4 replies to this topic

[acarver]

I am up for unannounced audit, most likely in the next couple of days, since the window closes in end of next week.

 

And I arrived this morning to a missing dumpster. I reached out to the county sanitation rep, but, of course, they are out today due to the national holiday in the US. I did send a 911 email to her, but undoubtedly she won't see it until tomorrow morning.

 

We produce a fair amount of trash. Most of it is dry/paper, except for one bag from the break room. I can take that one home and put it in my own dumpster at least for tonight. But what to do about the rest? It shouldn't attract pests, but if I have it outside (even on a pallet, stacked neatly) I am sure that will catch auditor's attention upon arrival.

 

What kind of documentation do you recommend I do to keep this out of the NC column? 

 

TIA for any advice!

 

 

[Brothbro]

What a headache, I would say "can't have anything nice these days" but does that apply to something like a dumpster?

 

I would see if there are any private junk disposal companies in your area that can rent out temporary dumpsters. It's difficult because of the holiday so they might not be open either, but first thing tomorrow they may be able to get you something faster than your local sanitation service can. If that isn't available then perhaps spitballing something like...renting a uhaul trailer to fill with trash bags? That would keep the waste in an enclosed containment outside of your building. If your waste isn't too messy and can be held securely in trash bags this may be a workaround.

 

For documentation, I'd at least file some kind of general report on what happened and the steps you took to correct the issue to the best of your ability. In this document you should aim to justify the steps you took to mitigate the issue. You'll want to show why your solution is acceptable and allows your facility to keep running and generating waste despite not having your usual dumpster onsite.

 

If you can't justify the acceptability of your temporary waste disposal solution with regards to regulations or your GFSI standard, you might have to instead opt to not produce any waste until your dumpster comes back (ie shutdown).

Edited by Brothbro, 11 November 2024 - 09:48 PM.

[SQFconsultant]

Borrow one from a nearby business, take it out when no one is looking and put it back.

 

Even better, tell the Auditor your county does your pickup and they forgot to bring it back  - that your storing all dry waste on covered pallets until the dumpster is back and that you take the lunch room waste to your own dumpster.

 

Shit happens and as a former Auditor I'd accept that, unless there was a vermin issue - so bundle it up, cover it and drop some traps around the pile.

[jfrey123]

Good suggestions above, basically boiling down to finding a creative way to store the trash while you are chasing down the primary provider of your dumpster.  I like the U-Haul trailer idea a lot, and if your company has any truck trailers of their own, you can use one of those as well.  Added convenience using a trailer is that you can have it driven to your local dump should the dumpster situation not be corrected in a timely manner.

 

Do keep in mind that the trash needs to be secure not just from rodents but human vermin as well, so wherever you store it temporarily it needs to be such that a passerby cannot get into it.

 

Lastly, document this finding and what you're doing about it.  This technically could fall into a crisis management scenario, as the disruption of your waste services presents an unknown hazard to your operations.  "What happens if the trash piles up?"  "How do we ensure our employees still handle trash properly without the routine dumpster being available?"  All types of things that go towards your business' continuity overall.  So yeah, document this happening, perhaps even update your crisis management SOP after you get through this.  Whatever works well in this situation would be an excellent addition to your crisis management plan so future events don't impact your operation.

[acarver]

Thanks, all.

 

Big picture: the problem is not resolved, but we have a temporary solution, with the thought process documented.

 

Now, if that auditor would just arrive...