Volvo

Route copilot
that prioritizes
time, money and safety

Route copilot
that prioritizes
time, money & safety

Role

Product Design Intern

Team

Nikhita Mishra (Data Science Intern)

Keval Parekh (UX Research Intern)

Mario Santanilla (Product Design Intern)

Timeline

May - August 2023

I joined Volvo’s Innovation Lab in Mountain View, CA to work on the future of the Refuse (Garbage) Truck.


The Innovation Lab is a design oriented business team focused on expanding Volvo’s portfolio with key partners in the Bay Area, as well as developing internal projects that will drive the future of the company through incremental innovation.


With two other interns we worked on developing a project for Mack Trucks (Volvo subsidiary).

Summary

OVERVIEW

Frictionless communication

for a smooth operator

We built a route planning product that improves the operations of the refuse (garbage) industry. The robust system expands from the in-cabin to the back office in order to create a holistic fully integrated solution.

the truck

The refuse truck is the same

as it was in the 90's!

The refuse truck is the same as it was in the 90's!

Even though the refuse industry has a very tech forward culture
and is always innovating on their operations,
the truck’s in-cabin hasn’t been the case.

Even though the refuse industry has a very tech forward culture and is always innovating on their operations, the truck’s in-cabin hasn’t been the case.

2021 Mack LR Electric

1995 Mack Model R

Same dashboard with

basic standard instruments.

No additional

infotainment to truck data

No visual aid sensors

connected to the chasis

Why this has happened

3 players build the truck.
No communication

between them

3 players build the truck. No communication

between them.

3 players build the truck. No communication

between them

The OEM produces the chasis, a tier 1 company produces the body that stores the garbage and third parties provide the sensors that are attached to the truck.

Day to day operations

The blind leading the blind

The effect of a disconnected truck ripple into the day to day operations of the companies, resulting in an inefficient process.

“Everything is manual and slow, we get all paper work on a clipboard which is only seen by back office at the end of the day”

“Everything is manual and slow, we get all paper work on a clipboard which is only seen by back office at the end of the day”

Jose Duarte - Driver

Driver Insights

Since routes are handed on paper, majority of drivers do them from memory.


Very slow and manual note taking is the standard procedure during the route.


Third party tools are not easy to access and produce cognitive overload.

Broken communication

Operations Insights

Back and force between multiple
tools and drivers.


Without real-time data the best solution is guessed.


Pen and paper is the tool use to join the dots between the multiple tools used.

“We talk to the driver during our check-ins at 10 AM and at 3 PM. In between we have to do changes, reroutings, new stops, everything!”

Jim Clayton - Operations Manager

Focusing to find a solution

A direct communication

aided by the truck

for smooth operation

3 players build the truck. No communication

between them.

3 players build the truck. No communication

between them

In order to help Jim and Jose we had three main conclusions. Given how much I can share here, I am happy to share over

a call a more in-depth on our findings and conclusions.

In order to help Jim and Jose we had three main conclusions. Given how much I can share here, I am happy to share over a call a more in-depth on our findings and conclusions.

Real-time communication

It is crucial to enable a direct communication between truck and back office. One that is not invasive to the driver or demanding to the back office operators.

By enabling truck data to make decisions faster and more accurate we reduce the friction and back and forth by more than 80%.

Automate decision making

Incremental Innovation

Enable a plan in which Volvo will gradually integrate novel technology to update the in-cabin experience without adoption barriers and keeping costs low.

Enable a plan in which Volvo will gradually integrate novel technology to update the in-cabin experience without adoption barriers and keeping costs low.

Outcome

Outcome

Outcome

Sneak peek

A new memeber,

the perfect copilot to Jose and Jim

The refuse truck is the same as it was in the 90's!

What used to take multiple hours between back and forth now is done

in a couple of steps. The system not only communicates Jim

and Jose but also automates a big portion of what the process was.

Even though the refuse industry has a very tech forward culture and is always innovating on their operations, the truck’s in-cabin hasn’t been the case.

Live tracking the fleet

Now Jim is able to
track and assist the

trucks immediately.

An alert arrives!

What used to take Jim multiple hours, now is safely done in a brief moment.

A walk through the issue

Jim can now review any issue almost live and in a few steps take the actions needed.

Voila!

Jim is done with the issue, the system assigns the stop to the best route.

Driver's side

Jose receives an update alert in his infotainment of the stop added to his route.

my proudest moments

After three months at Volvo

The refuse truck is the same as it was in the 90's!

Presenting to the company world-wide

We got to present the project to more than 140 employees world wide with multiple follow up meetings to have an impactful handoff.

Influencing the road ahead

Word spread out fast! We got Invited to expand from the presentation with the VP that is making the decisions for these innovations.

Presenting to the company world-wide

We got to present the project to more than 140 employees world wide with multiple follow up meetings to have an impactful handoff.

🚀

Influencing the road ahead

Word spread out fast! We got Invited to expand from the presentation with the VP that is making the decisions for these innovations.

🛤️

💎

Want to know more?

Lets chat!

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