Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) Skills

Collaborating with Pit-Emptiers

An important part of our work is collaborating with pit-emptiers. Since they are the direct implementers of city-wide inclusive sanitation (which includes FSM), we believe in working with them to understand how to better improve service delivery, especially when it comes to their safety. 

Pit emptying is a technical skill. In many countries, pit-emptying is not formalized in the job sector, which makes it hard to regulate the services they provide. In an effort to help formalize the job, FSM Skills was formed to provide training and a space where emptiers could speak to each other about their work. We supported a workshop where different emptying associations in Zambia were brought together for training.

Emptying Challenges

A branch of FSM Skills are the well-known ‘Emptying Challenges’, with the first one held at FSM5 in Cape Town, South Africa 2019.  In the challenge,  emptying professionals from around the world show their daily work in a simulated sanitation service-chain setting whereby every step- from collection to delivery is carried out in the safest most efficient way. 

Teams of emptiers  show these various steps of their emptying process: 

● PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) 

● Emptying of the pit/septic tank 

● Cleaning up 

● Disposal/Reuse 

● Teamwork The teams are judged by a panel of experts and scored against a matrix based on the processes mentioned above. 

There have been 4 in-person challenges to date, see photos from each event below!