KENYA · GUIDE 0765 · EDITION 4.2

Scrap metal sorting in Kenya: Operations and Quality Checks

Deliver the agreed result consistently

Define the metal categories and lawful sourcing evidence required by the buyer, excluding unknown containers or hazardous equipment that cannot be safely identified and handled within the operation.

The operating sequence for this offer is:

Verify the metal's lawful ownership and receiving buyer's accepted grades before arranging a small collection, excluding suspect, hazardous or unidentified components.
Sort only within safe handling competence using suitable protective equipment and labelled grades, keeping contamination and restricted items outside the agreed scope.
Record scale readings and buyer deductions at handover and retain provenance documents, declining transactions where ownership or the material's condition remains questionable.

Put acceptance into the job record

The lot is traceable and accurately graded without handling suspect or stolen material.

Present a representative sorted batch to the intended buyer and reconcile grade descriptions with accepted weights, checking whether coatings or mixed attachments change the classification and payment basis.

Inspect at the point where a correction is still possible, then again at handover. Record rejected or incomplete output separately from accepted output. A completed task is not automatically an accepted task, and an invoice does not establish that the customer received the right result.

Measure real capacity

Time preparation, the main operation, transport, cleaning, approvals and correction as applicable. The slowest stage determines how much you can promise. Where two orders need the same person, space or equipment at the same time, resolve the conflict before confirming both deadlines. An additional enquiry should not erase a commitment already made.

Operating checkpoint	Evidence for this business
Before starting	Define the metal categories and lawful sourcing evidence required by the buyer, excluding unknown containers or hazardous equipment that cannot be safely identified and handled within the operation.
During delivery	Sort only within safe handling competence using suitable protective equipment and labelled grades, keeping contamination and restricted items outside the agreed scope.
At acceptance	Present a representative sorted batch to the intended buyer and reconcile grade descriptions with accepted weights, checking whether coatings or mixed attachments change the classification and payment basis.
At the pilot review	Keep source confirmations, grade disputes, accepted weights, separation time and buyer deductions, documenting excluded items so future collection teams recognise what the business has decided not to handle.

Keep a correction and escalation rule

When inputs, access, specifications or customer instructions change, pause the affected work and confirm the effect on time and cost. Do not quietly lower the acceptance standard to avoid a delayed delivery. Keep rework caused by your error distinct from a customer-requested change of scope and agree the remedy clearly.

A mixed scrap load can disappoint when valuable-looking items contain lower-value material, lawful ownership is unclear or hidden contamination makes handling and resale inappropriate for the planned operation.

Retain the minimum records needed to investigate a complaint without disclosing unrelated personal information. Use measured delivery and actual acceptance as the basis for expanding capacity, rather than the maximum theoretical output of a tool or production line.

Operating control points for this exact offer

Sequence	Work method	Release checkpoint
1	Ask the authorized operator to confirm current activity permissions, source ownership evidence and buyer grades. Inspect paperwork before material acceptance; an attractive purchase price cannot cure an unknown source.	Suspicious/public-infrastructure-looking material is held for the proper authority/process, not casually traded.
2	Define labelled grades with actual buyer examples and an unknown/reject area. A magnet can assist a limited ferrous check but does not identify every alloy or establish commercial purity.	No guessed copper/aluminium/stainless grade is priced as certified material.
3	Inspect for sharp edges, stored energy, chemicals and prohibited containers. Competent staff establish suitable handling/PPE; do not cut open vessels or dismantle equipment to improve yield.	Unsafe/unknown items remain outside ordinary sorting.
4	Weigh each accepted grade with tare and source/batch reference. Reconcile total input to grades, rejects and recorded losses; 200 kg is an example to verify, not an automatic payable weight.	Containers and contamination are not sold as metal.
5	Transfer only to the actual authorized receiver and retain transaction/route evidence. Report unresolved grade/source questions and do not imply sorting confers legal ownership or an assay certificate.	Every batch has a traceable source/destination and actual accepted weight.

Do not substitute a tick for an observation: record the count, measurement, approved sample or evidence reference used at each checkpoint. Mark unresolved work as held and identify who can approve the recheck.

Diagnose a failure before repeating it

Observed symptom to investigate	Check the cause	Proposed response
Grade purity is disputed	Compare buyer examples and actual identification evidence.	Hold/regrade through a competent receiver rather than inventing purity.
Material resembles infrastructure assets	Check source documents and approved escalation.	Stop the transaction and use the proper authority/operator process.
Weights do not reconcile	Review tare, rejects and each scale ticket.	Resolve the difference before payment/transfer records close.

These are diagnostic prompts, not proof of the cause in a real incident. Separate suspect output, record any correction and repeat the relevant acceptance check. Link rejected units, rework time, replacement materials, customer credits and collection delays to the actual job result.