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Letter from the
Editors
Welcome to the WasteExpo Online Show Daily, produced
by the editors of Waste Age magazine. This newsletter will provide
comprehensive coverage of this year's WasteExpo in Chicago. We have
divided our newsletter into three sections: one that covers conference
sessions, another that brings you news from the show floor and a third
that details the show's special events.
Today is the final issue of the Show Daily. Waste Age will provide
further coverage of the show on The Heap, our staff blog located at
www.wasteindustrysite.com, and in next week's edition of the Waste Age
Wire, our weekly e-mail newsletter.
Whether you are an attendee or you couldn't make it to the Windy City,
the Online Show Daily will keep you firmly on top of the who, what, when
and where of WasteExpo 2008. If you have any questions or comments,
e-mail Editor Stephen Ursery at sursery@wasteage.com.
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News from the Show Floor
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Show Floor Opens to Positive
Reviews
The WasteExpo Exhibit Hall opened Tuesday to a throng of enthusiastic
attendees. As they poured into McCormick Place, they were greeted by
more than 525 vendors eager to show off their wares.
One booth drawing a healthy crowd belonged to Peterson Manufacturing, a
safety lighting and accessory manufacturer based in Grandview, Mo. "We
always get a good turnout," said Mark Assenmacher, Peterson's director
of manufacturing. He noted that his company actually doubled the size of
its booth this year in anticipation of bigger crowds due to the show's
geographically centralized location.
Al-Jon Inc. of Ottumwa, Iowa, was drawing visitors with one of their
massive blue landfill compactors, which attendees were invited to
explore. But the booth also had plenty of visitors waiting in line to
try their hand at the company's self-produced “Race the Face”
landfill compactor video game, in which individuals sat inside a
compactor cab and, viewing a course displayed on a large HDTV, navigated
around cones while avoiding hazards like wayward kitties running across
the site.
Joe Capko, vice president of business development for Sacramento,
Calif.-based Concrete Washout Systems, says his firm is pleased that the
show is in Chicago. “Everybody can get here pretty easily,” he said.
“This show is where we sell the most, and we’ve already quoted some
equipment.”
Matt Mumford of Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar said his firm’s booth
saw “very steady traffic” on Tuesday. He added that the show
provides his firm with a valuable opportunity to see current customers
and work on maintaining those relationships. Jerry Samson, vice
president of sales and marketing for Rosemont, Minn.-based Wastequip,
echoed similar sentiments. “Traffic’s been pretty decent,” he
said. “We’re pretty impressed.”
Attendees Tim Ammon and Mike Ettner said they came to the show to
investigate new recycling technologies. Asphalt recyclers from southern
Wisconsin, they said the promise of new methods of handling and grinding
motivated them to attend the show for the first time in several years.
Attendee Mark Grimm, operations manager for Morton, Ill.-based Grimm
Bros. Trucking, said he came to the show to look for truck maintenance
equipment and recycling information. When asked what issues those
attending the show are discussing the most, he noted, “Fuel prices.
That’s a given.”
The exhibit hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday.
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Conference Session Update
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Behaving Safely
New technology is constantly being developed to help
waste industry drivers minimize accidents and incident liability, but
industry experts during Tuesday’s “Planning and Delivering a Safer
Environment for Your Fleet” conference session continued to stress the
importance of behavior-based safety standards (BBS) to protect waste
companies and their drivers.
Among other measures, the experts recommend several measures, including
a careful gathering all of the facts relating to accidents in order to
train drivers properly. Many waste companies have installed cameras and
data analysis systems to investigate incidents and find ways to improve
their safety procedures. However, experts say, if the companies fail to
communicate with their drivers, the technology will be wasted.
“The focus is on the program, not the cameras,” says Robert Bartels,
senior general manager for DriveCam, a San Diego-based manufacturer of
truck surveillance systems. Bartels adds that 88 percent of driver
injuries stem from human error. Behavior-based safety standards seek to
reduce the number of unsafe behaviors that lead to accidents.
The three biggest causes of risky driving, according to DriveCam, are
poor awareness, distractions and aggressiveness/fatigue. Behavior-based
safety standards have reduced waste incidents by 39 percent, accident
related costs or claims by 53 percent and liability payouts by 79
percent, according to Bartel. Behavior-based safety standards have “a
growing track record of success in the industry,” Bartels says.
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Cash
for Trash
Yesterday's conference schedule included a session
entitled "The Growing Role of Private Equity." Contributing Editor
Michael Fickes wrote about the topic for our May issue. Here is that
piece:
Private equity firms are investment companies or funds with lots of
cash. When they buy a company, they might put down 40 to 50 percent of
the purchase price in cash and borrow the rest. Infusions of cash from
these investors can supercharge a waste firm's growth over a period of
years, after which the investors can sell the company for a large
profit.
Private equity's interest in the waste management industry is not new.
Following the industry's consolidation phase in the late 1990s, equity
firms started buying in. It was a short-lived foray, however. “When
[Houston-based] Waste Management began struggling to integrate all of
its acquisitions, it scared off a lot of the private equity dollars,”
says Brian D'Amico, a managing partner with Summer Street Capital
Partners, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based private equity firm.
To read more of this story, click on the "Cash for Trash" headline
above.
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Preventing Truck
Fires
Monday’s “Truck Fires: Causes & Solutions”
session got underway with a literal bang as attendees were treated to
police car dashboard footage of a fully engulfed garbage truck shortly
before it gave way to a massive explosion. The session was hosted by a
panel of seven industry experts, most of whom are also involved with
EIA's safety and ANSI standards committees. Randy J. Ellert, safety
policy manager for Rumpke Consolidated Cos., and Jerry Sjogren, safety
director for E.L. Harvey & Sons, began by identifying the most common
causes of truck fires: hot loads (collected waste that contains
smoldering or easily combustible material), electrical shorts, engine
exhaust build-up, leaking hydraulic fluid or fuel, and overheated
brakes, bearings and tires. Several examples of cracked hoses, frayed
wiring and other compromised parts that could lead to fires lined a
table at the side of the room.
The most important preventative measures recommended by the panel were
consistent inspections, timely maintenance and driver awareness. By a
show of hands, more than half of the audience had dealt with truck fires
in their own operations. Many of them spoke up with their own
observations and solutions to the problem. Those included changing hoses
at regular intervals, using battery kill switches and ensuring that
drivers have the tools they need to do inspections (such as lighting for
pre-dawn and after-dark inspections, and reaching tools to extract
paper, cardboard and other combustibles that may have become stuck near
ignition sources).
Similarly, Larry Stone, director of safety at Rumpke, reminded managers
to consider human factors when working with drivers. One example
provided was the driver who is reluctant to use his battery kill switch
at the end of the day because he doesn't want to lose his programmed
radio stations. Installing a radio that uses a 9-volt battery to save
settings is a simple fix. Ellert, who also serves as battalion chief and
Unit 1 shift commander for Colerain Township Fire and EMS in Cincinnati,
suggested investing in preventative technologies like non-flammable
hydraulic fluids (such as hydro glycol).
But even with the best preventative measures in place, truck fires can
still occur. Jane Dolezal, safety and compliance manager for Homewood
Disposal System, recommended having a plan in place to deal with
environmental remediation and property damage after a truck fire, using
an example from her own firm in which a burning truck in a residential
neighborhood damaged asphalt and allowed oily runoff from the water used
to extinguish the fire to contaminate a nearby pond. For situations like
these, say Brian Wilson, corporate director of safety for Deffenbaugh
Industries, and Debbie Mehay, a field claim adjuster with American
Claims Services, forging good relationships with local fire departments
and insurers is important. They also noted the importance of maintaining
detailed incident records and accurately reporting truck fires when they
do occur.
Ellert and Ralph A. Ford, health, safety and risk manager for Waste
Industries USA, discussed new technologies for combating blazes,
including Cold Fire, an extinguishing fluid that lowers the temperature
of a fire faster than foam, and a German extinguisher technology that
uses a special nozzle to atomize a small amount of water and increase
its surface area, quickly smothering flames.
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Medical Waste Conference Kicks
Off
The Medical Waste Conference, which co-locates with
WasteExpo, begins today. Sessions run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and topics
include "Top Trends in Tracking and Communications," "Reprocessing of
Medical Devices: Concerns about Sharps," and "Emerging Infectious
Substances: Potential Waste Impacts."
The conference will conclude on Thursday with two sessions: "Residential
Needle Disposal: An Update" and "Medical Waste Inspections for Shippers,
Transporters and Regulators."
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Conference Sessions Coming to a
Close
Today marks the last day of conference sessions at
WasteExpo. The Labor and Employment Track will feature the "Preventing
and Dealing with Labor Strikes" session from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in
Room S402a. "Immigration, Wage & Hour Law Changes" follows in the same
room from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
In the Laws & Regulations Track, "Flow Control: Bad Policy? Two Points
of View" runs from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in Room S404bcd. "Nanotechnology
and Other Emerging Issues" follows in the same room from 10:30 a.m. to
11:45 a.m.
In the Collection and Disposal Track, "Effective Vehicle Replacement
Strategies" runs from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in Room S403ab.
In the Professional Development Track, "Roadside Inspections" runs from
9 a.m. t 10:15 a.m. in Room S404a. "Speaker Like a Leader" follows in
the same room from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
A special ticketed session entitled "Breakfast Forum: Evolution of the
Garbage Truck" will run from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in Room S501abcd.
Wednesday's boxed lunch, entitled "Talking Trash: You are the Most
Important Asset," will be held in Room S406 and takes place from 12 p.m.
to 1:30 p.m. The cost of the boxed lunch is $25 (one ticket is included
with the full-event registration and Wednesday's one-day package.)
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Spotlight on Special Events
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Do I Hear 100?
200?
The Environmental Research and Education Foundation's
(EREF) 14th annual Live Auction will take place today from 4:30 p.m. to
6 p.m. in the foundation's booth (No. 4838). A reception will be held at
the booth at 4 p.m.
A raffle drawing for a 2000 convertible Corvette will be held following
the auction.
EREF has been conducting a silent auction that began on Monday and will
end when the live auction starts.
The auctions raise funds for municipal solid waste research and
education projects.
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