Valuable Waste Management
Overview.
Valuable Waste Management (VWM) is an internal waste management system designed to streamline how production and dock teams track, process, and ship valuable manufacturing waste. The system centralized shipment creation, weight verification, discrepancy handling, and vendor coordination into a single workflow across operations.
My Role.
As the sole product designer, I led the end-to-end design of an internal waste management system used by production, dock, and accounting teams. I collaborated closely with MES and engineering teams to define workflow architecture, streamline operational processes, and design scalable interfaces for shipment creation, verification, and discrepancy handling.
My work included information architecture, user flows, wireframing, prototyping, visual design, and usability testing across cross-functional operational workflows. The system was validated and shipped into production use.
Problem.
🧑💻 User Experience
Production and dock teams managed waste tracking across disconnected spreadsheets with no standardized workflow, making the process inconsistent and difficult to train new workers on.
Workers switched between multiple tools and physical locations to complete a single task.
Missing or damaged labels could interrupt the workflow with no reliable fallback.
Teams recorded waste differently across locations, reducing data consistency.
💼 Business
Manufacturing environments generate predictable waste, not random waste. Without a centralized system, valuable material tracking became inconsistent across teams, leading to operational inefficiencies and material loss throughout the recycling process.
Solution.
Designed a centralized workflow that standardized how production and dock teams tracked valuable waste, with built-in safeguards for handling operational issues in real time.
Constraints.
👥 Multi-Role Complexity
Production, dock, and admin teams each required different workflows and permissions within the same system. The challenge was designing role-specific experiences while maintaining consistency across the platform.
📱 iPad-Only Workflow
Stakeholders required the system to run exclusively on iPad, shaping the interface around touch interaction, portability, and limited screen space.
Design Goal.
⭐ Unify Waste Management
Bring shipment creation, weight verification, labeling, and reporting into a single platform so teams can complete tasks without switching tools.
⭐ Simplify Operations
Reduce operational overhead for production and dock teams by replacing disconnected spreadsheets with a structured digital workflow.
⭐ Prevent Errors Early
Replace manual data entry with guided validation that catches mistakes during the workflow instead of after submission.
User Research.
Field Study
Operators switched between tools and physical locations to complete a single task.
Label creation, weight verification, and issue handling lacked a centralized workflow.
Exception handling relied heavily on undocumented workarounds.
Interviews
Teams described the same workflow differently, revealing a lack of standardized procedures.
Switching between systems mid-task frequently interrupted focus and increased missed steps.
Delayed or missing entries often required downstream investigation and manual correction.
Task Analysis
A single task required movement across locations, tools, and manual approval processes.
System fragmentation created frequent interruptions and inconsistent execution.
Key Insights.
🔑 Daily operations were spread across disconnected tools
Production and dock teams switched between multiple systems and spreadsheets to complete a single workflow, creating missed steps and inconsistent data between teams.
🔑 Issue reporting happened outside the workflow
Approvals and issue resolution were managed through Microsoft Teams instead of the primary system, causing critical decisions to happen outside the operational flow.
🔑 Edge cases lacked standardized handling
Overflow bins, weight mismatches, and damaged labels were handled differently across teams, making the workflow inconsistent and difficult to audit.
Design Approaches.
🧩 Unify the Workflow
Replace fragmented tools and spreadsheets with a single system shared across production, dock, and finance teams.
🧩 Create Clear Operational Ownership
Design role-specific workflows so each team records and validates its own data before handing work downstream.
🧩 Reduce Training Overhead
Create workflows that are simple enough for teams across locations and technical backgrounds to learn quickly with minimal training.
🧩 Handle Exceptions Within the Workflow
Support edge cases like weight mismatches, overflowing bins, and approvals directly inside the system instead of relying on external tools.
User Roles.
Operator
Records daily waste activity and serves as the primary source of operational data entry.
Waste Room Supervisor
Oversees shipment creation and approves weight discrepancies before materials move downstream.
Dock Member
Supports shipment preparation, weighing, and physical material handling.
Dock Supervisor
Manages receiving, weighing, conflict resolution, and vendor shipment workflows.
Accounting Manager
Reviews waste output data for financial accuracy and operational oversight.
Design Process.
Information Architecture
Organized around three core workflows: waste room, dock, and vendor shipping. Defining the structure early aligned engineering teams on system scope and role responsibilities before interface design began.
Userflows
Mapped the shipment creation workflow end-to-end, from material selection to label generation and submission. The flow revealed two label handling methods, QR scanning and manual entry, which required a consistent experience to reduce operational errors at the dock.
Wireframes
Built to validate workflow structure and screen layout with stakeholders and MES engineers before moving into high-fidelity design. Early testing revealed two key issues: the dual-column layout created confusion in task sequencing, and the amount of operational data made information difficult to organize clearly within the available screen space.
Iterations.
METHODS
🛠️ Prototype Testing
Improved layout clarity and task sequencing reduced operator confusion.
Increased visibility across steps reduced unnecessary backtracking.
Structured information grouping improved readability in data-heavy workflows.
🆚 Time-on-Task Comparison
Operators struggled to scan and prioritize large amounts of information within limited screen space.
The dual-column layout created confusion around task order during active workflows.
📝 Stakeholder Feedback
Validated workflow completeness across production, dock, and approval stages.
Clarified ownership and handoffs between operational roles.
Ensured the system aligned with real-world operational constraints and processes.
ITERATION OUTCOMES
💡 Removed Redundant Workflow Steps
Eliminated intermediate confirmation and instruction screens that interrupted the shipment creation flow, allowing operators to move between actions with fewer interruptions.
💡 Shipment Creation Reduced From 11 Steps to 9
Consolidated redundant interactions to reduce task completion effort without removing critical operational steps.
💡 Improved Data Validation for Accuracy
Introduced validation at key points in the workflow to catch errors during entry instead of after submission.
USERFLOW
Before
Repeated loops and validation steps created unnecessary navigation throughout the workflow.
After
Reduced decision points and eliminated repeated loops, shortening the path from start to submission.
WIREFRAME
Before
Two separate pages, each with unused screen real estate and no visibility into previous inputs.
After
Consolidated into one continuous scroll, with all inputs visible and inline validation throughout.
Final Designs.
Streamlined Shipment Creation
Operators can move from material selection to label generation and scanning in a single streamlined flow. Pre-set options reduce manual input and speed up task completion.
Improved Batch Processing
Batch scanning and editing reduced repetitive manual entry, allowing operators to process multiple waste containers more efficiently.
Strengthened Shipment Verification
Container information is automatically retrieved through label scanning or manual entry, while discrepancy checks help identify weight mismatches before shipment approval.
Reflections.
Converting a disconnected workflow into one unified system was the primary challenge
The hardest part was not designing screens, but understanding a process distributed across physical locations, disconnected tools, and multiple operational teams. Defining the workflow clearly upfront made the rest of the system possible.
Working outside my usual domain improved cross-functional collaboration
VWM introduced operational and SCADA systems I had not previously worked with. Close collaboration with engineers and stakeholders became essential for validating workflows and making informed design decisions throughout the project.
Standardizing workflows improved day-to-day operations
Replacing fragmented processes with guided workflows reduced onboarding complexity and improved operational consistency across teams. After launch, operators and stakeholders reported smoother daily execution and fewer workflow interruptions.
Next Steps.
The system is currently deployed and being monitored in production environments. Future work includes refining edge-case handling, monitoring operational usage patterns, and iterating on workflows based on ongoing feedback from production and dock teams.