PPRC 2016: Hiring right from the start
PPRC 2016: Hiring right from the start
<![CDATA[For every material recovery facility (MRF), safety and productivity are top priority, and it takes the right employees to help to maintain those practices. Speakers in the session “Maximizing Safety and Productivity” at the 2016 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference Oct. 20 in Chicago shared their insights into how they ensure operations are safe and productive by hiring appropriate workers from the start, and offering incentives and support.
Michael Timpane, principal for the sustainability and recycling consultancy firm Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who moderated the session, said to the speakers directly, “I’d suffice to say that you want a safe plant.”
Safety is seen as a higher importance than production at TFC (Tidewater Fibre Corp.) Recycling, said speaker Michael Benedetto. Benedetto is president and owner of the Chesapeake, Virginia-based family-owned recycling company.
It’s important to find people who can be both safe and hard workers. Benedetto said it is a challenge to find people who are willing to stand at sorting lines picking through various materials. TFC Recycling is Virginia’s largest residential curbside recycler, serving more than 700,000 households and 4,000 commercial customers.
Yet, Benedetto said, “You start right by hiring right.”
TFC Recycling, which runs more than 100 collection trucks through its two MRFs, works with the city jail to hire incarcerated individuals for quality control. Pointing out the benefits in hiring workers who are in jail, Benedetto said they have reliable transportation; make it to work on time; and don’t mind picking through trash, as it’s something else to do. For reliable and dependable hands, they are hired once they are released from jail.
As for incentives for its 300 or so employees, TFC Recycling hosts cookouts several times yearly, offers wellness programs and promotes from within the company, where employees can advance from sorter to driver to manager. TFC also offers safety and attendance bonuses to its drivers.
Rather than traditional insurance, the recycling company uses captive insurance, where 100-plus companies have come together for a heterogeneous plan with a shared risk.
Benedetto said, “There’s a big incentive for us to be safe and keeping employees on the job.”
Speaker Jerry Sjogren said E.L. Harvey & Sons’ greatest asset is its people. Also family-owned, E.L. Harvey & Sons, Westborough, Massachusetts, is a full-service waste management company that handles residential, commercial, and construction contracts that include waste disposal, junk removal, recycling services and dumpster delivery.
“Keeping those good people makes all the difference in the world,” said Sjogren, vice president, material recovery and process optimization, for the 100-plus-year-old E.L. Harvey.
He used the phrase, “Slow to hire, quick to fire,” when explaining the value in good hiring practices and ensuring the right worker is getting the job. “Make sure you’re doing your due diligence,” Sjogren said. “We should all take our time to hire a candidate, including working through temp agencies.”
Both speakers emphasized the importance of drug testing workers. Performing drug tests prior to hiring as well as after an accident are worthwhile, they said.
Guaranteeing workers completely understand their role on the job is worth the time it takes to train them, Sjogren said. He suggested pairing up a new employee with a mentor on the job.
“It’s overwhelming for some of these people; they’ve never worked in this industry before,” Sjogren said. “We cannot expect people to come in and be safe if we don’t give them the tools and resources to do so.”
John Schumacher, senior vice president at Assurance Agency, Schaumburg, Illinois, and the final speaker of the session, discussed how safety affects recyclers’ bottom lines, including the need to train workers. He touched on the purpose of written programs, formalizing inspections and using measurements.
In addition, Schumacher warned of infrastructure errors such as a lack of guarding or exposed conveyor belts. Fire protection, he said, is a big issue among MRFs.
The 2016 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference was Oct. 19-21 in Chicago at the Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile.
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Source: Recycling Today
PPRC 2016: Hiring right from the start
<![CDATA[For every material recovery facility (MRF), safety and productivity are top priority, and it takes the right employees to help to maintain those practices. Speakers in the session “Maximizing Safety and Productivity” at the 2016 Paper & Plastics Recycling Conference Oct. 20 in Chicago shared their insights into how they ensure operations are safe and productive by hiring appropriate workers from the start, and offering incentives and support.Michael Timpane, principal for the sustainability and recycling consultancy firm Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who moderated the session, said to the speakers directly, “I’d suffice to say that you want a safe plant.”Safety is seen as a higher importance than production at TFC (Tidewater Fibre Corp.) Recycling, said speaker Michael Benedetto. Benedetto is president and owner of the Chesapeake, Virginia-based family-owned recycling company. It’s important to find people who can be both safe and hard workers. Benedetto said it is a challenge to find people who are willing to stand at sorting lines picking through various materials. TFC Recycling is Virginia’s largest residential curbside recycler, serving more than 700,000 households and 4,000 commercial customers. Yet, Benedetto said, “You start right by hiring right.”TFC Recycling, which runs more than 100 collection…