Great Western Sweeping Emphasizes Professionalism and Environmentalism

Great Western Sweeping , Inc. is a company that began in 1995. However, its roots, as well as those of its owner, Daniel Dodson, go much deeper. Here’s the story:

On July 1st of 1970, Fred and Mary Dodson purchased a small sweeping company called Mid-State Industrial Service, Inc., which was based in Eugene, Oregon. During their first year of operation the Dodsons updated most of the company’s existing equipment in order to improve on their ability to provide better quality and have more productivity. Four years later one of the couple’s sons, Jim Dodson, came on board after he had finished college. Because Jim had been working for a year at a local Mack Truck dealership as a mechanic, this move advanced another aspect of the company. 

In 1977 another son, Daniel Dodson, started helping out from time-to-time, as well. Daniel recalls that, at the time, he was certain that being in the sweeping industry wasn’t something he wanted to pursue as a career. However, the part-time work got him familiar with both the operation and the maintenance of the equipment. And in 1980 he was looking for full-time work when his dad had a situation where he was short a man on his day crew.  Dan agreed to fill in full-time until he found something better to do. As you will read, Dan still hasn’t found another occupation he likes as well.

During the early 1980s, Mid-State was hired for some of the road milling jobs in the Portland metro area. The problem was that the work was nearly two hours from the company’s office. At the time, sweeping of this sort was done using purpose-built M8-A Mobil sweepers, not the best transit vehicles. Then, soon after that, Mid-State also won contracts to perform municipal sweeping for several small cities in the same locale. 

At that point the Dodson family realized that an expansion to the Portland area was needed.  Son Daniel was tapped to move near Portland in order to manage the operation. “I moved to the Portland Metro area in the Spring of 1984,” said Dan, “and established a new base facility for Mid-State. We started adding more clients from there. Although our hourly rates were somewhat higher than our competitors, we had the advantage of having better-trained operators. Also, our sweepers and other equipment were kept properly maintained and so we were more productive.  Overall, we provided a better value.” The branch office of the company operated that way for another decade.

 

However, in 1995, following the advice of their estate planner, the elder Dodsons reorganized their sweeping company. Via this process Dan’s older brother, Jim, purchased Mid-State Industrial Service, Inc. At the same time, Daniel took on ownership of Mid-State’s Portland branch, which is today known as Great Western Sweeping, Inc. 

“From the mid-80s to the mid-90s, said Dan, “heavy duty broom sweepers were the way to go. The issue of pollution from storm water wasn’t on anybody’s radar.  We used primarily Mobil sweepers for the first 10+ years. However, toward the late 1990s we started getting requests from area cities for us to develop best sweeping practices for reducing storm water runoff pollution. New younger and more well-educated people were moving into our clients’ public works departments. They started writing specifications that pre-qualified sweeping companies.

“This new breed of city managers wanted sweepers that were less than three years old and they were also savvy enough to know that hourly rate wasn’t necessarily a good predictor of overall outcome. They realized that good training and equipment could provide a contractor with a competitive advantage. They used Great Western, we were told time and again, because ‘You make us look like we know what we are doing. We have no problems and our streets look great.’ “

These days, though, notes Dodson, many of those types of employees have retired or their job description has been downsized into oblivion. Their replacements tend to know less about the overall aspects of sweeping and have more of a bean counter mentality. As is currently the case in much of the private sector, as well, many levels of city management are trying to keep up with fewer employees than was previously the case.

“Especially during the recent tough times with the budgets,” said Dodson, “cities are looking at trying to lower any hourly rates. Unfortunately, they’re not taking into account that those rates have little to do with the amount of production or overall costs. What has happened is that the quality-based specifications and qualifications have been removed or reduced to fluff and everything has become straight low bid. The values for these services have, in essence, been redefined. This is a slippery slope. However, cities do still want regenerative air sweepers since those are better for controlling storm water runoff pollution.

“One aspect of what is currently occurring concerns me, especially since the municipal sector is tight for money: Contractors are simply not being held accountable for how they dispose of their material. A contractor in our area was recently fined for burning asbestos, as an example. The same organization has also been in trouble for dumping sanitary/vacuum waste without required permits — and more. It’s hard to be polite under the circumstances of bidding against them because they also bid with a ‘bait-and-switch’, low-ball bidding mentality.

“When municipal sweeping contracts are specified, one of the questions that needs to be asked is: ‘Have you ever been fined or served notices for violations with Oregon State DEQ or any other environmental enforcement agency? (Yes or No) If yes, what were the circumstances behind the violations?’

“Unfortunately, whether because of tight budgets or legal concerns or whatever, city managers are making a conscious choice not to do that. Even when the information is public knowledge there are no restrictions. One metro employee told me there was a file several inches thick on wrongdoings by one of my competitors, yet they are not only still in business; they are repeatedly allowed to be part of the bidding process without penalty for any of it. Legitimate contractors will not be able to compete in this kind of environment. We need more accountability so that legitimate contractors don’t have to compete with those who misrepresent themselves over and over again, especially when their transgressions are on the public record.”

Great Western purchased its last Mobil sweeper in 1998. The mid-’90s marked the company’s first move into regenerative air sweeping, with a TYMCO 600, and the management team recognized quickly that the regenerative air sweeper had many advantages. Not least among these was the reduction in wear expense. A Schwarze A7000 was added not long afterward, and in 2000 Dodson purchased his first Schwarze A8000. “At the time, the high dumping A8000 became the best fit for our municipal sweeping work. We bought those models for eight consecutive years. Here’s an illustration of how sweeper expense has accelerated over the past years: In 2000 the price for our first A8000 was $134,600.When I purchased my last A8000, in 2007, it had a price tag of $170,000. That represented an increase of about 20% in seven years.

“Today, the most recent price quotes I’ve been getting for new, full-sized, municipal-type air sweepers range from $220,000 to $258,000. That’s an increase of between 30% to 50% in just the last five years. Currently, we can’t get the hourly rates we need to purchase new, full-sized municipal sweeping equipment at these prices.  

“This pricing increase is made even more unpalatable when you consider there haven’t been many baseline improvements. In my opinion, there were dramatic improvements in sweepers from the 70’s through the early 2000’s.  Performance increased while maintenance requirements dropped.  However, since the early 2000’s we’ve seen street sweeper performance and maintenance improvements flatten out, level off, across the manufacturers. Plus, we have had the implementation difficulties of transitioning through Tier 1, 2,  3, and 4 engines.  Our experience is that fuel consumption has increased, not decreased, over that time frame.  Maintenance costs have also risen, due primarily to the electronics and those little black control boxes. 

“There’s no question that chassis electronics tend to suffer due to the dust, moisture, vibration and heat associated with sweeping. You also can’t diagnose and work on the electronics unless you have a way to read the codes — and the dealers have a stranglehold when it comes to service and pricing. Although that isn’t the fault of the sweeper manufacturers it’s still a significant factor contributing to a higher maintenance expense.

“Most recently, with the Tier 4 truck chassis modifications, full-sized street sweepers have also become too long.  The wheelbase on the sweeper models we have traditionally operated has been at 141 inches or so.  Now, the wheelbase on the new sweepers is at 154 to 158 inches and longer. The increased length makes it just that much more difficult for the operator when sweeping on a radius and in cul-de-sacs. The geometry aspects  between the gutter broom and the wheels and the sweeping head are not as positive as they used to be, either. Plus, the longer turning radius gives more exposure to increased scrubbing of tire sidewalls and increases tread wear.”

For all of those reasons, Dodson believes the trend for municipal sweeping equipment is going to be moving toward smaller truck chassis of less than 26,000 lbs GVW. These sweepers mounted on smaller chassis, he believes, are becoming the best choice for handling municipal and industrial sweeping services. The smaller sweepers combine better turning radius with lower cost. Added to that is not having to require a CDL driver with all of the associated medical card and other requirements. This latter factor in itself lowers operator payroll costs significantly. Finally, Great Western’s company data shows that the smaller sweepers are more efficient in terms of fuel usage.

Since 2009, Dodson has been purchasing the Tymco 435 sweepers mounted on NQR Isuzu Chassis.  Most recently, Great Western purchased a Tymco DST-4 sweeper. “We were impressed with how little dust this machine puts up,” said Dodson. “I’m looking to develop a niche market in our area for the DST-4.  This machine has been very impressive and can sweep virtually dust free while filtering air down to .5 microns. That’s the kind of business ethics and environmentalism I want my business to promote and be known for. The fact is, sweeping contractors are in the environmental cleaning business. Whatever pollutants we sweep up aren’t available to degrade our beautiful Oregon waterways. That’s becoming increasingly important.

“We still use mechanical sweepers for construction and other work that requires them. Although maintenance is higher, mechanical sweepers are more productive in the amount of work they can get done. Plus, they can pick up bulky material bulky material on pavement with heavy loadings of dirt and heavy rock that air sweepers can’t handle as well. However, municipal work in our area requires straight air sweeping, the only exception is for bulking out sanding rock after ice storms. Requirements have all been re-defined and are based on storm water pollutant removal capability. Sweeping speed is also typically mandated to be between four and six miles per hour.”

Since 1995 the company has been screening its sweeping debris. At the time, disposal was about $58/ton, it is now at $93.84/ton for disposal. With the expense of the transport and handling added to that, screening appeared to be a better alternative. After researching the various choices available, the company set up a drum, also called a ‘trommel,’ screening machine. To save money a used trommel screen plant was purchased and they cobbled together all that was needed to make it work efficiently. For example, a slip-chain conveyor system was fabricated in order to deliver the debris into the screen plant.

“Fortunately,” said Dodson, “our company office has three-phase power, which made it easier to operate the power-hungry screening machine. The screening area is located on an impervious slab, with any runoff going into an oil/water separation system. Trash goes into a dumpster and the screened material goes into a covered area.” Although they considered trying to make a product out of it in order to create a profit center, the numbers just didn’t add up by the time all costs were included (land, equipment, labor, time).  We concluded that sweeping material should be disposed of at the correct facilities and the dirt could be allocated for protective use at best. Ultimately, says Dodson, they have been able to dispose of the screened material in two ways. One is to supply it to a nearby gun club, which has used it to make hilly backdrops for the shooting area and barrier berms that help deaden sound to nearby residents.

The company also disposes of some of its screened debris at a local rock quarry, where it is used as fill. Both of these are considered to be a protective use by Oregon’s Department of Ecology. Generally speaking, though, says Dodson, the company has to pay something to get rid of its screened debris.

“With screening there’s additional handling involved, as well as the expense of your real estate, conveyor, screen and loading equipment,” said Dodson. “However, even with all that we come out ahead. Plus, we are able to dump at our location instead of a landfill. We bill out about $25/yard for debris disposal and handling, which is actually pretty cheap. If we were looking at dumping at a landfill we would be at about $105/yard for the material handling and disposal cost. Part of the problem is that sweeping material can be quite heavy with the liquids and the solids. Unfortunately, the restrictions around here are such that we can’t get rid of screened debris even as landfill daily cover. 

In season, our collected leaves go to a nearby company that runs a composting operation. Although some customers are favorably impressed that we are providing a better environmental solution for the disposal of sweepings, the fact is that most do not care — even here in Oregon. Many customers just want the material to come off the street and then go away. Unlike some competitors, we are very careful to confirm that anywhere we dispose of debris is authorized and have the proper permits. We can provide a paper trail as to where the material goes and how much we handle each year.”

When asked to sum up what he has learned and seen over his more than 35 years in the industry, Dodson said this: “It’s always a battle to qualify and quantify the value of your service.  With the current situation with the recessionary economy, that has become a much more difficult task. An experienced, professional contractor may have an hourly rate that’s a little more and, when that’s the case, the difficulty these days is to show that you’re the better value. How do you convince someone that, if the contract calls for a thorough job every two weeks, for example, that your company will do just exactly that? You’re not going to  — as some in our market have done — say you’ll be there, lowball the price, and then not show up for every third service or something like that. We are seeing an erosion of oversight that ensures quality and I think that is hurting all involved.”

To reach Daniel Dodson, you can send an email to daniel-dodson@msn.com. You may also reach him through the offices of Great Western Sweeping, Inc. by calling (503) 625-0596. The company’s website is gwsweep.com.