Page 37 from: March 2013

37March 2013

Profit potential
‘Without a doubt, all recycling players stand to

profit from implementing industry-specific

software,’ confirms Ralf Linnemann, ceo of

German software leader tegos whose “enwis”

and “comotor” have been designed to aid waste

disposal companies as well as metal traders.

‘Recycling software guarantees data can be avail-

able at any workstation in the company, making

the work processes much clearer,’ he says.

‘Last but not least; no data ever gets lost,’ adds

Linneman. He calls this total package a game-

changer for scrap yards as the workstations of

the drivers, the weigh men, the people in the

back office and the managers are spread quite

widely across the site – all in need of real answers

in real time. Not just the basic data, he empha-

sises, but ‘filigree information’ to procure solid

insight that encompasses the complete value

chain.

Klarmann highlights the remarkable results

that can be achieved. ‘We serve one customer

in the north of Germany which handles up to

30 big overseas containers every day,’ he says.

‘The number of transactions resulted in so

many manual tasks that, at one point, the com-

pany had to employ a whole team to handle all

the paperwork, certificates, container bookings

and communication with the customs and har-

bour authorities, and to keep up with the data

flow. Thanks to our software, these tasks are

automated with electronic interfaces to the

authorities within the country and the ports of

destination. This frees up time to spend on

high-priority tasks. Recyclers use these func-

tionalities more and more.’

‘Out in the open’
However, Klarmann also points to a very strong

driver from outside the industry that keeps up

the pressure for further recycling software inno-

vation. ‘Environmental laws are getting stricter

with the passing of every year – largely because

governments classify metal scrap as waste,’ he

notes. ‘Many countries, most of them members

of the EU, have introduced new regulations to

enforce control over recycling data at a mind-

blowing rate, all to bring the details out in the

open. These are so tough; they impact almost

every deal revolving around secondary materials.’

According to Klarmann, the company’s engi-

neers have made sure the software is on par

with the environmental legislation put forward

by governments.

Today and tomorrow
To meet the ever-growing demands placed on

them, recyclers need solutions that ‘fit today

and can fit tomorrow’, concludes Linnemann.

‘We regularly provide add-ons for the full spec-

trum of our services, ranging from telematics,

document management systems, computer

telephony integration, business intelligence and

more.’ A popular feature designed by the Dort-

mund-based company is the workflow add-on.

‘It allows you to track back any steps you made

in the system to localise a mistake and helps you

to map the whole process – deciding what

actions should take place next, who is respon-

sible, what should be the result and what hap-

pens afterwards,’ he explains.

Though the focus on continuous progress is

healthy, this doesn’t mean every trend has to be

followed, reflects Kane. He hails cloud computing

as a prime example of a new yet very internet-

unfriendly development, warning that opting for

such a method at a large location like a scrap yard

could cause ‘a data bottleneck’ and slow down – if

not shut down – an entire operation.

‘Our system is currently compatible with

iPhone and the iPad – just like the other guys

– but communicates locally with a server that’s

less than 100 metres away from any given work-

station at the recycler’s yard,’ he says. ‘Because

the data are close by, the communication is

much faster and doesn’t necessarily require the

recycler to install a T1 line (high-performance

fibre optic telephone line).’

An absolute must
‘It’s a new world out there,’ Klarmann agrees.

‘Everyone is walking around with modern

devices, playing with smart phones, tablets, etc,

so reinventing software is an absolute must. Still,

we try to implement new functionalities that

actually make sense; (we are) aware that we

shouldn’t add them for the sake of a new, shiny

look and feel.’ He remarks that not all enhance-

ments are a ‘dream of the future’, saying that

‘interactivity’ sums up the central vision of

RECY’s soon-to-be-released version 6.

Convinced of the paramount importance of

having a system that keeps you informed while

you work, Klarmann states the new system will

include ‘intelligent interactivity’. He explains:

‘High-powered managers, controllers, dis-

patchers and auditors haven’t the leisure time

today to study reports, no matter how well they

are presented. They want to be informed about

exceptions, critical issues and imminent haz-

ards automatically by intelligent software. Tech-

nology like smart phones and tablets just pro-

vides the means to get this information to these

people. If a metal position reaches a critical

limit or if a major customer has not shown up

at the yard in the last 10 days, they need to know

right away.’

‘Recyclers need
solutions that fit today
and can fit tomorrow.’

Ralf Linnemann: ‘We ensure no data ever gets lost.’

ROM grants scrap yards ‘up-to-the-minute visibility’.

R E C Y C L I N G S O F T W A R E

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