IWSAS: Expert System Phone Survey Assistance for Collecting Data on Hazardous Waste Generation

IWSAS, the Intelligent Waste Stream Advisory System, is a phone interviewing assistant that collects information from small quantity generators in New Jersey on their handling of hazardous waste. This expert system aids in conducting interviews to determine the wastes associated with small printing and photography firms. It has many features of conventional computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) software but represents the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in this application arena. Knowledge acquisition involved multiple experts among several organizations. IWSAS has been successfully used by phone interviewers to complete 252 surveys and the results have improved our understanding of factors influencing waste generation.