We’re more than engineers; we’re in business too. SCS Engineers works with clients to develop long-term strategic business plans that address solid waste infrastructure needs.
Those two words – “strategic planning” – imply the ongoing process whereby an organization determines where it is going… plus how it will get there, and what tools and resources it will use.
SCS Management Services® helps our clients evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of major alternative approaches. We develop baseline projected solid waste generation rates to determine the appropriate size of a landfill that will meet anticipated demand. We also help assess whether operational changes can reduce costs, the projected tipping fees and assessments for these alternatives and whether these are competitive compared to surrounding areas and communities of similar size.
SCS employs several innovative financial modeling and solid waste facility software packages to help decision-makers visualize the impact of various alternatives on the planning process. We create a model to calculate preliminary, planning-level costs that can be used to evaluate future solid waste policies and strategies for the client. The model is typically built as an ongoing tool that can be used to evaluate and fine-tune strategies as more detailed information and data become available.
Sensitivity analyses are then developed to discern differences within these various management subsets. The costs of various programs and disposal options are estimated using existing data, prices and escalation factors typical of the solid waste industry, and planning-level cost estimates for landfill expansions, transfer station facilities, and MSW transportation costs. We then summarize the results of these analyses to provide conclusions and recommendations to be considered.
Get started by viewing Strategic Planning for Financial Security, an educational video providing insight into the relationship between strategic planning and financial security. Less than 30-minutes and available for association events with Q&A.
The video discusses strategies that are useful when developing a business case analysis for SMM, recycling, or composting programs. The process also helps you identify opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce operating costs; design a Capital Plan and secure support for rate increases.
Moderated by Bob Gardner, Michelle Leonard starts with an overview of the effect of the pandemic on recycling programs, state regulatory policy, and funding challenges. Vita Quinn presents a financial modeling scenario employing financial modeling and solid waste facility software packages to help decision-makers visualize the impact of various alternatives on the planning process. The model is helpful when planning scenarios for budgeting and testing alternative outcomes regarding future solid waste policies, strategies, and funding.
The model is especially useful for cost-benefit analysis of alternatives, fine-tuning strategies as more detailed information and data become available, or when revenue streams or funding levels change following natural disasters, pandemics, market swings, or economic downturns.
For more, view SCS’s video Budget and Operational Strategies for Municipalities below.
