What is septic service?

Check out this beginner's guide to the industry.

So, you want to work in the septic industry? Good choice! A septic system is one of the integral parts of a property and manages wastewater of all kinds. These systems are developed by multiple people including engineers, building architects, inspectors, and installers. Their designs vary by factors including region, building size, and local regulations. In coordination with licensed septic system professionals and builders, a system gets developed and installed to fit the buyer’s needs. In addition to the installation, regular maintenance promotes a long life and compliance with industry regulations. A system that follows a good maintenance regimen will not have sewage backups, broken sump pumps, leaking pipes, or any other of a plethora of possible issues, including horrible odors due to a system breakdown.

Because the need to install, service, and maintain septic systems will always exist, you will never go out of work in the septic industry. This article provides a rundown of some of the basic elements of the trade.

Installation

Installation begins with a site evaluation by a licensed site evaluator to check out the property. Evaluators accomplish this by performing measurements and tests on the soil, building, and any other relevant area, submitting the results to a licensed engineer. After determining the type of septic system for the lot, the licensed engineer will design the system and submit the designs for approval to the local governing body. Once approved, your company will acquire the materials for the build and install the system. After completing installation, a series of inspections will green light the system for use.

Care and Maintenance

After installation, maintaining the septic system ultimately becomes the responsibility of the property owner. Provide these tips to them for the best results:

• Schedule regular service with a septic service provider to inspect the system and pump it. Keep a good service history on file to track measurements and adjust service frequency based on the trends detected.
• If the bottom of the scum layer is within six inches of the bottom of the outlet, or if the top of the sludge layer is within 12 inches of the outlet, your tank needs to be pumped. 
• To keep track of when to pump out your tank, write down the sludge and scum levels found by the septic professional. 
• Using water efficiently will also help to maintain the system. This allows the drain field to properly absorb and filter the wastewater from the septic system. 

Service

You customers should also receive regular preventative maintenance. Regular service will keep the system in good standing and keep your customer’s property value up. This helps to prevent expensive repairs or the total replacement of the system. The average service frequency is 3 to 5 years, depending on some of the factors used to design and build the system. How many people live on the property? How big is the property? How large is the tank? Your company will want to track this information to provide accurate and efficient service.

Call in any repairs needed.

No one wants things to break down. Those who have some part of their septic system break (due to negligence on maintenance or improper self-maintenance) will need to call in a repair. Your company will need to visit the site, inspect the issues, perform an evaluation, and determine the scope for the repair process. Repairs vary greatly in price depending on the problem. Caring for and maintaining the system should be high on your customer’s priority list to keep repair costs low and avoid the unexpected issues that interrupt day-to-day operations.

Successful septic industry businesses use septic service software to manage their workflow.

Successful companies make sure their customers get notified every step of the way when estimating, scheduling, and billing for their installation or service. To do this, they use septic service software to manage the many aspects of the process, from the initial call to the final bill. Today, your typical dispatcher has the ability to easily juggle multiple customer projects and their visits on a digital calendar. It beats managing a handwritten calendar and stacks of paperwork, hands down.

How can the septic industry benefit from field service software?

With field service software, your septic service company can benefit from the streamlined scheduling ability and servicing agreements for recurring maintenance. You can get a real handle on workload, customer management, and keep customer retention high when you have all this information in front of you. Keeping your customers organized in a database and tracking their lifecycle will keep everyone involved on the same page.

Below are some examples of what you can use septic service software to accomplish:

• Create customer profiles and store their specific information in a database.
• Granular job/project management/maintenance agreements for each customer.
• A digital calendar to visualize workload and adjust dates, times, and assigned technicians.
• Route management features to automate scheduling.
• Service/preventative maintenance agreement tracking and running reports for renewals.
• Track correspondence between customers and the business.
• Set up recurring schedules for preventative maintenance.

With the septic software Smart Service, you can manage an important aspect of your business: dispatching and scheduling. You can also handle any of the tasks listed above, and more!