Canada, Midwest and Northeast snow professionals reporting limited availability

Pro Scapes' Rick Kier found out the hard way how NOT to tackle a wicked storm. The lessons he learned transformed his company. Download the article here.

Are you ready? Nov 1, 2006 By: Dale Keep

The steps taken now can have a large influence on your operation's success and profit margin.

Snow and ice management companies are constantly on the go, and there are a variety of tried-and-true, as well as emerging technologies that can streamline your operations by saving time, money and employee hours, while also protecting your company from liability. From GPS to digital cameras to wireless Internet and e-mail, more snow and ice professionals are relying on technology to make sure their businesses are run safely and efficiently.

When dealing with ice and snow there is always the question of which strategy—chemicals, plowing or a combination—will give the best results.

A solid preventive maintenance program can help vocational fleet managers keep vehicle repair costs and downtime to a minimum. But an inefficient, poorly designed program can cost time and money. Robert Johnson, fleet management liaison for the Farmington Hills, MI-based National Truck Equipment Association, says vocational fleet managers should review several areas to evaluate whether their preventive maintenance programs are optimized.

In contracting, when measuring operating capacity and availability for jobs, you calculate the available man hours during a period of time compared with what work has been sold. Winter work is no different. But rather than measuring available hours for weeks, months or seasons, we measure the available hours immediately available during a storm event. Our winter seasons are composed of multiple winter weather events of varying intensity. Unfortunately, we can't schedule when or how often we work; we can only manage a certain amount of work immediately after a storm hits.

The use of salt brine is emerging as a widespread technique for anti-icing and, in some areas, pre-wetting of dry salt or sand. Several factors will determine whether it is a cost-effective resource for your snow and ice management business: