How the Perception of Employees Can Help to Address Management …
81
One of the employees interviewed in this sanitary landfill, when asked about the
most demanding steps for its management, pointed to leachate treatment as being
the most important and most challenging one. This manager justified his answer by
saying that the leachate treatment, from a technical perspective, is a complex process
and requires constant monitoring, as problems at this stage can generate huge losses
to the landfill (such as fines, for example).
As both interviewed managers from the two landfills pointed to the leachate treatment as one of the main difficulties associated with these units, two operators of
respective leachate treatment plants were also interviewed, in order to know what
stage of the operation they perceived as more challenging. One of the operators works
at the Curitiba’s Sanitary Landfill, already deactivated, and the other at the landfill
currently responsible for the disposal of the MSW of Curitiba and its Metropolitan
Area. It is noteworthy, however, that the perception of these employees is restricted
to the treatment of leachate, and not to the management of the landfills.
The first interviewed operator has been working in the landfill for approximately
nine years. His tasks include measuring the leachate affluent flow, applying the
required chemicals in one of the treatment units, monitoring the level of foam
formed during the leachate degradation and system general maintenance. The operator reported that the main difficulties of his routine at the leachate treatment plant,
in his perception, are electrical shortages. They are responsible for shutting down
the treatment plant motors, interrupting pump activity and stopping aeration for the
biological process. When this happens, the operator informed that it is necessary
to be alert and promptly activate the manual control of power generation, so that
the treatment system does not stop working. He also said that another demanding
responsibility is to monitor the leachate during treatment. He cited as an example
what can happen in rainy days: on these occasions, the leachate sometimes arrives
at the treatment plant with too much sludge, which can lead to clogs and cause the
treatment process to fail. Therefore, his function requires constant care and observance of several parameters to ensure that the leachate treatment system is properly
maintained without interruptions.
The second operator interviewed works at the landfill in which the MSW generated in Curitiba and its Metropolitan Area is currently disposed. The employee’s
duties include monitoring the leachate treatment plant, staff training, performing
chemical analysis to assess leachate treatment efficiency, among others. He reported
that, according to his point of view, the most challenging stage of his routine is the
monitoring of the pumps, especially those used in the leachate physical and chemical
treatment stages. As these pumps are in direct contact with chemicals, they eventually suffer degradation and require fast repair so that the treatment process is not
interrupted. Finally, according to him, his work requires constant care and frequent
inspection, and involves operator experience to know when action is required.
81
One of the employees interviewed in this sanitary landfill, when asked about the
most demanding steps for its management, pointed to leachate treatment as being
the most important and most challenging one. This manager justified his answer by
saying that the leachate treatment, from a technical perspective, is a complex process
and requires constant monitoring, as problems at this stage can generate huge losses
to the landfill (such as fines, for example).
As both interviewed managers from the two landfills pointed to the leachate treatment as one of the main difficulties associated with these units, two operators of
respective leachate treatment plants were also interviewed, in order to know what
stage of the operation they perceived as more challenging. One of the operators works
at the Curitiba’s Sanitary Landfill, already deactivated, and the other at the landfill
currently responsible for the disposal of the MSW of Curitiba and its Metropolitan
Area. It is noteworthy, however, that the perception of these employees is restricted
to the treatment of leachate, and not to the management of the landfills.
The first interviewed operator has been working in the landfill for approximately
nine years. His tasks include measuring the leachate affluent flow, applying the
required chemicals in one of the treatment units, monitoring the level of foam
formed during the leachate degradation and system general maintenance. The operator reported that the main difficulties of his routine at the leachate treatment plant,
in his perception, are electrical shortages. They are responsible for shutting down
the treatment plant motors, interrupting pump activity and stopping aeration for the
biological process. When this happens, the operator informed that it is necessary
to be alert and promptly activate the manual control of power generation, so that
the treatment system does not stop working. He also said that another demanding
responsibility is to monitor the leachate during treatment. He cited as an example
what can happen in rainy days: on these occasions, the leachate sometimes arrives
at the treatment plant with too much sludge, which can lead to clogs and cause the
treatment process to fail. Therefore, his function requires constant care and observance of several parameters to ensure that the leachate treatment system is properly
maintained without interruptions.
The second operator interviewed works at the landfill in which the MSW generated in Curitiba and its Metropolitan Area is currently disposed. The employee’s
duties include monitoring the leachate treatment plant, staff training, performing
chemical analysis to assess leachate treatment efficiency, among others. He reported
that, according to his point of view, the most challenging stage of his routine is the
monitoring of the pumps, especially those used in the leachate physical and chemical
treatment stages. As these pumps are in direct contact with chemicals, they eventually suffer degradation and require fast repair so that the treatment process is not
interrupted. Finally, according to him, his work requires constant care and frequent
inspection, and involves operator experience to know when action is required.