Building a treasure tracking system for Hodge, an organics collection and reuse service for restaurants,
as a data intelligence foundation that improves pickup speeds, data collection and data transparency.
Picking up 30l buckets from restaurants to collect, redistribute, and reuse their organics, Hodge was
offa system of manual data entry of numbers on their bucket, hindering their growth. Our journey began
with field research, joining 4 AM collection routes to understand the system's
limitations.
We identified three critical pain points: 1. long pickup times, including a slow learning curve for
new employees to get up to speed 2. significant time spent on correcting data entry errors 3. lack of
adequate documentation.
These issues not only slowed down operations but also impeded Hodge's growth and
service quality.
We quickly prototyped and iterated on a QR code scanning and data processing tool using Apple Shortcuts and the API Platform MAKE. By testing the prototypes on pickup routes we ended at a user flow in which drivers scan a Location QR code, capture photos of the collected or delivered buckets and scan the
QR codes on each bucket. All this with the goal in mind to build the data intelligence foundation for Hodge to grow.
Faced with the challenge of improving Hodge's system within a tight three-month timeframe, we leveraged existing technologies to create a robust solution.
Recognising the need for a more sophisticated solution, we transitioned to an advanced off the shelf software tool that
enabled a custom scanning and data entry solution for Hodge.
This allowed us to focus solely on the data collection and user experience.
The end results spoke for themselves, with a 50% reduction in pickup time, a steep learning curve for new
employees and a reduction of data cleaning from 4 hours a week to virtually none. All that at a cost of 50$ a
month.
A notable innovation was the extension of QR code functionality to engage the community. By scanning the
same QR codes used for collection, passersby and restaurant guests can now access insights into the
restaurant's organic waste reuse efforts and the journey of each bucket.
