Trash Collection - Lessons Learned and Observations
December 9, 2001
Here are some thoughts and insights I had during trash collection week. I couldn't weave them easily into my narrative, so I've listed them separately.
Protective Gear: OSHA would have a field day here in Cote d'Ivoire. I hardly ever see workers wearing protective gear of any sort...often they are without shoes. So I was pleased when the trash team asked for gloves and face masks. And I was even more pleased when my mentor had some on hand and didn't balk at the suggestion. Collecting trash is a really messy stinky job, and I was relieved to see my team wearing their gloves and masks at least 1/2 the time they were collecting. If you aren't healthy, you can't work !
Gasoline: We buy gasoline for the tractor each day. 20 liters each morning. Since the trash collection takes all day and then some, every minute wasted is a few more cans we can't get to. Why can't we buy 100 liters at the beginning of the week ? (I asked.) Well...I guess we can. No one ever thought about it before ! Now, don't think we're pulling up at a Gulf station. Taabo is much too small for that ! We go to the market where a guy has several barrels of gasoline. He measures it out five liters at a time, pours it into a big jug, and then climbs onto the tractor to pour it in. Takes about 20 - 30 mintues every morning.
Tractor Maintenance: It might kill me to get my mentor to do any sort of maintenance planning for the tractor. I remember Pete Koska (Plant Manager while I was in Salt Lake City) saying the plant out there was a "run to failure" environment. I have news for you Pete - this place makes Salt Lake City look like the advanced training class on maintenance planning ! I'm going to start by suggesting we change the oil on the tractor periodically. After than, I'll work on a plan for cleaning, greasing, etc. Sometimes I think the work force likes that there is no maintenance plann ing, because when the tractor breaks, you get several days off !
The Key is Balance: The first day of trash collection, we filled the trailer from the front. But the second day we were trying to see what could make us a little faster. So the guys started filling the trailer from the back. That worked out great...until they unhitched the trailer from the tractor. You guessed it...with all the weight of the trash behind the axle, the front of the trailer went straight up in the air the minute it was unhitched! I had gone to get water for the group, and when I turned the corner and saw the trailer nearly on end...well...I can't imagine what my face loo ked like! We ended up using the tractor to help level the trailer, then redistributing the trash in front of the axle. Lesson learned...
Micro Management: Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I just don't think of myself as a micro manager. I like to assign a project and let the team run with it until they have questions or problems. Unfortunately, that's not what this culture is about. I have had to answer questions this week like, "how high should we stack the trash cans in the back of the trailer ?" "should we get gas now ?" and "should I turn left or right here ?" I gotta admit, having to be the one to make EVERY decision DRIVES ME CRAZY ! ! ! But, I have so many other issues going on with this project, that I've decided it's easier to make every decision for now. I'll work on changing the cultural issues that are underlying the inability to make decisions later.
The White Woman: I refer to myself as the white woman in the essay I wrote because that's how most of the Worker's Neighborhood refers to me. I have said before, I stick out like a sore thumb around here ! The kids especially are funny...they will walk with me, stare, or touch me, just to see what it's like. I see them come around the corner with their friends and point, saying, "See...I told you she was here !" When they see I've caught them in the act, they quit pointing, but I crack up just the same. I'm used to it now...I just explain that I might have white skin, but o therwise I'm just a regular grown up lady, just like their moms and aunts. There's a message about US racism there somewhere, isn't there ?
Potty Break: Everywhere we drive the tractor, kids run screaming to get out of the way (which is good). One little boy was defecating in the trash dump behind the Worker's Neighborhood when we turned a corner and he saw our big red machine coming toward him. He stopped doing his business ran for his life - with his pants still around his ankles and his business definitely not quite finished! Why is it you never have a camera when you need one ?
Noise: I've never been much for loud noises. I can feel my nerves jangling loose when the stereo is turned up, when someone is talking too loudly, or when a baby cries continuously. Well guess what - riding on a tractor for five days is really tough on the old ears and nerves ! And to be heard over the noise of the motor, everyone has to yell all the time, which makes it even worse. Someone, please, send me some tranquilizers.
Gross: It should come as no surprise that collecting trash is a smelly, dirty, fly-infested, gross job. But I just wanted to underscore that for you. I don't know if I could earn a living this way, and my respect goes out to my work team who stood on, in, and around trash all week. Yuck. Next time the trash collectors pass your neighborhood, tell them thank you. They deserve it.