purposeful engineering becomes essential.
“There are many pillars that we look at in the development of all Bucher’s solutions, such as innovation, compliance, safety, performance requirements and productivity, as well as the initial cost of purchase and the technology” he said.
While he’s is the expert when it comes to waste management equipment solutions, each sector that Bucher services is supported by a team of specialised engineers right here in Australia – and this holistic design philosophy is embraced company-wide.
“It’s about having a product that we can support customers with,” he said.
“Listening to what their requirements and their pain points are is key. We need to really understand our customers if we’re developing a product for them.
“And that also means incorporating that feedback across our range of products, and commonising components, concepts, control systems and the support spectrum, and using the same component wherever we can.”
Keeping up with the times
From Bucher’s perspective, innovation doesn’t have an endpoint.
All the company’s solutions are constantly evolving as operator needs change and new regulations or standards come into force, and as an example, Mr Mitchell highlighted the company’s Sport (single-person-operated refuse truck) side loader.
Since it was first released to the Australian market in 1991, Bucher has continuously improved the Sport Side Loader’s design to not only keep up with, but exceed the industry’s needs.
Today, it offers one of the fastest and highest bin lifting capacities in the Australian market, but for Bucher it’s not about innovation for the sake of setting a record, its about designing for highest productivity, lowest cost of ownership and the best and safest operational experience.
When it comes to a vehicle’s total cost of ownership, Mr Mitchell said something that is not often factored into the equation is the costs of downtime and low productivity.
“Productivity is about getting the job done as efficiently as possible – and in this context that really comes down to two things,” he said.
“Part of productivity is the speed at which your equipment is able to work. This includes is things like eliminating the amount of three point turns the vehicle has to do, and also improving the speed of the bin lifter.
“However, when we’re designing our vehicles we also need to look at the level of service councils are required to meet.”
The job might be done quickly, but if the bins are scattered all over the road as a result then they’re not meeting the needs of the community in the process.
For Mr Mitchell, the goal is always to design a vehicle that meets a council’s performance requirements as quickly and as safely as possible.
Taking the Sport Side Loader as an example again, Bucher is constantly improving the vehicle’s safety systems. This machine incorporates both pedestrian safety measures – like automatic breaking and fully integrated camera system that notified the operator when an object or person is too close to the vehicle – as well as some clever design elements that not only reduce risks to operator’s safety, but also make the vehicle easier to use.
By designing the vehicle with a short wheelbase, Bucher improved its ability to maneuver through narrow streets, which prevents collisions and reduces the number the number of times the operator needs to reverse.
“The other part of productivity is reducing operator fatigue, and that often depends on how easy [and enjoyable] it is to use,” he said.
“The faster the lifter, the more bins you can do in a day. But if lifter isn’t smooth, then the faster it goes, the more the truck shakes, which also contributes to operator fatigue.”
When operators become fatigued, it doesn’t just lower their productivity – it’s also a safety risk.
Poorly designed safety systems or unexpected equipment failure can expose operators to harm, and the more difficult something is to use, the higher the risk for operator error.
On top of that, equipment that is inefficient and complex to operate is leads to unnecessary downtime and failed compliance audits.
“We’re really focused on is making sure we have a truck that operators can safely use,” Mr Mitchell said.
“User-focused design with consistent controls, ergonomic access and automated functions reduces onboarding time and human error.
“This means councils and utilities can do more with fewer resources.”
Avoiding surprise expenses
For Mr Mitchell, it’s important that councils and utilities are aware that compliance adds cost, but non-compliance will cost you a lot more.
If you’re using a vehicle that doesn’t meet regulation, you’re not only looking at the possibility of a hefty fine, but you’re also potentially putting your operators and the community in danger.
However, ensuring you’re investing in a vehicle that’s fully compliant can be a little more complicated than it ought to be.
Not only are there a number of state-specific regulations to navigate in Australia, just because a vehicle meets the mandated government regulations doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s compliant with best practice industry standards.
On the topic of refuse trucks, Mr Mitchell explained that there are a number of different standards and regulations that these machines come under, including the Vehicle Standards Bulletin 6 (VSB6), Australian Design Rules (ADR), Heavy Vehicle National Law, OH&S compliance codes as well as ISO standards. Each make of truck also has its own body building guidelines that need to be factored in too.
“Everything we put out, we’re making sure its fully compliant to industry standards,” he said.
The engineer explained that even though the weight might be within an acceptable limit when you look at the total mass across the whole vehicle, you have to look more closely at the weight placed on each axel.
If the weight is distributed in a way that means one axel overloads before the other, then you can only go to the weight limit of that first axel, otherwise you’re setting the scene for disaster.
Incorporating all these elements into a vehicle’s design requires a deep understanding of all applicable standards and regulations, quality parts and materials, thorough testing and clever engineering – which does add to the cost of the initial investment.
For example, you could reduce the cost of producing a refuse truck by not including a subframe in the tipper body, but this element provides critical load distribution.
Mr Mitchel explained that the Sport Side Loader has a full length subframe, which protects the chassis from damage during load transfer, and prevents the truck from moving sideways while tipping by providing a smooth and gradual transfer for the load.
Without a well-engineered subframe, the vehicle could not only be damaged well before it’s end of life, but it presents a safety risk to both operators and the general public – and the human cost, plus the price of a replacement, as well as the potential fines are often much more expensive than investing in good engineering.
Ageing gracefully
In theory, keeping a vehicle in service for as long as possible should lower both the total cost of ownership and the environmental impact – but in practice, this means choosing a vehicle that can be used effectively for as long as possible, without owners needing to invest an excessive amount of time and money to maintain it.
According to Mr Mitchell, the lifespan of any vehicle ultimately depends on how you use it.
In part, this means choosing a machine that’s actually designed for the job – and not using it for an application it wasn’t made for.
In the context of refuse trucks, this means they need to be tailored to specific waste stream they’re collecting. For example, organic waste is inherently corrosive, and will quickly deteriorate the interior of a loader that’s not made from rust-resistant materials.
Likewise, Australia is home to a wide variety of harsh environmental conditions, however, machines that are designed for use in other countries where the weather is mild and more consistent aren’t always equipped to withstand the searing Aussie sun.
It’s also important that it meets the needs of the individual council or utility, particularly when it comes to things like tracking systems or accommodating different waste streams.
But even if you’ve sourced the right tool for the job, Mr Mitchell said that your vehicle still needs to be properly looked after.
“You might have a vehicle that’s contracted to last for ten years but if it isn’t well-maintained throughout its lifespan, then at best it becomes less efficient and more expensive to operate, and at worst it fails completely before it reaches the end of its contracted lifecycle,” he said.
Does that mean regularly maintaining your vehicle is the key to lowering the cost of ownership? According to the engineering expert, there’s a bit more to it than that.
“If your vehicle is designed to need frequent maintenance and the oil and filters have to be replaced regularly, then the cost of these new parts and the time spend repairing the vehicle can work out to be greater than investing in a replacement,” he said.
These costs are also shared with the environment, as every time you change the oil or replace the filter those materials become waste themselves – and if your vehicle is also not particularly fuel efficient, that’s just another a bill you’re splitting with the local ecosystem.
For Bucher, solving these challenges means ensuring that the machinery is engineered for durability and reliability.
“With the Sport Side Loader we wanted to engineer a machine that could go the distance, and that wasn’t just easy to maintain but required maintenance less frequently,” Mr Mitchell said.
“If the maintenance requirements are low, the operator isn’t getting fatigued as quickly.
“It also means you’re reducing the environmental impact and producing less waste over the vehicles lifespan.”
Make it your own
The waste streams collected, and the frequency at which they’re collected isn’t always the same from one council to the next. Add in the fact that the regulations for refuse trucks can vary from one state to the next and it’s clear that there’s no one-size-fits all vehicle solution.
However, anything that’s completely bespoke also comes with the risk of non-compliance and has less in-field testing. To provide councils and utilities with the best of both worlds, Mr Mitchell explained that Bucher Municipal takes a modular approach.
“We have a core product that we can then adapt to suit different various customer requirements and different waste collection needs,” he said.
“This includes things like integrating [a customer’s] own waste tracking or GPS system, or a safety system that can shut off the compactor when it reaches max weight.”
This modular approach means that Bucher can provide the peace of mind that comes with a proven, engineered solution, while still delivering a product that actually works for you.
It also allows councils and utilities to get a bit of a longer lifespan out of certain components if they only need to replace part of the equipment and not the entire machine.
“Our vehicles also designed to be adapted for different waste streams, so a truck could go from a green waste application to recycling or general waste application,” Mr Mitchell said.
Ultimately, our expert said it’s important to look at the whole picture.
To keep operational costs low, your vehicle needs to be easy to use and maintain – but it also needs to be able to work efficiently without needing to be maintained very often.
You can lower the initial investment by opting for the cheapest solution available, but if it’s not suited to your job then that money you saved at the start is quickly whittled away when problems arise.
Downtime is expensive, so it needs to allow operators to do the job quickly, but if it doesn’t have adequate safety mechanisms in place then your workforce and the local community could end up paying the price if an incident occurs.
When you put it all together, there’s a lot riding on your choice of vehicle – and Mr Mitchell said he can’t stress enough how important it for councils and utilities to ask suppliers the right questions.
“Ask your supplier what standards they comply with, and what safety systems they have in place,” he said.
“Looking beyond the initial investment to the total cost of ownership of equipment, [empowers you to] to deliver better outcomes for the environment, your budget, and the community.”
For more information, visit buchermunicipal.com
