{"id":13440,"date":"2016-08-01T01:30:52","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T05:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/?p=13440"},"modified":"2016-07-29T01:41:37","modified_gmt":"2016-07-29T05:41:37","slug":"hauling-company-facility-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/hauling-company-facility-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Hauling Company Facility Requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"
Basic design criteria and the changing work environment.<\/em><\/h6>\n

A hauling company is a big part of any waste company. It is where a majority of employees work from and directly affects the ability of the company to pick up customer trash every day.\u00a0 A hauling company typically houses all of the route trucks (residential, commercial, roll-off), containers (roll-offs or household), mechanics, drivers, operations team (dispatch, supervisors, ops manager), back office and management. However, at the same time, this facility is not typically \u201crevenue producing\u201d because revenue is driven from tipping fees and not hauling contracts. That being said, it is important that these facilities are able to be built economically and operate safely and efficiently. In this day and age where waste companies are competing for employees, it is important to make sure facilities are nice, clean and somewhere people want to go to work every day. Quality drivers and mechanics are getting harder to come by, so it has become necessary to set a company apart from the pack by offering more amenities and a nice environment, pay more or offer unique benefits. This article will focus on the facility itself and what it should be focused on in terms of the facility design.<\/p>\n

Site Location and Amenities<\/strong><\/p>\n

The site location and amenities are the most important and most difficult to arrange. When it comes to operations of the facility, the focus should begin on the site location within the community. The site needs to be properly zoned (which varies by state), have good access to highways or other major thoroughfares and be close to the \u201cend of day\u201d tipping site for collection trucks. In my opinion, these are the three most important factors in site selection because if these do not work, everything else becomes very difficult.<\/p>\n

The site needs to have well-built access roads that are made for heavy truck traffic; ideally, it will have access to the proper utilities required and will offer the ability to convert to CNG in the future, if desired. Next, the facility neighbors should have similar uses. Oftentimes, a commercial business park is not the best option for a hauling company facility. A light industrial park that has neighbors that don not get a lot of visitors and creates noise of their own is generally the best option. Truck backup noise can disturb nearby residents at 4:00 a.m. The facility should also be properly sized to handle current needs, future growth, fuel island or CNG requirements, storm water controls and other local requirements such as landscaping, green space, etc.<\/p>\n

Container storage will need to be factored into the equation if any onsite storage will be required. The container storage area is typically not very attractive and should be located at the back-end of the site in order to mask its view to any passing traffic. The exact size requirements of sites are based on individualized operations and local requirements. A civil engineer, with waste facility experience, should be engaged to help develop these for the hauling company facility.<\/p>\n

Last, but certainly not least, the site layout should ensure that all safety requirements are kept in mind. Ideally, commercial traffic should be kept separate from car traffic and the site needs to be properly lit both onsite and near the entrance\/exits to the property.<\/p>\n

Shop Areas<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"hauling
Inside the maintenance shop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hauling facility itself typically consists of the truck maintenance and container repair shop, the operations area and the office area. Let\u2019s start with the shop areas. I have seen many occasions where the container repair shop is a separate building; however, I have also seen them combined into one shop. I do not know that there is a clear answer for which is better, it really depends on the end user and their preference. Container repair shops typically require more welding and \u201cbanging\u201d, so they are louder and contain more nuisance smells than a typical truck shop. This is why they are sometimes separated. However, the drawback is that there is more management involved if they are in different buildings.<\/p>\n

Once that decision is made, the focus shifts to the quantity of bays required for truck and container repair and maintenance. This is really based on the age and condition of assets, the ability to buy newer assets moving forward and existing maintenance records. If operations will continue with a fleet of, say, 10 years old or more, then more bays would be required compared to a company with an average fleet age of six to eight years. The same scenario pertains to containers. The type of containers used will determine how much maintenance is necessary and how many employees will be required. As long as there is enough floor space for the required equipment and employees to perform maintenance, the shop operations should run smoothly. Just remember, for both the truck maintenance and container repair areas it is necessary to factor in expected future growth for the next five to 10 years.<\/p>\n

Along with the shop, you will likely want to have an area where you can wash trucks or a third party can come to the site to complete this. In some areas this can occur right on the pavement while others require that the water is captured and run through the sanitary system. This is where local code knowledge is required.<\/p>\n

While designing the shop, many factors come into play such as:<\/p>\n