Route optimisation is often viewed as a technology project. In ISL’s experience, the most successful programmes are organisational change projects supported by technology, data and operational expertise.
Over the past two decades, ISL has worked with local authorities, shared service partnerships and contractors to redesign waste, recycling, street cleansing, winter maintenance and environmental service operations.
Experience gained from authorities including Newcastle City Council, Leeds City Council, Greater Cambridge Shared Waste and contractor organisations such as Ubico demonstrates that successful route optimisation requires far more than selecting software. It requires a deep understanding of operational constraints, service objectives, workforce realities and implementation risk.
Our clients that achieve the greatest benefits do not begin by asking “Which software should we buy?”. They begin by asking “What problem are we trying to solve and what operational changes are required to achieve that outcome?”
This paper outlines the key questions that should be asked before embarking on any route optimisation initiative.
Every optimisation is only as good as the data used to create it. Do you trust the underlying data sufficiently to use it as the foundation for operational change?
Many authorities possess years of operational knowledge, yet data quality issues often exist within property records, assisted collection datasets, container records, service frequencies and operational exceptions. Where these issues are not identified early, optimisation outputs can appear credible while failing to reflect operational reality.
Successful projects begin with rigorous data validation and cleansing. This approach has been fundamental to ISL’s route optimisation methodology which includes data gathering & data validation before route implementation.
Different authorities pursue route optimisation for different reasons:
Without clearly defined objectives, projects often become focused on route maps rather than service outcomes.
For example, Greater Cambridge Shared Waste commissioned modelling to determine whether a four-day working week could be achieved without increasing resource requirements. The objective was not simply route efficiency but supporting an alternative operating model.
Many collection rounds evolve over decades.
Vehicle allocations, route boundaries, depot territories and collection days often remain unchanged because they have “always been done that way” rather than because they remain operationally optimal.
One of the greatest opportunities offered by route optimisation is the ability to challenge assumptions.
The route redesign undertaken by Newcastle City Council moved operations towards zone-based working, enabling workload balancing and gradual fleet reduction through a fundamentally different service design rather than incremental route adjustments.
Route performance is heavily influenced by factors outside the collection route itself.
Depot locations, transfer stations, disposal facilities, queue times and opening hours can have a greater impact on productivity than street-level routing decisions.
ISL’s work with authorities and contractors routinely includes modelling depot territories, disposal arrangements and operational geography before detailed route design begins. Recent work for Ubico included depot territory optimisation, service day optimisation and route balancing across multiple waste streams.
Data tells only part of the story.
Experienced drivers and supervisors possess key operational knowledge that frequently does not exist in any software system:
Projects succeed faster when this knowledge is incorporated early rather than being discovered after implementation.
ISL’s consultancy and mentoring approach explicitly includes stakeholder engagement, review processes and road testing before final implementation.
A common mistake is to model a single future operating configuration.
Modern route optimisation platforms make it possible to compare multiple alternatives quickly and objectively.
Examples may include:
The strategic modelling work delivered for Ubico analysed multiple future service scenarios covering refuse, recycling, food and garden waste collections and assessed route numbers, vehicle requirements, productivity and resilience.
ISL recognises that a mathematically optimised route is not necessarily fully operationally viable.
The best route plans balance:
ISL’s approach places considerable emphasis on route review, detailed design, operational testing and sign-off because successful implementation depends on what happens after optimisation software has completed its calculations.
Local government waste services face continuing change:
Route optimisation should be seen as a tool to support future adaptability, not simply solve today’s challenges.
The work undertaken for Greater Cambridge Shared Waste demonstrates how optimisation modelling can be used to assess entirely new service delivery approaches rather than simply refining existing rounds.
Many suppliers can provide route optimisation software. Far fewer can combine optimisation technology with practical waste, recycling and environmental expertise.
ISL’s delivery approach combines consultancy, service modelling, stakeholder engagement, route design, mentoring, implementation support and route optimisation software through its long-standing partnership with RouteSmart Technologies.
The most successful projects occur when technology and operational expertise are applied together.
Route optimisation should never be viewed as a one-off exercise. Population growth, service changes, depot alterations, workforce dynamics and new government policies all affect route performance over time.
Our most successful clients ensure that route optimisation capability remains available internally after implementation.
The long-term relationship between ISL and authorities such as Newcastle City Council, as well as ongoing support provided to numerous RouteSmart users across the UK, demonstrates the importance of continuous route refinement and operational improvement.
Conclusion
ISL’s experience of hundreds of route optimisation projects in local government demonstrates that software alone does not deliver transformation.
Leeds City Council, Newcastle City Council, Greater Cambridge Shared Waste, and Ubico all illustrate a common principle: meaningful results come from combining high-quality optimisation software with deep operational understanding, stakeholder engagement and disciplined implementation.
The most important question is therefore not “Which route optimisation software should we use?” but “How can we use route optimisation as a catalyst for operational transformation?”
When viewed in this way, route optimisation becomes more than a route planning exercise. It becomes a strategic tool for improving service resilience, reducing costs, supporting workforce change and preparing for future services.
© Integrated Skills Ltd, August 2026
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