What role can MRO play in supporting the waste industry?

Tackling today’s challenges demands a robust strategy for maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) and intelligent use of service solutions

According to industry market research firm IBISWorld, waste management services in the UK have grown on average by 7.4% per year between 2018 and 2023, with revenue standing at £1.6 billion per year by the latter date. The sector’s real value, however, lies in the vital infrastructure it provides. As Chris Cruise, Industry Sector Manager for Utilities, Power and Communications at RS, observes, “If a plant stops working, the waste from the factory is still going to be produced, isn’t it? There’s a limit to what can be stockpiled.”

Here we explore the challenges facing the waste industry and how better management of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) can help indirect procurement professionals involved in industrial, household and commercial waste collection, composting, energy recovery and landfill to respond to these pressures.

Economic challenges
The waste industry is facing a range of financial pressures. The biggest challenge in the next 12 months, say respondents to the RS and Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Indirect Procurement Report 2024, will be inflation and higher costs.

The waste sector is particularly vulnerable to such trends. Why? Because fluctuations in the economy influence the amount of waste generated and therefore demand for waste management services. The necessary expense of compliance with environmental regulations adds another layer of pressure, as does compliance with health and safety legislation in this high-risk industry.

Less cost, less risk
A common way to alleviate increased expenses is to reduce costs. Respondents to the Indirect Procurement Report survey, for instance, cite reduced operational budgets as the one of biggest business pressures and delivering annualised savings as a major day-to-day challenge.

Again, these demands are particularly challenging for the waste sector. Why? Because while savings can often be made in MRO, it’s vital that doing so won’t increase risk to workers, the public or the environment. It’s a balance between cost savings and maintaining infrastructure and equipment to a safe and sustainable standard.

One solution is to use preventative maintenance to make MRO more efficient. Condition monitoring, for example, detects potential maintenance issues before they become problematic. You can schedule preventative maintenance to tackle what’s been identified, avoiding more expensive, and more risky, unplanned maintenance down the line.

Energy monitoring can help to reduce costs by identifying areas for improvement, while calibration services keep equipment accurate and reliable – thus further reducing unplanned, reactive maintenance. Lubrication maintenance can likewise improve asset performance and extend asset lifetime.

As Cruise notes, “Every plant could use these services. Each instance of reactive maintenance means risk that you want to avoid, but the other thing that’s often missed is the cost. If you get your maintenance right, you don’t need to spend as much on product. You’ll mitigate a lot of downtime and risks.”

Environmental demands
Sustainability is another major challenge. According to respondents to the Indirect Procurement Report, sustainable and ethical procurement is among the top business pressures they face alongside pressure to improve asset performance and reduced operational budgets.

Once more, however, this is an issue that particularly affects this sector. “It’s having a massive impact on the waste industry,” says Cruise. “It’s completely changing the way they do things.”

Why? Because demands for waste to be disposed of more sustainably are growing and the answer involves all aspects of waste management organisations, including operations as much as materials processing.

Sustainability and safety
Suppliers have a vital part to play in providing solutions. Those who contributed to the Indirect Procurement Report survey recognise this, with 71% of respondents stating that Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) is important when selecting products and services.

Translating this into meaningful action means looking for suppliers with practices in place to support your organisation’s ESG strategies. That could be anything from use of tote bags to reduce packaging waste to external accreditation such as EcoVadis certification to verify ESG standards.

The maintenance services that help to reduce operational costs can boost sustainability too. How? Less reactive maintenance means fewer tools, consumables, parts and PPE are needed – saving you time, money and waste.

Inventory solutions have a complementary role. Rather than maintenance engineers driving round wholesalers searching for vital parts, inventory replenishment services such as RS ScanStock^Ò mean supplies are on hand within the plant as required – so less temptation to take a risky shortcut, whether that’s foregoing essential PPE because the storeroom has run out or using a generic, off-the-shelf spare when an exact item is specified. “We can profile your operations so the right stock is always available,” says Cruise. “We can also offer industrial vending machines where appropriate.”

Knowing that what you need is there when you need it is more sustainable, brings savings and, above all else, is safer.

For more information on how our service solutions can help, click here