Scheduling

Scheduling of service for your customers is one of the most challenging activities of any of the service businesses for the waste industry. Some of the work that needs to be scheduled includes:

• Cleaning portable toilets

• Setting up delivery and pickup of toilet units

• Toilet is overflowing

• Sink is backing up

• Dispatching of septic pumping jobs

• Scheduling commercial accounts for regular service

• Dispatch of sewer and drain cleaning

• Solid waste pickup routes

All require the management of work that needs to be completed. The service scheduling can be set up into one of four groups

• Now

• Soon

• Will worry about it later

• Do it all the time

Now

This is usually because you have a customer on the other end of the phone line who has an overflowing toilet, site inspector threatening to close a site down if he does not see a portable toilet unit, site foreman complaining about an overused unit or a commercial account with a BIG problem. The issue is at what time you will be there. Typically this schedule is resolved on the spot and some one is assigned to do the work before you hang up the phone with the customer. If you cannot schedule it immediately, generally you reach agreement when the work will be done, i.e., next day.

Soon

This is a scheduled service. Pump a septic tank for a sale of a house. Deliver some portable toilets to a scheduled special event. Most companies handle this with a person or written list. A person list is someone who remembers all the work that has to be completed and tells each person what he or she needs to do the next day. If memory doesn’t work, then a stack of notes in a shirt pocket usually is all that is needed. If things get really busy, then a bulletin board with notes is set up instead of the shirt pocket.

Will Worry About it Latter

This is long term service work. Some examples are:

• Customers that need to be pumped once a month or every six months.

• Contract delivery of units for special events.

• Restaurant grease pumping or biological treatment.

• Contract septic tank pumping.

These are usually handled with a log book or spread sheet and as jobs are scheduled, they are re-entered under the new schedule date.

Do it All the Time

These are service schedules that are done daily or weekly, such as solid waste pickup, cleaning portable toilets or large commercial pumping jobs. This is managed through a written list in pencil, so as changes occur, stops can be removed or added. Other options used are spread sheets and word processors so the list can be re-printed after changes are made.