PATH
Project Area Tracking Hub
My team & I developed Project Area Tracking Hub (PATH) for GFL, a leading North American waste management company, in response to stricter regulations around excess soil transportation in Ontario, Canada. By understanding the existing processes in great detail, we identified key inefficiencies that enabled us to design a vastly more efficient and eco-friendly solution. Since its launch in 2022, PATH has helped businesses in Ontario transport soil in a sustainable and compliant manner.
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What Are We Trying to Solve?
How might we enable each stakeholder in soil movement process to effectively adhere to the Ontario’s soil regulations & make the process more environmentally friendly.
My Role In The Project
Research
Prepared interview questions, Facilitated interview sessions & workshops with GFL Management & soil department teams, Data synthesis & pattern recognition
Ideation
Flows, Information Architecture & Taxonomy, Lead session with the back-end development team to finalize technical architecture
Design & Reviews
Lo & Mid-Fi Wireframes, Prototypes of Final UI Designs, Early design reviews with stakeholders to finalize direction, Weekly product review sessions with development teams to ensure quality outcome
Testing
Usability testing sessions on prototypes and on the actual product, A/B testing, Field Testing
Primary Research
Our initial focus was to align with GFL's business goals. To accomplish this, our Business Analyst (BA) and I organized a collaborative session with the product owner and GFL's soil department leadership team. Additionally, we conducted individual interviews with stakeholders to gain a deeper understanding of the overall process. These sessions provided us with a clear understanding of the business goals and the soil movement process, while also uncovering leads for more detailed discussions on each aspect of the soil movement process.
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To delve further into the matter, we conducted workshops involving selected members from each department within GFL's soil division. The aim was to identify pain points and gather insights into the needs of users at each stage. These interactive sessions enabled us to develop personas, affinity diagrams, user and task flows, which in turn helped us pinpoint issues in the existing process and discover new opportunities.
Uncovering Key Challenges
Following our primary and secondary research, we compiled and synthesized all the gathered data. One of the key steps involved creating a journey of the existing process and mapping the issues identified during our primary and secondary research sessions onto this journey. By doing so, we were able to pinpoint specific problems at each step, providing a clear and contextualized understanding of the challenges.
Identified Challenges
Up to 25% of soil was rejected and returned to the source due to errors caused by:
Complicated Application Process
How might we empower source site users with tools and guidance to confidently submit accurate soil applications without the worry of being rejected.
Lack of Communication
How might we facilitate effective collaboration and communication among all parties involved to proactively resolve avoidable issues, leading to improved soil acceptance?
Identified Opportunity
We also identified an opportunity based on our discussions with the users
Load Management Optimization
How might we enhance the reliability, transparency, and speed of load transfer and management processes?
Ideation
1- Improving Application Submission Process
During our interactions with source site users, we identified two primary issues related to the soil application submission process:
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1- Unexplained technical terms on the forms, particularly in relation to selecting the soil type, which is a crucial parameter influencing decision-making.

2- Heavy reliance on third-party consultants, known as Qualified Persons (QPs), to analyze the soil and provide data for form completion. However, the data provided by the QPs was still too complex for the source site users.
How might we make the load transfer more reliable, transparent & fast.
ITERATION # 1
1- I added descriptive help for complex technical terminologies to aid users in selecting the appropriate soil type.

2- We implemented pre-filtering of information based on the filled data, such as displaying only receiving sites compatible with the selected soil parameters.

3- We enabled QPs to create the application on behalf of the source site, allowing for collaboration and review before final submission.
ITERATION # 2
After consulting with GFL's soil department and reviewing Solution #3, we recognized the potential complexity that could arise during the editing process.
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To address this challenge, we introduced permission-based access within the system. Source site administrators were given the ability to add QPs as third-party users to their portal, enabling them to directly create and edit soil applications. This streamlined approach simplified the editing and submission process.
2- Resolving Avoidable Human Errors
Many processes relied heavily on paperwork, lacking standardized procedures or tools to effectively manage edits or changes to applications. This led to the occurrence of duplicate records and instances where updates were not promptly communicated to all stakeholders, resulting in a significant number of rejections.
How might we help all involved parties resolve avoidable issues to improve soil acceptance?
3- Refining Load & Transfer Process
The existing load transfer process was manual and time-consuming, requiring source site users to physically visit the receiving site's office to obtain Bills of Lading (BOLs) for each truck transfer. This approach resulted in various issues during subsequent stages of the process. To overcome these challenges, we embarked on a comprehensive redefinition of the entire load management and transfer process.
How might we make the load transfer more reliable, transparent & fast.
First, we introduced a digital solution that allowed receiving sites to digitally release all BOLs once they received payments from the source site. Source site users could conveniently view, manage, and review each BOL through the portal without any undue effort or inconvenience.
Second, to initiate the load transfer process, we provided source site users with the option to either print the receipts or transfer them to the mobile application of the on-site user responsible for load dispatches.
To simplify on-site dispatch activities, we developed a mobile assistant app. The on-site user could easily access all new receipts for loads to be transferred, assign a receipt to a specific truck by entering the truck's information, and confirm the dispatch with a simple swipe gesture.
The dispatched load(s) would instantaneously appear on the mobile application of the receiving site's user responsible for load reception. This user could effortlessly search or scan the physical receipt to locate the corresponding load.
Outcome of Our Solutions
To evaluate the effectiveness of our solution, we conducted a pilot test program in collaboration with GFL, wherein a select number of clients were granted access to run their soil applications through PATH. Our primary success criteria revolved around the rejection rate. Additionally, we aimed to reduce the processing time for soil applications and alleviate frustration experienced by source site users. Finally, we sought to improve the efficiency of truck dispatch and dump times, aiming for faster turnaround times in these stages.
Soil Rejection Reduced from 25% to 1%
Significant Reduction in Application Transfer & Record Management Times
Released in 2022, A Total of 20,000+ Truck Loads Were Transferred in the First Year
PATH Started Generating Revenue for GFL from 2023
Fleet Mapper
Empowering Drivers: Transforming On-Road Waste Management with FMVT
In collaboration with Green For Life (GFL), we overhauled the Fleet Mapper Vehicle Tablet (FMVT), a system installed on garbage truck tablets. Our aim was to enhance efficiency for drivers by enabling seamless assignment management, navigation, and communication with the control center. Explore our journey to learn how user-centric design and technological advancements significantly boosted operational efficiency and relieved the daily burdens faced by garbage truck drivers.
Waste Management
Vehicle Tablet
UX Design
Fleet Mapper Collage
My Role In The Project
Research
Prepared interview questions, Facilitated interview sessions with stakeholders, Field Study with the Waste Truck Drivers
Ideation
Task Flows, Affinity Diagrams, Information Architecture & Taxonomy
Design & Reviews
Lo & Mid-Fi Wireframes, Prototypes of Lo, Mid & Hi-Fi Designs, Early design reviews with stakeholders to finalize direction, Product review sessions with development teams to ensure quality outcome
Testing
Usability testing, A/B testing, Field Testing
What Are We Trynig To Solve?
How might we enhance the operational efficiency of garbage truck drivers, enabling GFL to boost its service capacity and effectively cater to a growing client base?
Outcome of Our Solutions
The rollout of the new FMVT system across GFL's fleet was meticulously planned, initiating with a select group of experienced drivers and gradually extending to the entire team as they completed our specially designed training program. This phased approach safeguarded productivity during the transition to the revamped system. The results were astonishing:
150-Fold Increase in Operational Efficiency
Reduced ‘Time-to-Arrive’ from 47 hours to just 16 minutes.
Primary Research
Stakeholder Interviews & Working Sessions: At the beginning of our project, my business analyst and I conducted interviews & working session with different stakeholders to understand the business goals and the the specifics of the existing garbage collection process.
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Product Review: Additionally, I reviewed the existing FMVT system, which was developed about a decade ago, to see how it was designed and identify any areas for improvement.
At this stage, we had to wrap up our initial research, as we were not allowed to engage directly with the end-users- ie drivers or control centre personnel. We formulated our first hypothesis and crafted an early prototype—details to come later in the case study.
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Unexpectedly, permission was granted to connect with the drivers and control centre staff. Seizing the opportunity, I journeyed to Quebec City for a day of invaluable field research.