MSW Management | Editorial

SUBSCRIBE

Landfill Manager's Notebook

Operational Benchmarks

By Neal Bolton

In the process of conducting scores of operational evaluations at landfills across the country, I’ve discovered that most managers are aware of the importance of measuring their operational performance but very often don’t know how to do it.

What Are Benchmarks?
In essence, benchmarks compare work performed to resources used. At most landfills, the work performed is typically measured in tons of waste handled (e.g., 200 tons per day) or cubic yards of airspace consumed. The resources required to perform the work include labor, equipment, cover soil, and ADC, to name a few.

For example, one important benchmark is tons of waste handled versus compactor hours. As a rule of thumb, for optimum density, the compactor should be handling a specific number of tons (of waste) per hour. This “optimum” density is the most profitable (or least costly) compromise between overcompacting, which wastes money operating the compactor past a point of diminishing return, and undercompacting to reduce equipment costs at the expense of wasted airspace.

Another useful benchmark to track might be the total equipment operator hours per month versus tons of waste received per month. In this example, equipment operators means all operators onsite who are operating equipment.

Dividing the monthly tonnage by the total operator hours will provide a useful benchmark. For mid-size landfills (500–1,500 tons per day), this factor averages around 250 tons per operator.

There is no limit to the type and number of benchmarks that a manager could establish. However, in order to minimize the tracking effort required, only relevant standards should be used. Some examples of useful benchmarks are listed below.

You may want to start by selecting just a few basic benchmarks to track.
•               Compactor tons/hour
•               Dozer tons/hour
•               Cover ratio
•               Tons per load or yard of wood chips
•               Tons per operator hour
•               Equipment maintenance
•               Cost per ton for each day of week

Here are the basic steps associated with establishing standards.
• Identify the specific task.
• Establish a target, based on safety, economics, productivity, or other criteria.

The target is the standard.
•               Communicate the standard to whoever must meet it (e.g., the landfill crew).
•               Set up a tracking system to monitor performance.
•               Compare actual performance to standard.
•               Modify performance or adjust standard as needed.

Many benchmarks could be established using data you are already tracking.

Neal Bolton is a consultant specializing in landfill management.

MSW - May/June 2007