Austin Resource Recovery

Efficiency through performance metrics

Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) is a department of the City of Austin, TX. As a front-line department, it interacts with more than 190,000 residential properties each week, with services from curbside collection to drop-off centers for reusable items. With so much customer interaction, ARR wants everything to run efficiently, so it uses performance measure data, and the accuracy of that data is critical to the department's success.

About Austin Resource Recovery

Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) is a department of the City of Austin, Texas. It collects recycling, compost, trash, brush, bulk items, household hazardous waste, and clothing and textiles. It also sweeps streets and offers Austin and Travis County residents a place to recycle and safely dispose of hard-to-recycle items. In 2011, the Austin City Council adopted a zero waste goal: cut the trash sent to landfills by 90% by 2040. The council approved the 2023 Comprehensive Plan on November 2, 2023, as an update to the 2011 Master Plan. The department's site is austintexas.gov.

The old database process

Previously, ARR managed a significant amount of data in a relational-style database. It was great for storage but presented several challenges. First, users had to export data to perform manual calculations and then load the information back in, which took valuable staff time and left the door open to error. The database also did not provide a way to lock previous reporting periods.

Reporting on the measures to make decisions presented another set of problems. Information was pulled from the database and transferred for calculations, then either returned to the database or displayed in a presentation report. Staff repeated the process several times until all the necessary reports were created. What they were doing worked, but staff knew there had to be a more standardized process. ARR's leadership wanted to give the Executive Team clear data and a dashboard to illustrate performance. It was time for a change.

The search for a better solution

ARR's Quality Assurance team set out in search of a better solution. The goal of the search was to find a solution that:

• allowed them to standardize performance measures and reports
• was easy-to-use
• provided more visibility
• would increase data confidence

After evaluating several possible solutions, ARR chose ClearPoint. In addition to addressing these needs, ClearPoint offered a low price, flexibility, and a high level of customization.

Rolling out a new system

In rolling out ClearPoint, ARR's goal was an easy-to-use, standardized solution that limited user edit access to their specific measures. Each of the nine divisions named a designated representative as point of contact to ensure new measures were added in accordance with the standardized approach. Measure layouts were designed with the end user in mind so basic data entry could be done simply each month.

Besides a standardized look and feel, the rollout focused heavily on user access to data. ARR's old process involved several different people handling data to perform calculations and analysis. ClearPoint has granular user permission settings, and ARR took full advantage when adding users. Users can view everything, for visibility and transparency, but can only edit the measures they are required to update, for security. Calculations were implemented within ClearPoint, so raw data is input and ClearPoint performs the necessary calculations automatically. Staff is saving time with an easier process that is less open to mistakes. Accountability, security, reliability, and visibility were back.

A continually improving process

With the improved solution in place, ARR is able to focus on executing its strategy again. The most important measures have real accountability and trustworthy data. Executive dashboards display this information, quickly communicate ARR's status in every area of the organization, and help identify issues that need investigation. Leadership can view divisional dashboards to see summary scores and drill down for more information.

Functionalities such as restricted measure access have helped increase user confidence in the data, and many are excited to roll this out further. What started as a cumbersome process is becoming one that promises constant improvement across the organization.