Leveraging AI assisted software development for Keystone Cement Waste Tracking Application
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Keystone Cement is a waste management company that deals with liquid hazardous and liquid non-hazardous material. They receive waste from their customers, run several lab analyses on the incoming loads, then process it into their tanks, where the waste is blended with previous loads before final disposal.
The Challenge
Keystone Cement was working with a custom application written in Visual Basic 6 in 2000. After a server crash in 2017, certain parts of the application no longer functioned as built. In addition to the crash, knowledge was lost about how the application functioned. Many other modern practices, such as sending invoicing data to SAP and integrating with the EPA eManifest system had to be done manually as the current system did not support this.
The Solution
RDA worked with stakeholders to create a roadmap for a best-practice future state architecture utilizing Microsoft .NET technologies and modernized their process with a web-based solution designed to allow their business to grow and remove reliance on duplicative manual processes and increase capabilities for automation.
Technical Approach
RDA utilized modern web technologies and Telerik reporting solutions to provide a first class experience for every staff member at Keystone Cement. The solution required implementing many standard and custom mathematical calculations, including the ability for the end users to be able to manage the calculations throughout the process of receiving a waste load all the way through to final disposal. These calculations were critical to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations as well as the safety of their technicians.
To achieve this goal, RDA utilized AI development tools Claude Code and Cursor for the build process, ensuring code quality and speeding development. In addition, utilizing these AI tools ensured accuracy of calculation and report data. Ultimately, these tools reduced the amount of time and effort required to complete the solution, allowing RDA to deliver the solution significantly ahead of schedule with very few changes required after User Acceptance Testing.
The Results
The new solution provides easier access to the application, including allowing the plant manager to work remotely when required. Gaining access to the missing functionality, as well as including modern digital solutions like integrating with eManifest, has allowed Keystone Cement to reduce reliance on unnecessary paper processes and increased accuracy of reporting ensuring compliance with Federal and State regulations and increasing the safety of their staff. The utilization of AI in all aspects of the development process has allowed RDA to deliver a solution that is more maintainable and has a lower cost of ownership as new features can be designed and implemented at a fraction of the time and cost than could be realized without using these tools.