Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION OCTOBER 28, 2020 Page 22 Continued on page 23 Ensuring Quality in the Field—Part II: QC for Trailers, Drivers…Continued from page 21 Opinions differ on whether you should give your drivers plenty of advanced notice that a leader will be riding with them or simply let them know the morning it will happen. Either way, be sure your drivers know what to expect and answer their questions before the day of the ride along. It should go without saying—but we'll say it anyway just to be safe: Make sure you have properly oriented your drivers and ridden along with them during the training phase. The QC ride along should be a routine follow up process for your whole team, not the first time anyone goes out with a driver. Because the QC checks should apply equally to newer and more seasoned drivers, you may also want to do some refresher training in the weeks before you start your QC checks just to ensure everyone is on the same page about current expectations. Make sure you have a standardized QC checklist that is used for all QC ride-alongs. This ensures you are checking the same things for everyone, makes it less likely you'll miss or forget something important, and creates a record. Your checklist should cover everything you want the driver to do and might be divided into sections. The sections might include: • Items they should do or attend to on the yard before leaving for the day. • Several identical sections for monitoring what they should do on each of several sites. If they get it right on the first site, do they do it the same way every time? You'll want to document this. • Sections covering safety while driving and safety during loading/unloading and/or service. • Items they should do or attend to when they return to the yard. • Ideas for spot checks—random things to check in the field that are important areas of quality control but may not apply to every site. • Open comment sections for noting the quality of customer interaction and problem solving. The company leader that is conducting the ride along should introduce him- or herself to the site contact and explain the reason for the visit. This will give you a chance to get feedback from that person and may also favorably impress them with your company's commitment to quality. After the Check Once the check is over, give the driver feedback as immediately as possible. • Good QC ride-alongs should be acknowledged. Some companies recognize their drivers publicly at company meetings, some give the driver a small gift card. The point is to recognize and reinforce the actions of drivers who are doing things the way they should be done. • If you have a poor ride-along, bring the driver back and retrain him or her. • Regardless of the results, the information should go to the employee file. • If necessary, follow up with the site supervisors.

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