A record 10,511 tons of trash passed through the Davis County burn plant in January, producing enough steam for Hill Air Force Base to up plant revenues by $63,746 for the month.
"We got a 112 percent utilization out of the facility," plant manager Jack Schmidt said. "We've come a long way."Schmidt said production was 13.6 percent higher than any previous January. He said the burn plant is currently operating better than most similar facilities across the nation. He also said the plant is at a point where 90 percent of maintenance time is now being spent on preventive measures vs. 100 percent of time one year ago going to repairs.
The plant burned enough garbage last month to heat 2,704 households for an average winter month with the steam produced.
Last year was also a record for the district.
Schmidt said the plant had its highest production rate ever from October through December of 1993.
"We've got a dedicated group of people," he said.
Robert Arbuckle, board chairman, characterized last year's record as no slight accom-plish-ment.
"This plant has been a showpiece in the country," he said. "Other facilities are looking to learn from us."
The burn plant also instituted an $18,000 computer training program last year, producing almost a dozen certified graduates among its employees.
An on-site hydraulics course was also taken by 17 workers.
And, employees have taken classes from the Davis Applied Technology Center on their own time.
As of Feb.2, the district employees had compiled 117 days without a work-related injury.