Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/994700
W EEKLY EDITION JUNE 20, 2018 Transp orting Units Containing Waste …continued The following article is an excerpt from the 2018 PSAI Industry Resource Directory. It has been reprinted this week for your benefit. P AGE 10 move a wet unit without it being noticed, and noticed unfavorably. If your company prides itself on delivering a pleasant user experience—and we hope you do—then moving a unit with waste in it will almost certainly undermine your company's business strategy. If you are determined to move a wet unit on a site it should occur with the tanks sealed and with every possible precaution taken to avoid spills. As far as the PSAI of!ce is aware, nobody sells a product with which to fully and reliably seal the tanks on a portable toilet (because moving wet units is such a bad idea). Hence, the seals are typically improvised by the operating company using some sort of barrier made of plastic, wood, or other material. The technician needs to clean up spilled waste immediately and thoroughly using your company's spill protocol. There is nothing that will ruin the reputation of your organization and harm the portable sanitation industry more quickly than people seeing you move wet units and observing spills in the process. Protect your company's reputation. To protect your company's reputation and that of the portable sanitation industry as a whole, here are two important strategies. • To avoid being in the dilemma of deciding whether/how to move wet units on a job or event site, many of the best companies have chosen to make sure they have small pick up truck-mounted vacuum equipment so they can always pump a unit before moving it. They work hard to make sure moving a wet unit is never a problem they have to face. If a customer insists that wet units be moved on a regular (i.e., non-emergency) basis, the best companies would walk away from that contract rather than do something so ill advised. • To avoid making a bad situation even worse in the event of an accident, transport units leaving your yard empty or containing only water. If something unfortunate happens en route, it is much less expensive and detrimental to your company to report that mere water has been spilled than to be in a hazmat situation because your pre!ll contains deodorizers or other chemicals. Even when your driver has the SDS or MSDS handy and it can be shown there is little danger to groundwater, colored liquid on the highway or seeping down into a ditch makes a much different impression on the public and much more garish pictures for the media. You don't want to be THAT company. In this case, the best words you can hear are, "Move along folks, there's nothing to see here." The PSAI has had a standard that reads, "Portable restroom units must be emptied before they are picked up and returned to the company lot." This standard also applies to portable restroom trailers. Note: The PSAI reruns industry best practice articles from ti me to time when they serve as a relevant reminder to our Members. If you believe that there is an IRD article that our Membership could benefit from re - reading, don' t hesitate to reach out with your suggestion s ! Contact the office at info@psai.org or at 952 - 854 - 8300.