Yesterday was the first day of pickup and photos of the truck and process are below. The driver was a bit slow, but he said he expects to get faster as he gets used to the truck and the process. Since these trucks have arms only on one side, he has to take two trips down the street to get the garbage on both sides. This is expected to change if the pilot is expanded to the city as a whole.
Of the 17 cans on my side of the street, only three of them ended up with open lids after being emptied. If you'd like to hear yesterday's conversation about the program, you can listen to a pod cast of Eye on Toledo here. Conversation about the trash program starts at 6:15.
3 comments:
Instead of the robot arm, the city should go with trucks they have in Sylvania that have a large bin in the front of the truck. The driver jumps out and tosses it in and moves on. Very quick. It is definitely worth looking at all the options
Only problem black swamp is that there are certain areas of the city that might not be very safe for a one person crew.
Actually, one of the goals is reduced workplace injuries. Not having to get in and out of a truck, not having to pick up cans, bags, etc... and instead, sitting in a truck and punching buttons to operate an arm ... much easier on the Workers' Comp claims and premiums.
Additionally, union issues would come into play, I think, if you just changed the crews from 3 to 1 by going to a front load versus rear load. I can see the union arguing that changing the location of where the garbage goes doesn't necessitate a reduction in staffing.
A robotic arm that does all that for you means you can logically argue for less people.
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