Rules of Order

Environmental Recycling, based in Lexington, Ky., has made the deployment of ferrous balers a focal point of its business. The company’s services were used extensively in the wake of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina to bale appliances and autos. (See "Rotten Business," Recycling Today, December 2005.)

The company owns a fleet of 15 portable scrap metal balers or loggers, all made

According to Environmental Recycling President Shawn Morris, when the company sends out an operator to a remote location, it sends along a maintenance checklist devised by Environmental Recycling that the operator must fill out twice weekly.

"We now have a full-time maintenance manager, and the employees fill out the checklist and send it to the maintenance manager twice a week," says Morris. "When we had a couple of machines, we could oversee this without a full-time manager, but now that we have 10 or 15 of those machines out there, sometimes in other parts of the country, we devised this system."

National Recycling Services, Erie, Pa., has been a provider of remote metals baling services since the 1990s. (See "On the Spot," Recycling Today, Oct. 2002.)

Jeremy Lincoln, vice president of sales for the company, says National Recycling Services stresses maintenance to the operators of its portable fleet. National Recycling’s fleet numbers from seven to 10 units, depending on how many machines the company has on order and how many it is in the process of selling. The company’s portable machines are made either by Sierra International Machinery, Bakersfield, Calif., or by Al-jon.

"We tell operators to grease the machines on every shift—that can’t be stated enough," says Lincoln. "The better maintained you keep the joints and the bushings, the less chance of having metal-on-metal contact that will produce harmful metal dust and shavings," he remarks.

"Stick to the maintenance schedule—that’s a key message," Lincoln continues. He adds that management can do its part by reinforcing to employees that this is dollars-and-cents part of their job. "If we want it greased properly, we make sure employees can reach all parts of the machine by providing a ladder," he says.

"And we make sure we provide the time by paying for that half-hour or 45 minutes for them to perform daily maintenance," he continues. "We’re happy to pay for it because it will save money in the long run."

Morris does not mince words when it comes to the expected maintenance role of operators. "Some operators are better than others about this; we try to eliminate the ones that don’t take care of the equipment," he says.

In addition to "to do" lists, portable baler operators and their employers are best served by having a clear idea of situations and actions to avoid in the field.

While some of this knowledge is gained by experience, recyclers like Lincoln and Morris would prefer that singularly unprofitable experiences are avoided even once by new operators.

"Our operators start with a two-week training stint with an experienced employee," says Morris, "so they’re not on their own at first."

Ideally, the new operators can see how experienced employees not only maintain and operate the machines, but also how they take steps to avoid situations that could cause downtime or costly repairs.

Among the good habits to instill are catching problem materials before they enter the machine. "I tell my operators that the machines are built tough, but if what they are about to put in is structurally stronger than the frame of a pickup truck, then don’t bale it," says Lincoln.

When an object that is too thick to be baled is introduced, "you’re asking for trouble," says Lincoln, who says the consequences can include bent baling chamber doors or a broken cylinder.

Often, says Lincoln, "the end of the pusher block will break first—it’s telling you there is too much strain on the machine. Or, worse, the cylinder will break, and that’s a $20,000 to $25,000 repair, plus downtime."

The rule at National Recycling Services is: "Know what you’re baling; if it’s something questionable, don’t bale it," according to Lincoln.

Fluid leaks are a certain sign of trouble. "It’s coming from somewhere," says Morris. "Anytime you see hydraulic fluid leaking, you need to determine where it’s coming from and tighten up or replace that hose."

When smoke is coming from anywhere beside the emissions pipe, that merits investigation, as does a change in color of the emissions pipe smoke, notes Morris.

Both Lincoln and Morris say that protecting hydraulic cylinders is critical. "We urge operators to protect the chrome cylinders like they’re your life," says Lincoln.

"When cylinders are extended they are vulnerable," he says. "That’s why there can’t be any metal-on-metal contact there."

Operators can do their part by minimizing occurrences where metal sticks out from the baling chamber doors after they close. "That metal’s going to get dragged behind the pusher block and scratch the cylinders if you don’t have the baling chamber doors closed 100 percent."

Morris teaches the same to operators at Environmental Recycling. "One of the biggest things to teach is to avoid the metal getting behind the cylinder; that can result in a major replacement," he notes.

Recycling company owners can play their part by ensuring that the operators go out into the field with the proper tools and an adequate assembly of replacement parts and components.

Lincoln notes that Sierra generally provides a set of metric tools along with its units.

On the components and parts side, traveling with replacement hoses and filters in a kit can ensure that operators don’t have to spend time and energy sourcing parts from dealers while on the road. "We send out hoses, filters—all the basic necessities they should have," says Morris. "If they need something else, we’ll arrange to have it delivered overnight from Al-jon or the component’s manufacturer."

Even with trained and diligent operators, portable metals balers that log considerable operating hours will begin to show their age at a certain point.

"We have found that by using newer machines and keeping everything up to speed, you get better production—sometimes up to double [that] of an older model," says Lincoln. "It’s the downtime that hurts your bottom line."

The oldest machines in Environmental Recycling’s fleet date back no farther than 2004. Even so, the company has already started a rotation formula of sorts.

"What we’ve done is run the older machines closer to our home base in Lexington, near to where our maintenance manager is likely to be," says Morris.

Lincoln says that when business is good and the fleet is staying busy, National Recycling is likely to invest in newer equipment. "If you need something to run 45 or 50 hours per week, you need a very well maintained and newer piece of equipment."