When one of the largest recycling facilities in the country needed help to reduce turnover and motivate their team for higher productivity, they turned to Leadpoint. Ten years ago. And we’re still on the job, through challenges like recruiting low-wage workers in a state with a high cost of living and retrofitting the MRF with…
The fixed costs of a staffing agreement – bill rate and markup – are negotiated before workers arrive onsite. The typical way to control those costs is to reduce or add to the number of workers, options that can impact a site’s productivity. There are several other, more strategic ways to control workforce costs and…
When it comes to safety in the recycling industry, we have rightly put high emphasis on lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) procedures to prevent catastrophic injuries to our employees. In addition, we have seen a marked improvement in the attention MRFs are paying to fall protection hazards and compliance. These are all positive developments and we must continue…
By Len Christopher, Chief Operating Officer, Leadpoint Business Services Ana Martinez is Leadpoint’s onsite manager at our customer’s MRF in Clackamas, Oregon. She is among our most tenured employees with over 15 years of service. Ana’s tenacity is commendable, but what’s even more impressive is the tenure of her team. Of the more than 50…
By Len Christopher, Chief Operating Officer Leadpoint works with dozens of recyclers and facilities across the country to manage the productivity of their workforce. We hear over and over that our customers want to save money wherever they can. The cost of labor – wages – is the single biggest expense for most companies so…
As seen in Waste Advantage Magazine, October 2018 Executive Summary Tri-County Recycling & Solid Waste of Appleton, Wisconsin, had a problem at their materials recycling facility (MRF). The county was losing money due to poor quality and missed items on the sort line. The site’s leaders were struggling with turnover and the inconsistent number of…
We Get 24 Hours There is only so much time in a day, 24 hours, and no amount of negotiating or money can get you more of it. With so many tasks to complete every day, running out of time or failing to complete priorities is common – and stressful! The best onsite managers have…
Safety is the most personal practice at any MRF. That’s because every employee – from the top down and the bottom up – is subject to the hazards of the job site, can experience pain and injury, and can make individual choices about behaving safely. A MRF’s safety culture is built on standard behaviors that…
The daily safety huddle is a standard occurrence for MRF managers and their employees, but the routine of it can cause some employees to tune-out. Motivating employees to participate and keeping them engaged in your safety meetings, day after day, is critical. Engagement can help pinpoint areas of confusion, test employees’ knowledge of safety programs…
Every summer, managers and employees inevitably deal with the question of how to prevent heat stress in the workplace. The Leadpoint onsite management team recently shared their best practices for keeping employees and MRF jobsites safe as the temperatures rise this summer. We asked, “How can I prepare for the hot weather and be ready…
Monitoring the workforce at your MRF can help you identify and fix potential problems before they happen. In a sense, it’s like building a preventative maintenance program for performance. This performance monitoring and tracking is a hallmark of what Leadpoint’s onsite managers provide at the MRFs where we’re embedded. For those sites, and the ones…
Every new employee wants to do a good job, and every MRF manager wants their new employees to stay. Setting up each new hire for success starts at the interview and continues with open, clear communication every day. Leadpoint Workforce Manager Christy Clark offers these suggestions based on her experience at a MRF in Indianapolis.…