Creating cooperative networked inventorying of Harvard

surplus to minimize individual workload, maximize item

order and distribution, thus minimizing waste.
Krystelle Denis and Ziyi Zhang
In collaboration with Robert Gogan (Associate Manager of Recycling and Waste Services)
and Belinda Tato & Jose Luis Vallejo (Visiting professors at the Harvard Graduate School of Design)
Art
Community
Furniture
Collectors
Computer
Tinkerers
Non-proft
organizations
Scap metal
Collectors
?
The project calls for a cooperative networked inventorying of Harvard surplusin orderto minimize individual workload, maximize item order and distribution, thus minimiz-
ing waste. The project implementation will adaptto work with the facility's new warehouse and surplus management procedures (affectiveOctober 31j. Surplus will be
ordered by day and time, and divided by week, to track how long the items have been sitting in the facility, and to know how to prioritize them.

1. DOCUMENT: We want to develop a cell phone application prototype to pair surplus documentation with a unique lD (ex: Day.Date.Time, FRl.131018.143230j, a
reference to the physical location of the item.

2. UPLOAD: The images and lDs can then be uploaded publically onto a website'sonline database.

3. TAG: Website users tag the items. Tagging is a very simple process which takes each user no more than a few seconds. A tag is a word which describes the item, for
example, color, shape, material, texture, brand, etc.

4. ORDER: Tagging structures a collectionof itemsto form a cataloguethatadapts to individual interests. For example, an artist can order by color, a scrap metal collector
can order by material, and the furniture collector can order by type. This allows users to fnd the items they need through adatabasekeyword searchengine, discover
related items with similar tags, and build relationships between items.

5. DISTRIBUTE: Once a user fnds the item, they can physicallyquicklylocate and collect the item within the facility.
SMART SURPLUS INVENTORYING
lNvENTORYlNG PROCESS
- completed by a few
- traditional item by item categorization
Harvard Waste & Surplus stream
THE COLLECTORS
- hundreds of collectors weekly
- various group types
Landfll
Art
Community
Furniture
Collectors
Computer
Tinkerers
Non-proft
organizations
Scap metal
Collectors
Miscellaneous
Furniture E-waste
(-)
stufs get lost
labor intensive
losing larger community
ROB
ROB
Harvard Recycling and Surplus Center
Currently, a lot of energy and time is required by a small group
of people to inventory the heavy stream of harvard surplus.
Schools:
Harvard College
Harvard Business School
Graduate School of Design
Harvard Law School
... ...
Hospitals & Clinics:
Harvard University Health Services
... ...
Libraries:
Widener
Lamont
Gutman
Countway
... ...
Museums:
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Harvard University Art Museums
... ...
Dormitories:
Holworthy Hall
Hurlbut hall
Wigglesworth Hall
... ...
Laboratories:
Lab for Integrated Sciences and Engineering
Lab for Mechanical and Biological Engineering
Science Center
... ...
CURRENT STORAGE SYSTEM
Harvard Waste & Surplus stream
INVENTORYING AND REUSE PROCESS
- completed by thousands
(+)
accessible to more people
reveal the potential value of items
gain proft from auction system
making data public
Rob and his volunteers
time (t)
Web Server
Website
Save It
Save It
Save It
Save It
Save It
Save It
Save It
Save It
Save It
Save It
Search It
Search It
Search It
Search It
Tag It
Tag It
Tag It
Tag It
Tag It
Share It
Share It
ROB
Harvard Recycling and Surplus Center
new storage organization afective Oct. 31
items ordered by time
Schools:
Harvard College
Harvard Business School
Graduate School of Design
Harvard Law School
... ...
Hospitals & Clinics:
Harvard University Health Services
... ...
Libraries:
Widener
Lamont
Gutman
Countway
... ...
Museums:
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Harvard University Art Museums
... ...
Dormitories:
Holworthy Hall
Hurlbut hall
Wigglesworth Hall
... ...
Laboratories:
Lab for Integrated Sciences and Engineering
Lab for Mechanical and Biological Engineering
Science Center
... ...
MINIMIZE WORKLOAD
Sweater. Burgundy. Long sleeve.
Name
Sweater Long sleeve Sweater for man
Wait-listed
3 People
Save Me!
Please help us add a tag...
Dimension
M L 30in * 30in
Please help us add a tag...
Color
Burgundy Brown
Please help us add a tag...
Material
Cotton Linen
Please help us add a tag...
OFFLINE INVENTORYING
ONLINE INVENTORYING
- completed by thousands of internet users with various backgrounds
- Distributed Human Based Computation
Large
Sweater
Burgundy
Burgundy
Cotton
Linen
Sweater
Fall
Long sleeve
Long sleeve
Cotton
Burgundy
Medium
Medium
Brown
Sweater
Sweater
Sweater
Sweater
Sweater
ROB
#FRI 131018 143230
DAY DATE TIME
01
STORE
02
PHOTOGRAPH
03
UPLOAD
UPLOAD
#FRI 131018 143230
New Harvard Recycling and Surplus Center ective october 31)
NETWORKED INVENTORYING
sweater, burgundy, plastic, long sleeve, 25, man, hammer, brown, dark, small, eggplant, wrench, gold, jade, maroon, rain-
bow, salmon, steel, tan, violet, wood, metal, food, monitor, middle, mouse, dell, 15x10x5, keyboard, brick, navy
blue, cardboard, glass, leather, silver, wool, rose, stone, aluminum, 30, bracket, blue, closet, couch, key,
lamp, rug,10x10, shelf, copper, table, ivory, bookcase, green, chair, mageta, blanket, pant, chocolate, shoes,
shirt, wallet, aqua, book, white, peach, dresser, cabinet, bronze, vise, pliers, large, light.
Order by: Type
Order by: Color
Order by: Size
work of artist: Stuart Haygarth
MAXIMIZE ORDER
1 WEEK OLD
Sell and bid
2 WEEKS OLD
Sell and bid
Reuse
Repurpose
3 WEEKS OLD
Sell and bid
Reuse
Repurpose
Scrap
4 WEEKS OLD
Sell and bid
Reuse
Repurpose
Scrap
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available for HARVARD & NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS available for PUBLIC
Item No.
MON 131014 154503
Print out your oonhrmation oodo,
and rotriovo your itom at Harvard
Pooyoling and Surplus Contor.
New Harvard Recycling and Surplus Center (afective october 31)
UPCOMING STORAGE SYSTEM