Brandon Twp. – Brian Harrison is a local excavator who’s digging his customers requests.
With more than 25 years of excavation experience, Harrison Hoe, Inc. 1358 Ortonville Road, Ortonville owner Brian has expanded services with the recent purchase of a septic pump truck to add to the laundry list of earthy services.
‘I’m very flattered that we can make people happy,? Harrison said.
In the past when submitting installment bids to developers Harrison said they were surprised that a pumping service bid was not included in the septic contracts.
‘We’ve been encouraged by our customers to do this,? Harrison said.
‘It just makes sense, most want an installer that pumps.?
Until now pumping was not a consideration for Harrison Hoe because Brian felt that was a specialty in itself.
Harrison found that many customers? tanks were lacking regular maintenance with a pumping schedule so he set out to learn the specialty.
‘We found that after we installed the systems our customers were not maintaining them properly’so to take care of the tanks we need to pump.?
Already familiar with the disastrous results of system failures, Harrison knows that tanks have enough space for an average of three years? safe accumulation of sludge, according to tank capacity and household use.
‘The damage caused to a septic field if the tank is not pumped is irreparable,? Harrison said. The earth is a porous surface so sewage, if not contained and removed from tank in a scheduled maintenance process moves into the field.?
‘The cost of replacing lawn, gardens and landscaping can be as much as a new septic field,? Harrison said.
‘If you don’t maintain that tank you are going to see me anyway.?
With years of septic engineering under his dozer, Harrison had a jump on the learning curve of how to maintain and pump the vats.
Currently Brian is the only pumper working from the truck and has spent most of the past two months learning the details of how to properly empty and dispose of the waste water sludge.
‘I do the work myself because I needed to learn the business firsthand,? he said, adding he bought the truck to be able to give quality service to his Brandon, Goodrich, and Holly customers.
Harrison said that unless he gets out there to experience details such as keeping the rig and pump site immaculate, not backing across the customer’s lawn and properly digging up tank access, he can’t possibly offer quality pumping service to his customers.
‘You can’t unless you get out there yourself,? he said adding that something as simple as a spill can completely ruin a customer’s landscaping.
Knowing household septic demands is an essential tool, Harrison says installing customer systems has given him the opportunity to learn individual usage and needs.
And while physical education is paramount, it is not the end to Harrison’s determination to help his customers conserve the life of their property.
A handout is also given to customers to ecologically educate households on how tank maintenance extends the life of a septic field.
‘Whenever a system fails the most common repair is to pick another spot in your yard, using up more of your property,? he said.
Included in the packet is an estimated pumping schedule graph.
‘Maintenance prolongs the life of the field and we really work to pay close attention to that,? he said.
For a pumping maintenance schedule, tank engineering, field repair, or field engineering contact Harrison Hoe Excavating, Inc. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday at (248) 627-5600.