Waste Connections of Canada

Strengthening fleet safety, managing risk, and improving maintenance across 18,000+ vehicles

Waste Connections of Canada operates more than 18,000 vehicles across 300+ locations, making consistent safety, compliance, maintenance, and accountability critical across its growing fleet. With a self-insured model and operations spanning hundreds of locations, the company needed reliable fleet data to support driver coaching, identify developing vehicle issues, verify service activity, and manage risk. By combining telematics data with safety, maintenance, and compliance processes, Waste Connections created greater visibility across its fleet while using objective information to support both drivers and operations.

The Challenge: Managing Risk Across a Growing Fleet

Waste collection operations involve a range of safety and operational risks, from aggressive driving and speeding to vehicle failures and questions about service activity.

For Waste Connections, those risks carried additional financial consequences because the company operates under a self-insured model. A single serious collision can cost approximately $500,000, while major incidents can reach into the millions. Preventing avoidable incidents and having reliable evidence when something goes wrong were therefore important parts of managing the fleet.

The company also needed greater consistency across locations and newly acquired operations. Paper-based processes and driver recollection could not provide the same level of detail as timestamped vehicle data when reviewing driver behaviour, verifying activity, or investigating an incident.

The Solution: Connecting Safety, Maintenance, and Compliance Data

Waste Connections used telematics data as a foundation for several areas of fleet management.

Daily reports helped managers identify behaviours such as speeding, aggressive driving, sharp lane changes, and unnecessary reversing. This information was incorporated into driver coaching and training, allowing safety conversations to focus on documented behaviour rather than relying on isolated incidents or subjective observations.

Vehicle diagnostics were also used to identify developing mechanical problems before they became major failures. When serious engine issues were detected, dispatch could have the vehicle taken out of service before further damage occurred, helping avoid breakdowns, engine rebuilds, and tow calls.

Electronic driver vehicle inspection reports replaced paper-based pre-trip processes, while routing and service records provided timestamped information that could help confirm activity at customer locations. Hours-of-service and idle monitoring added further visibility into driver compliance and vehicle use.

The Results: Better Decisions and a Critical Driver Investigation

The value of this approach became particularly clear following an incident at a seniors’ residence in the Greater Toronto Area.

A truck rolled down an inclined driveway while a driver was servicing waste containers. The parking brake was found disengaged, initially suggesting that the driver had failed to apply it. Under the company’s safety procedures, that could have resulted in dismissal.

A detailed reconstruction of the vehicle’s movements told a different story. The data showed that the driver had engaged the parking brake and that it subsequently disengaged because of a defect in the braking system. The driver’s dismissal was reversed, and further investigation found that the same parts issue affected an entire production year of the truck model. A fleet-wide recall and retrofit were then coordinated for the affected vehicles.

Beyond that incident, the company uses the same data-driven approach to support ongoing driver coaching, preventative maintenance, compliance monitoring, and service verification. For a self-insured fleet, having objective records available can help management investigate incidents accurately and address potential issues before they become more costly problems.

For Waste Connections of Canada, GPS tracking and telematics provide more than location visibility. The information collected from its vehicles supports safer driving, proactive maintenance, regulatory compliance, and more informed decisions across a large and complex operation.

Want to see more fleet success stories? Explore our Success Stories to see how GPS tracking and telematics are helping organizations improve safety, efficiency, maintenance, and fleet performance.