Custom waste management platform on AWS — mobile field ops, real-time tracking, automated CI/CD.

Challenge

Oxfam South Africa faced several significant challenges in managing waste across their various operations. Their existing systems for waste tracking and reporting were inefficient, leading to difficulties in data collection and analysis. The lack of real-time data hampered decision-making processes, making it challenging to respond quickly to changing waste management needs.

Additionally, the organisation struggled with managing different user access levels, which was crucial for maintaining data integrity and security. There was also a pressing need for a mobile solution that would allow for on-the-go waste management, especially for field operations.

Solution

To address these challenges, CloudZA Tech developed a custom waste management dashboard called "Oxfam". This comprehensive solution comprises three main components: a user-friendly frontend interface, a robust backend for server-side logic and database interactions, and a mobile application for on-the-go waste management tracking and reporting.

The Oxfam dashboard was designed with a containerised architecture to ensure efficient deployment and scalability. It offers multiple account types — Admin, Manager, and Employee — each with appropriate access levels. The solution is deployed on Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and accessible via an Application Load Balancer, ensuring secure access with TLS in-flight encryption. Data storage is handled through an RDS Postgres database, profile pictures stored in Amazon S3 via the Boto3 SDK, and environment variables including database credentials secured via AWS Secrets Manager.

A crucial aspect of the implementation was the setup of an AWS CodePipeline for efficient development and deployment. This CI/CD pipeline automated the build, test, and deployment processes, significantly streamlining the development workflow. Infrastructure management was streamlined using Terraform and AWS CloudFormation, ensuring a robust, repeatable deployment process across environments.

Result

The implementation delivered a fully containerised platform with real-time waste tracking capabilities, role-based access control, and a mobile application enabling field workers to capture data on-site. CloudZA Tech worked closely with Oxfam South Africa throughout the process to ensure the solution met their specific needs and requirements.

A key feature was the AWS CodePipeline integration, which revolutionised the development workflow — allowing Oxfam South Africa to deploy new features and bug fixes quickly and reliably, maintaining the platform efficiently on an NPO budget.