Specialist support for Oxfam

They are working with the major charity to explore new ways of increasing the efficiency of collections from Oxfam’s 1,300 donation banks, usually sited in supermarket car parks around the country.

Research Fellow, Fraser McLeod, is looking at how remote monitoring technology can let the charity know when banks are becoming full and need emptying. Timely collections are important to avoid container overfilling and to reduce theft. Sensors embedded inside the donation bank transmit information back to the depot providing them with better information about the collection requirements. The Research Fellow, who has more than 20 years experience of working on transport projects, is part of Southampton’s team involved with the EU-funded Straightsol initiative. Partners from research institutes are working with freight industry partners such as TNT Express and DHL Supply Chain to demonstrate various freight transport initiatives in towns and cities.

Student, Ben Norton is working with Oxfam as part of his PhD. He is looking at ways to improve donation bank performance.

"Specifically, we want to explore why some banks get more donations than others and why the quality of goods is better in some places than others," explains Ben. "We also want to examine route optimisation in the region, so the collection vans can be scheduled more efficiently."

The first pilot studies involve donation banks in Birmingham and Dorset.

Dr Tom Cherrett, Senior Lecturer in Freight and Logistics at the University has set up the projects with Oxfam and manages the work.