I saved republic services $100k+
A retiring tool was holding back productivity — I revamped it, streamlined the workflow, and delivered $100k+ in annual savings.
Republic Services
PROJECT NAME: Cameras in Action
DELIVERABLES: A Figma file comprised of Dev-ready designs and prototype for a complete re-platforming effort.
MY ROLE: Lead User Experience Designer
CHALLENGE: An existing software has gone end of life. This business critical software needs to be re-platformed, and fast.
SOLUTION: A full redesign of not just the EOL tool, but the entire end-to-end user flow.
BUSINESS VALUE: Business 95% reduction in time on task, built to scale with increased demand, and an annual savings $100K+
USER VALUE: A removal of manual processes, an increase in output and
WHAT I LEARNED: The perceived problem and the actual problem result in two very different solutions. Ask the tough questions and the benefits will be felt immediately.
THE REsults:
-95% reduction in task completion
-annual savings exceeding $100,000
-6 data Sources → 1 Platform
The Challenge
The users, known as CIA Coordinators, were juggling six different tools to track and bill any documented customer violations of overloaded trash and recycle containers. The process was slow, manual, error-prone and regularly took 60+ working hours . Additionally, an existing tool used in this process was at the end of its life, leaving the team frustrated and operations at risk.
The team reached an impasse. We either hire more Coordinators and hope they can keep up, or we uncover the underlying issues with the process itself.
The opportunity
With a small team of three—including myself, an engineer, and a business analyst—I saw a chance to not only address the end of life tool within the process, but rethink the entire workflow. Our goal was to consolidate everything into a single, intuitive dashboard that would reduce workload, improve accuracy, and scale operations efficiently—all in just a few months.
It was our chance as a team to demonstrate not only the process of a Human Centered Design lead effort, but the it’s user and business benefits.
The Process
We started by listening: interviewing coordinators to uncover pain points and mapping the workflow. But not just me, this also included our engineer, our Business Analyst, and our PM! The intent was to make sure all parties needed for the build could all learn together where the issues were in the process, and obtain any and all relevant discovery needed for their practice.
Next step was to validate with the folks who knew about these issues better than anyone else - the users! After creating visual guides and flow charts, I would simply present the findings back to the user in order for them to fine tune and validate both the process as it was, and it’s most important pain points.
This was to ensure that the users, our team and the stakeholders all have a direct line of sight as to where the largest issues were and what they were costing the team. But most importantly, it was to make sure we were solving the right problem as opposed to the perceived problem.
Early wireframes and prototypes let us test solutions quickly and iterate with real user feedback. The team then built collaboratively, implementing features in a fast, iterative way. Finally, we validated the solution through pilot testing, refining the dashboard to ensure it solved the actual problem rather than perceived issues brought on by the end of life tool.
The Solution
We built a two-page dashboard that brought clarity to chaos. Coordinators could now see all potential violations in a centralized queue, quickly filter by site, route, or line of business, and focus their attention however they as a team chose to. An admin view allowed leadership to monitor overall progress. What seemed simple at first—just one dashboard—delivered enormous impact by focusing on the right information for the right people at the right time.
The Impact
The results were immediate and measurable:
Weekly coordinator workload dropped from 60 → 20 hours, freeing time for higher-value work
100% of the team adopted the new dashboard
Leadership praised the speed, cost savings, and problem-solving approach
By prioritizing human-centered design, we avoided rework and delivered a solution that had instant impact.
Key Takeaways
This project reinforced that small, focused teams can deliver high-impact solutions quickly. Listening to users prevents wasted effort and accelerates adoption, and designing for actual needs creates both human and business value. The users are able to focus their attention to more important matters and the business has a
What started out as a simple ask to replace a tool that we can no longer support, turned into an opportunity to discover where the larger issues sat in the workflow, addressing the real pain points at their source.