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Witnessing Services
"Why do I need a witnessing service?" Whenever I'm doing consulting for a company that wants a scrap and recycling program setup, I inevitably get asked THE question. "Why do we need somebody to watch our/my material being processed/destroyed?" There are so many reasons that I'm afraid I might bore you with all the answers. So I'll hit the highlights. Lets start with one of the biggest reasons, security. Most companies overlook this aspect of scrapping out excess inventories. Security starts at work, while the material is still on your companies property. I can't tell you the number of times I've been called in on investigations after the fact. Once the barn door 's been left open and the animals are gone it's to late to think about security. Forgetting about security is the most costly mistake of all. This is usually how my clients' story goes: "We collected the circuit boards and I.C.'s in containers, and sent it to a company for processing. Now all of a sudden we have our material coming back to us as rejects we have to replace. Our scrap is being sold on the open market as good, when it should have been destroyed! We are now competing with ourselves, with material that was supposed to be destroyed and rejected as bad. This whole ordeal has cost us a lot of money, not only in replacing bad product, but in investigative time." Let's see what could have been done to fix the problem. First you must find out what location the scrap is coming from and how much of it is generated at any given time. The scrap can then be logged in and put into sealed containers for shipment to a processor/refinery. This only solves part of a security problem in that it eliminates scrapped out material from leaving the property unnoticed. The second part of the security problem lies with who your sending the material to and can you trust them. If you have taken the proper precautions by sealing and logging in your scrap and then just send it out to Fly By Night Inc., you blew it. Why? Because you didn't follow the material to the refinery to watch the destruction and processing. How do you know the inventory has been destroyed unless you see it with your own eyes. You may want to hire a professional witnessing person to watch it from cradle to grave. But remember even if you hire someone to watch for you, make sure they know their stuff. Check them out and make sure they have references. The next reason that you should have your scrap material witnessed while it's being processed is no less important than security, it's money. Let's listen in on a conversation with the same people that messed up with their security needs. Only this time it's about the money they got back for there material from the processor/refinery. "We really got worked over this time. Every one of those process and broker guys is a thief. Our scrap material always runs the same amount every time, but this last time it ran half as much in dollar value. That's it, I'm switching my vendor, then maybe I'll get better returns on my scrap dollar!" When I hear this from the company or person that has hired me to consult for them in the fine art of processing their scrap, I'm tempted to throw in the towel. However I do understand the frustration of not quite knowing what to do, when you feel you have been taken advantage of. Here again the answer is pretty straight forward. Watch the material being processed from beginning to end. Make sure you have a reliable sample in your hand before you leave the building. To be sure, unless you know how the processing of precious metals out of electronic scrap is done, you might need to do some homework. This brings me back full circle to that question on which this article is based, "Why do I need a witnessing service.?" I always answer the same way. In the end it will save you money. Witnessing scrap material at a refinery is not something you can learn in a short period of time, or go to school for. There are very few people that actually know what they are looking at while watching the process of sampling electronic scrap for it's precious metal value. When people tell me they got worked over on the value of there scrap material, I ask only one question. Did you watch that material from beginning to end? If you didn't, you have nothing to say about what results you got, NOTHING! This may seem a harsh answer for someone who thinks they just got ripped off, but it is the truth. If you're not sure how much material you sent. You're not sure of exactly what kind, or the mix of that scrap, then you follow that up by not watching it at it's most critical stage, the processing, you deserve exactly what you get. You have nothing to say about it. What a witnessing service provides you with is the security, knowing that your material was destroyed and that you get every dollar back you deserve. You insure your house, your car, your life, your medical expenses, then turn around and give your scrap to anybody who says they want it. Insure your scrap material, have it witnessed by a professional that knows the business and has experience. I've scrapped material for companies with a precious metal value of over $200, 000 thousand dollars. I think if it was my material I'd insure that I got every dollar back I deserve. I'd like to make one last point about hiring a witnessing service. Most people I talk with about having there material scrapped, say they can't afford to hire a service outside of the company. To which I reply, you can't afford not to. By not hiring an outside witnessing firm you've made two mistakes that will cost your company or yourself money.
Most companies think they can do a good job in the area of recycling on there own, but the reality is scrap is not most companies field of expertise. So lets take a quick overview of the highlights.
One of my goals is to educate in the field of recycling scrap
inventories. If you have any additional questions feel free to
call or email me. Like I've always said, I've been in this business for 23
years and I learn something new every day from questions I get
asked.
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