How Cawleys' LBRS Mastered Real-Time Inventory Tracking and Compliance

Extraordinary Results for Cawleys' Lithium Battery Recycling Solutions

1. 100% of LBRS' (Cawleys' Lithium Battery Recycling Solutions) output bags now feature detailed chemical data on Gaea, enabling precise value estimations for trading.
   
2. LBRS can intelligently track the live inventory position across the facility in real-time to meet compliance requirements.
   
3. LBRS now receives in-depth insights on bottlenecks within its operations.
   
4. The Gaea system now actively manages the high volume of inventory at the heart of LBRS’ operations, increasing stock accuracy to 90% in month one.

Introduction to LBRS

Cawleys' Lithium Battery Recycling Solutions focuses on securing and effectively recycling and repurposing waste lithium batteries.

With over seven years of experience, Alan and his team offer safe storage options, transportation in compliance with regulations, and recycling in their workshops.

Their process includes extracting important components and materials from electric vehicle packs, eBike modules, and individual cells and recycling them to produce new batteries.

The Challenge: Streamlining LBRS's Operations with Gaea's Solution

In 2023, we approached LBRS with big ambitions. Our goal was to help them develop a battery database to prepare their business for rapid growth and plans to expand to new locations.

Like many battery recycling companies, Lithium Battery Recycling Solutions faced additional administration due to their reliance on spreadsheet data collection.

Although spreadsheets can be valuable for certain business activities, their manual nature impeded the team's capacity to monitor operations instantly.

After the Gaea team arrived on-site at the facility, we set up our cloud-based platform in a few days. We introduced QR codes to locations within the facility and added all existing inventory (with hundreds of labels printed!) onto the platform. These QR codes allow the LBRS team to scan their high volume of inventory as it moves through the facility.

Real-Time Revolution: Working with LBRS to Transform On-site Efficiency

The LBRS team now have a live system that tracks all movements within the facility in real-time, eliminating the need for manual updates that previously had to be made after the movements occurred.

Within just one month of launching Gaea within the facility, LBRS could collect thousands of datapoints, including battery chemistries, operational timings, and compliance.

"The GAEA QR code system has proven itself to be beneficial in a very short space of time, allowing us to work more intelligently and accurately than previously. Being able to track the different stages in lithium battery recycling gives us increased levels of transparency, which our customers can benefit from."

Alan Colledge, Technical Director at LBRS.

The Gaea system now actively manages the high volume of inventory at the heart of LBRS’ operations.

Additionally, the Gaea system enables LBRS to monitor the feedstock cost and the recycling operations' output. LBRS can now track these in real time, giving instant, accurate values from which to calculate.

The time saved from replacing manual updates with the Gaea system has saved the LBRS onsite team over 12 admin days a year.

“We know how important it is to maintain a database of batteries, and now, with the Gaea system, we can do it in a quicker and simpler way.”

Joe Chester, Operations Supervisor for LBRS

Our solution has also made it easier to keep the LBRS facilities compliant. LBRS now has clearer visibility into the weight safely stored across multiple locations, tracking the inventory across the site.

Onwards and Upwards: Ready for EU Regulations and Scaling for Success!

Furthermore, LBRS is more prepared for future EU regulations, including battery passports. It can calculate and provide OEMs with more accurate data about the recovery of metals/materials from each battery. LBRS has configured its systems to effortlessly share information and relevant data with OEMs.

Alan and the team are now better equipped to scale LBRS, confident in their full compliance and no longer hindered by time-consuming manual tasks.

We can’t wait to see how LBRS grows and develops its business to serve more OEMs in the next year!