Operations
Staging reels for pickup
Empty the reels, sort by brand and size, count against the program minimum, photograph, and stage them where a 53 ft trailer can back in. A checklist from the program terms.
Updated
Pickups go wrong in the same few ways: the truck arrives and reels still have cable on them, the count is short of the minimum, the trailer can't get near the pile, or half the reels fail inspection at the dock. Each step below comes from what the programs themselves ask for.
1. Empty every reel
Every program wants empty reels. AFL allows "the tie-down end piece" and nothing more, Prysmian charges a fee for leftover cable, and CommScope's vendors price cable disposal separately. Cut off the stubs, recover the copper or aluminium for your scrap stream, and pull loose staples and banding.
2. Sort by brand, then size
Most programs take their own brand only, and the minimums run by size. Make one row per brand and stack similar flange sizes together. Keep unlabelled reels and reels that fail inspection (rot, split flange boards, torn-out drive holes, warped flanges) in a separate group, so they don't slow down the inspection of the rest.
3. Count against the minimum
Count each brand and size against its program's minimum load. Prysmian, for example, needs 80 reels with 45 to 54 in flanges. Yard math turns counts into trailer share, so you can see whether one brand fills a truck or should join a mixed pickup.
4. Photograph and measure
CommScope asks for photos and dimensions with every request, and the others will ask anyway. Take one photo of each stack, one of a typical stencil and one of the worst reel. Measure flange, traverse and drum on one reel of each size.
5. Stage for the truck
- Clear a straight approach for a 53 ft trailer or a 48 ft flatbed. AFL's program says Sonoco sends one of those two.
- Stage on firm, level ground near where the trailer will stop, and chock reels that are standing upright so they can't roll.
- Plan the loading. Sonoco asks for overlapped flanges, using the trailer's whole volume. Nesting gets far more reels on a truck: AFL quotes 38 nested against 28 un-nested for 58 in reels in a 53 ft van.
- Large reels need a forklift with long enough forks, or a loader. Say so in the request if you don't have one.
6. Send one complete request
Give the counts by size, the brand split, the site address, gate hours, loading equipment on site and contact name. A complete request gets a truck sooner than a vague one. For everything that isn't going back to its maker, that request is here.
Questions
Do I need to remove leftover cable?
Yes. Take-back programs require empty reels. AFL allows only the tie-down end piece, and Prysmian may charge to dispose of leftover cable.
Who loads the truck?
Usually you do. AFL's program has your staff load the Sonoco truck to Sonoco's guidelines, and Prysmian's request asks whether loading equipment is needed.