By Paul D'Adamo

I am the luckiest guy on the planet. We live in New Hampshire so there is no lack of trees; ergo, fallen leaves in the Fall. Two years ago, my wife asked if she could get her own Leaf Blower. No surprise here, Lynn and I have always taken home maintenance seriously and her willingness to come out with me on a crisp Fall day reminded me why I asked her hand in marriage some 37 years ago. A quick trip to our local home center and Lynn was strapping on a neat backpack size blower and now we are the “Power Leaf Blowing Couple” in the neighborhood.

Safety First
Just like auto recycling, everyone should have a Safety First mentality. Wear safety glasses for when the wind is blowing against you. Commercial blowers are so powerful that they often make other materials airborne which could cause eye damage, including mold, small rocks, or even animal waste (yuck). A safety vest wouldn’t be out of the question, especially if you work the early morning or dusk shift. Last but not least, a good pair of ear protectors can go a long way since the noise levels from the blower can be deafening.

Leaf Blowing as a Science
Our home sits on close to three acres and we are lucky that we have land between us and our neighbors that serves as a buffer and a perfect place to blow the leaves. Like the Auto Recycling Industry, whether you are small or big, organization and efficiency is scalable. Most of you know that I am fastidious with inventory (in this case fallen leaves) and therefore I assess the situation around the property and plan my attack. The leaves on the lawn represent my primary space, the immediate area off the lawn is considered secondary, and the buffer area is the final resting place.

If we recently had a wind or rainstorm and a ton of leaves have fallen, my only objective is getting the leaves off the lawn and into the secondary area. I can always spend time after the fact blowing them into the buffer area. As a recycler, and homeowner, there is nothing I treasure more than time and as I get older, I realize I have less of it, so I have to prioritize which area needs the most attention.

It’s no different than recycling. Is your priority selling higher dollar engines and transmissions or pulling cores? Hmmm. You knew I was getting there sooner or later. Priority #1 is your bread and butter, but if you are pulling drive train parts from a vehicle, why not spend some incremental time assessing and pulling higher dollar cores. Your dismantler becomes a conveyor belt removing parts to put in a “sold to customer” bin, “on the shelf” bin, or a “let me core it now because my system says I don’t need it on the shelf” bin. We have a “sunk” cost on every vehicle and extracting maximum value in the least amount of time is the end goal.

Time is Precious
You can rest assure that I attack the lawn from front to back so that the yard looks clean. Curb appeal is important to me. And I always leave a pile of leaves for the kids, or in my case, grandkids. Fall is an awesome time in New England. With the Holidays upon us, I am grateful for all of my friends in the Auto Recycling Industry. Organization, fastidiousness, and the ability to prioritize are critical skills no matter what the job. Get out there and clean those leaves up so you can spend quality time with friends and family this holiday season. Need some tips on prioritizing your core program? Call or email me at Paul D’Adamo 401-458-9080 or pdadamo@coresupply.com.