WSA Member Update 4.1.24

April 1, 2024 Dear WSA Members,  In case you didn’t already see the Industry Bulletin sent out by our organization on the new drone street sweepers, here’s the link. Since our last WSA Member Update we have worked with a Texas-based member company that got audited by Auditec Solutions on its last four years of Walmart work. The company owners of the very professional woman-and-veteran-owned company pushed back hard enough to get the attention of the Walmart sweeping management team.  They agreed to having us provide, for the benefit of other WSA members, the no-nonsense letter they wrote about the situation. One of the principals has now also had an extensive conversation with a senior member of Walmart’s sweeping management team. I asked in writing to be part of that phone call, as well, and was denied. FYI, I have still not received a callback from Auditec Solutions, either. If Walmart doesn’t soon choose to provide sufficient remedy, the above contractor plans to send the letter to a number of Walmart officers and the entire Board of Directors. If you have further information to provide on this topic please let me know. Something to think about for the coming future of power sweeping… Last Friday the administration announced a regulation designed to “turbocharge sales of electric or other zero-emission heavy vehicles, from school buses to cement mixers, as part of its multifront attack on global warming.” Although not yet happening, it does mean that tailpipe emission requirements from diesel- and gas-powered trucks will become more strict in the coming years. Here’s a link to the federal effort if you want to know more. The most recent issue of PAVEMENT Magazine also included an article called “Electric Power will Displace Diesel Machines.” Although many contractors feel they are able to do the most efficient route planning without assistance, others report advantages in using a route planning program. In the event you want to investigate using a route planning solution, we have added a PDF file that has tips on how to do so. If you currently have a route planning system you think is great, please let me know so I can tell other members. As always, if you have questions or comments about this WSA Member Update, or anything else to do with the World Sweeping Association or power sweeping in general, please let me know. Good Sweeping, Ranger Kidwell-Ross, Executive Director World Sweeping Association