Portable Sanitation Association International

Association Insight April 11 2018

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W EEKLY EDITION APRIL 11, 2018 Asking the Right Questions when Bidding on Work Site Contracts: A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned …continued By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director Before you bi d : It's imperative that you meet with the customer as early in the game as possible to go over things like: • Key information such as job site type, duration, expected worker numbers and traffic patterns • Job site accessibility • Special placement instructions It's important to get a ver y clear picture of the work site your customer wishes you to serve. Let them tell you about the job from their perspective. Then, ask questions to fill in important data points you need to make sound recommendations. You will need to ask about the follow ing key areas: • Work site type : What kind of site is it and what sort of work is taking place? Construction sites – whether it is highway construction, commercial construction, or residential construction - are all different from one another in terms of customers' needs and the challenges your company will face on the job site. Agricultural work sites or camps present different challenges. Without question, the traffic and use patterns are different, and this will be important in your assessment of how many units are needed. • Where will it be located? Beyon d the specific address – which will certainly be a factor in estimating your time and fuel costs – you need to know about the terrain and other accessibility issues including highway weight restrictions, gate times, whether any of the units will be used in high rise situations, and any other details that will affect the project from your company's point of view. • Unusual rules or conditions. Are there local ordinances that apply? How about any unusual conditions such as unusually soft or hard ground, water sources that are protected, restricted roadways that provide access to the site. Is the area subject to high winds? Some residential areas have noise restrictions that effectively limit the hours you can service units – and others have restrictions about where they can be placed. Ask about these things. • How many people are expected to work at the site, and how many days a week? How long are their shifts? This is an important driver of how many units are needed. Also ask about the likely gender breakdown. • When does the work day begin and end? What are the gate times? The length of the shifts also affects how many units are needed and how often they should be serviced. If the site will be active at night, it will affect what sort of equipment will be needed. Importantly, it also affects your set up and pick up schedule. • Is there anything you need to know about accessibility? Some work sites have restricted access requiring your staff to have extra training or security clearances. Others can only be accessed at certain points due to barricades or bridgework. Be sure you understand all of this up front. If you find there will b e time lost due to "wait times" on site while a high rise unit is lowered, you'll want to account for this in your bid. In might be helpful to see if the site will a llow you to have access to a "company lock" or to place one of your own so access is assure d. P AGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

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