DumpsterBossPro Blog — Dumpster Rental Software

Recording Dumpster Size, Unit Number and Debris Type on Every Job

Ask a roll-off driver what goes wrong most and you will hear some version of the same story. He showed up with a 20 and the customer expected a 30. He pulled a can full of shingles that was booked as household junk. A customer swore the cracked can was cracked when it arrived. Every one of those is a missing detail on the job.

In Why Every Roll-Off Job Needs a Site Address and a Haul-To Address, we covered the two addresses every job needs. This guide covers the three details that describe the can itself: size, unit number and debris type.

Size in Yards

Size is the first thing the customer asks about and the first thing that goes wrong. DumpsterBossPro records the dumpster size on every job, with 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 yard options. The driver sees it in the app before he loads the truck, and the office sees it on the dispatch board when planning the day.

Size matters for more than the right can. It drives your rental terms and often your included weight. A 10-yard of concrete and a 40-yard of cardboard are completely different jobs. When size is on the job, the quote, the dispatch board, the driver app and the invoice all agree on what went out.

The Unit Number

Every can in your fleet should have a number painted or stenciled on it where a driver can read it from the cab. Record that unit number on the job when it goes out. It takes a few seconds and it answers questions that otherwise turn into arguments.

When a customer says the can arrived damaged, you can pull up the job, the unit number and the placement photo from delivery. When a can comes back with a hole in the floor, you know which job it was on last. It is not a replacement for walking your yard, and DumpsterBossPro is not an inventory system that tracks where every can is. It is a simple record of which unit went on which job, and that is usually all you need to settle the question.

Debris Type

Debris type is where weight, disposal and pricing meet. Household junk, construction and demolition debris, roofing, yard debris, concrete and dirt each load differently, weigh differently and may be accepted at different facilities. Record what the customer said they are putting in the can on the job.

That one field helps three people. The office can set the right haul-to address and quote the right included weight. The driver knows what he should see when he pulls the can, so he can spot a problem before the scale. And if a load turns out heavier than expected, the debris type on the job shows what was agreed to at the start.

When the Load Does Not Match

Customers fill cans with things they did not mention. A clean-out turns into a clean-out plus a few buckets of old tile. A roofing job has a mattress on top. When a driver sees something that does not match the debris type, he should take a photo before he tarps and pulls, and add a note on the job.

What you do about it depends on your policies and your local disposal rules, which vary. The point is that the photo and the note are on the job, attached to that customer and that unit, not in a driver's camera roll. If there is an extra charge, the office has what it needs to explain it calmly.

Making It a Habit

These three fields only help if they are always filled in. Make size and debris type part of intake, not something added later. Make the unit number part of loading the truck: the driver confirms or enters it before he leaves the yard. Make photos part of every drop and every pull.

Within a few weeks, nobody will remember how they ran without them. The first time a dispute is settled by opening a job instead of arguing on the phone, everyone sees the point.

How the Details Flow Through

Size, unit number and debris type are entered once and then used everywhere. They show on the Waiting List so the office can group work, on the dispatch board so trucks go out loaded right, in the driver app so drivers know what they are hauling, and on the invoice so the customer sees exactly what they rented.

The next guide looks at where every job starts: the Waiting List on a live map. To see how job details tie into the rest of the system, visit the DumpsterBossPro dumpster rental software page.