A strong safety program is key to the City of Phoenix, AZ’s success in preventing. Since 2000, the Public Works Department has made it a priority to assist SWEOs prevent accidents and be more safety conscious during day-to-day operations.
Tony Miano
Since 2000 the City of Phoenix, AZ Public Works Department, Solid Waste Field Services Division has used a comprehensive hiring and training process to ensure that all Solid Waste Equipment Operators (SWEO) follow the established guidelines for driving and collection of refuse and recycling for the City of Phoenix.
This safety training program gives each SWEO the knowledge to safely drive and operate solid waste equipment. This proven safety training program has decreased accidents from 8.1 accidents per 100,000 miles driven in 2,000 to 0.89 accidents per 100,000 miles driven in 2012. Concurrently, annual miles driven, customer base and employees increased by 50 percent over the same period.
As part of the Public Works Department safety training program, the Solid Waste Division prides itself in obtaining high customer satisfaction ratings while driving and operating in a safe manner on city streets. This safety training program consists of the following six elements.
#1: The Hiring Process
Hiring is a four-step process. It starts with the review of applications by a Human Resources Analyst who reviews all of the applications for minimum qualifying application standards set by the Public Works Department. For example, an important requirement for applicants is to have an adequate amount of heavy equipment driving experience.
If an applicant is qualified at the application stage then they will be invited to participate in a driving skills assessment test, which requires them to safely and effectively maneuver an obstacle course in a garbage truck while being timed.
If the applicant successfully maneuvers through the obstacle course without hitting too many obstacles, they will be invited to participate in the interview process where they will be interviewed by a panel of four supervisory staff from within and outside the solid waste field.
The final criteria before being selected to become a SWEO for the City of Phoenix is for the applicant to take and score high enough on a personnel selection inventory (PSI) assessment, which is administered manually or electronically by solid waste staff, which is helpful in identifying customer service and safety-oriented employees.
Basic Training Camp
After successfully going through the four-steps of the hiring process, the newly hired SWEO will report to the City of Phoenix Employee Driver Training Academy (EDTA) for three weeks of classroom and course training. The new class of SWEOs will be trained on the State of Arizona CDL requirements, the City of Phoenix policies and procedures, and basic operations of all solid waste equipment on the training course. During the three-week training period, SWEOs will be evaluated on driving skills by the training Solid Waste Foreman. Based on their evaluation, the Foreman will decide if a new SWEO needs further course training beyond the three weeks before sending them to the field office for route training. We offer one additional week of training if they do not graduate from the academy at that time they will fail probation and are relieved of their duties. We had employees needing extra training but we never had anyone fail probation at week four of the process.
Field Training
The first step in the field training is to assign the new SWEO to an authorized training SWEO. The authorized SWEO is one who has been authorized to train after undergoing “train the trainer” training in how to properly train the new SWEO. A new SWEO will generally train with his peer (training SWEO) for two to three weeks on the operation of equipment and route collection. The trainer and trainee will sign off on a training log, which tracks the new SWEO’s progress. After the new SWEO reaches the point where they have progressed to completing 80 percent of the route, then his new Foreman and Superintendent will sign off that the SWEO is ready to go out on a route alone.
The second step in field training is to assign the new SWEO to a training route after being signed off by trainer and management staff. The SWEO is on probation for the first year and is evaluated on performance at the three- and six-month periods. This evaluation period is most crucial to properly evaluate the new SWEO’s progress and offer them whatever assistance is needed in order to improve. The Foreman, Solid Waste Supervisor and Superintendent review the new SWEO’s evaluation closely before signing off on their three- and six-month evaluations.
Refresher Training (Tailgate Meetings)
Training for all SWEOs is an ongoing process in which they get weekly “tailgate meeting” training on the division’s safety program. The Public Works Department also has a Safety Section with dedicated Safety Analysts who provide training when requested. In addition, the division has a safety committee, which meets quarterly to discuss employee safety concerns.
Post-Accident Training—Accident Reduction Training (ART)
After any accident where a SWEO in involved, the incident is investigated thoroughly by the Foreman and an accident report is created and presented to the SWEO for review and signature. After the SWEO has signed the accident report or responded in writing and after careful consideration by management staff, the accident will be ruled either chargeable or non-chargeable. In the case of a chargeable vehicular accident, the SWEO is sent to Accident Reduction Training to be evaluated and re-trained on accident prevention.
Performance Standards and Accountability
City of Phoenix SWEOs are held to strict performance standards and safety is a prime concern. SWEOs are rated on their performance standards yearly as part of their annual performance evaluation. SWEOs are held accountable for any reported garbage misses on their routes, garbage spills, staff complaints and fluid spills.
In addition, SWEOs are held accountable for any chargeable or preventable accidents. A strong safety program is key to the department’s success in preventing accidents and since the year 2000, the Public Works Department has made it a priority to assist SWEOs prevent accidents and be more safety conscious during day-to-day operations. Industrial accidents have also been of concern to the City of Phoenix and by providing personal protection equipment to staff, injury accidents have also decreased.
Finally, no safety program would be successful if not for the constant follow-up and reminders that SWEOs are given daily to make they are conducting proper pre and post trip inspections. The City of Phoenix pre- and post-trip program consists of random pre-trip inspections, which occur weekly as well as quarterly random safety inspections of safety equipment. In addition, pre-trip testing occurs at the time of each SWEO’s yearly performance evaluation.
Tony Mianohas 33 years in the solid waste industry, with 28 plus years with the City of Phoenix, AZ retiring as Public Works Assistant Director (Acting). Most recently, he holds a position as Public Works, Solid Waste Manager for the City of Tempe, AZ. Tony also maintains active membership in the American Public Works Association (APWA), and is the Past President of SWANA’s Arizona Chapter.He can be reached at (480) 350-8051 or via e-mail at [email protected].