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General Business Tips |
NPE West Sweepers' Roundtable 2005November 17, 2005; Las Vegas Convention Centerby Ranger Kidwell-Ross Note that this preliminary write-up doesn't have reference links added. That will be done sometime after NPE West has concluded.
In a refreshing attempt to not duplicate the questions of previous years, as well as to develop a format for the event in advance, naPSa coordinator, Amy Allen, had solicited ideas about topics from their membership. The resulting topics were used to spark the question-and-answer format of the Roundtable. Here's an overview of what took place. First Topic: Upcoming Chassis Emissions StandardsBobby Johnson, of Tymco, provided information about what to expect from the new emission standards slated to begin in January of 2007: Chassis will have to be equipped with canisters designed to reduce engine emissions starting the first of 2007, Bobby told us. Because the canisters are pretty big, he said the problem they see as a manufacturer is being able to fit everything onto the same length of wheelbase. As of this point, there appear to still be a number of unknowns in the resulting design. Bobby suggested that contractors may want to plan ahead to purchase 2006 models if they're concerned about this change. He also pointed out that sweeper manufacturers are not allowed to stockpile chassis in order to get around the statute. It appears they may be able to get a few extra chassis to fill extra demand brought on by purchasers not wanting to run the new emissions system units, but they'll only be allotted for about 20% more chassis than they order this year. At the moment it appears that, because the particulate traps are supposed to be quite large, it may pose some challenges with mounting sweepers onto the same chassis. Debris ScreeningDerek and Eric, contractors in New England, said they have been screening their litter for over 5 years. They have been using a shaker screen, but plan to check into a rotating screen instead. They got into it because of the cost of dumping, which was about $80/ton. They say they have somewhat of a rural setting and are allowed to dump material onto the ground to stockpile, then they screen it a couple times a week. Also needed is some kind of Bobcat or front end loader, and some type of truck to use for hauling the material away. They said the system has done wonders for them, since it saves them thousands per month on disposal fees. It's also good for marketing, they said, from an environmental perspective. The amount of sand and dirt that's removed is immense, Eric said, even in the summer months when the loads appear to be all litter, not sand. Even then, he said, there's about one bucket of sifted material for every four they sift. In New Hampshire, they can sell the material as fill dirt. It was stressed that it is imperative to have an area where the debris can be stockpiled. They said they have about 300 to 400 cubic yards stockpiled at the moment. One of the reasons they save so much in disposal fees, however, is because there is so much sand put down in New Hampshire. Rachel said they sift in her sweeping company, and that they can use it for top cover for free (instead of paying for disposal) and that they also give it away as fill. Ray Confer pointed out that in Michigan they aren't able to stockpile debris on the ground. Dan with Great Western Sweeping, based in Oregon: Dan said they have been screening for 8 years. They have to take the debris to a particular location to stockpile. It's called 'protective use,' and must be somewhere that doesn't drain to a wetland and somewhere that people can't get into it. In their system, all the biodegradable material goes to a local recycling center for pulp and wood. They have tested the sweepings and typically heavy metals haven't even registered. However, PAH is something to be concerned with. This is from fuel emissions. There are 7 different compounds the EPA is concerned with. As long as the 7 in total aren't more than 10 parts per million it's deemed okay. The PAH have typically been coming in at about 2.2 parts. State of Oregon oversees the process. Dan also stressed that it was important to know how to test for oils. Some tests include naturally occurring hydrocarbons such as pine needles in the count. So, for their testing the know to use what is called the silica gel test, which burns off the natural occurring hydrocarbons such as needles, leaving only the others. National Vendors for Sweeping ServicesNo one had any fresh information about national vendors, one of the hottest topics at the last couple of Roundtables. I brought up information that I've recently heard there are several companies that are now becoming national vendors for municipal road maintenance and upkeep. They typically use local area sweeping contractors for the sweeping portion of their contracts. I plan to have an article on this in the not-too-distant future. Fuel Costs and Possible SolutionsEveryone has concerns about what steps might be taken to reduce fuel expenses. Someone asked what people thought about adding on a second chassis fuel tank for the sweeper engine and then using dyed fuel in the separate tank. Consensus was this wasn't something to do. The problems pointed out included the safety issues with adding the tank. Also, there would be a stiff fine in the event of a an inspector found dyed fuel that had inadvertedly been put into the regular chassis engine fuel tank. Besides, there's no need to do this since they can get an excise tax credit without doing that, which they didn't realize. I told them where to go on the WorldSweeper.com site to get information about how to qualify for and then get an excise tax rebate on the sweeper engine fuel. BTW, concensus in the room was that money could be saved on fuel by using single-engine sweepers, but only about 30% at most. Propane and CNG as an alternative fuel: Bobby Johnson said that most of the Tymco units sold as CNG and propane are in S. California. Problems include repair facilities as well as infrastructure. Must have engineering staff that's certified to produce the vehicles. Bio-diesel wasn't being used as far as anyone in the room was aware. Personality Profile Testing for New HiresMark Carter said he uses a personality profiling test for all new hires. Mark uses a company called Wonderlic for his tests. Each test costs $9 to $10 and the results come back in about 20 minutes. Dan, of Great Western, also says they haven't had a bad hire when using a personality profiling system. Theirs costs about $40/test, and was developed originally for trucking companies to help them to reduce their liability costs due to the great number of accidents their drivers were having. Within one year after the trucking company started using it, the company went to having almost no accidents. Great Western uses just a portion of the test. They have been using it for 7 to 8 years and still have a large percentage of those workers with them. Marketing Commercial WorkHow are initial contacts made? Here's what people said they prefer, in what seemed to be the preferred order:
There were a few additional comments made on some other topics, however these will have to wait until later to get posted. 
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There were 35 people in attendance at the Roundtable, including about a half dozen who represented sweeper manufacturers. The event was moderated by Rachel Gornowicz, the current president of naPSa.