Snow & Ice Management

1. Snow & Ice Management

2. Why Snow & Ice Management…

Snow & ice control is a critical aspect of Canadian living / business

• Large part of the Landscape industry

Opportunity to provide another type of service to our clients

• Winter work

An industry that will continue to grow Secure industry

Have to be good at it to build a big client base

Video of Multi Car Pileup in Montreal Slippery Surfaces

3. Service Activities for Snow & Ice Management

Most common activity is snow plowing Parking lots, streets

Anticipated to grow over the next 5 years

Large retailers outsource more snow removal needs, rather than internalize

De-icing and anti-icing are also a persistant market

4. Segment Differences

Residential

Revenue from driveway plowing and sidewalks.

Frequency 1x/ snow event Commercial

Greater revenue from deicing, snow hauling and sidewalk clearing

• Liability (and frequency) are higher

5. Services

• Sidewalks
• Snow clearing

Sanding & Salting Deicing & Anti Icing Much harder work

This is where the liability is Parking Lot Plowing

Equipment, trucks, overhead is higher and more expensive the bigger a company gets.

Exposure is higher / public vehicles harder to work around

6. Snow and Ice Operations

7. Service Economics - Contracts!

Occupiers Liability Act states: property owners owe a duty of care to keep every visitor on the property, reasonably safe

Across snow & ice service contracts Most are variable

Just 1 in 5 are fixed contracts.

For variable contracts the most common is

Stand-by rate (up to a set # of service visits) VS Per push

• Hourly add ons

By the hour over and above the baseline

Snow and Ice can be included in baseline or be entirely additional

Some companies will do sidewalks fixed and parking lots “per”

8. Liability Relating to Snow & Ice Management

Insurance is one of the biggest challenges facing snow removal companies due to severity and frequency of claims

$5 million in coverage has become the standard for municipal subcontracts.

Membership with the Canadian Nursery and Landscape Association is a great starting place for resources.

Alternately, the American ASCA (Accredited Snow Contractors Associations) provides membership with policies and procedures designed to improve the industry as a whole

SIMA (Snow and Ice Management Association) is another option.

9. Weather Prediction Tools

• Weather Apps
• Weather Network

Environment Canada https://weather.gc.ca/ Alerts

• Storm tracker apps
• News weather reports

Use a variety of different sources to help predict and plan snow and management approach

• The Weather Network

10. Record Keeping for Snow and Ice

• Every activity should be accounted for

From the time an employee clocks in, to the time, location and amount of salt at each job

Unless an owner can prove it, it didn’t happen

Software with time tracking, GPS verification & photo collection abilities will pay for itself and are worth the investment

The customer’s experience is also improved with accurate records and service updates

Increases your chance of repeat business the following season

11. Codes & Regulations for Snow & Ice Control

Improper collection & removal of snow poses risks on the environment

It must be disposed of correctly (legal snow dump)

Direct dumping of waste snow into watercourses is discouraged by Alberta Environment Protection

Includes ice covered water bodies, as this may introduce contaminants

Snow dumping sites should be selected to

• Maximize treatment
• Minimize safety hazards
• Protect the environment

Control the rate and location of snow melt discharges

12. Equipment for snow and Ice Management

13. History of Snow & Ice Management

14. Straight Blade

Adjustable attack angle on this example.

Blades come in all sizes / attach to trucks, track loaders, skid steers etc

• Accessories

Wings - hydraulic control, less side-spillage Back-Drag edge - allows operator to pull snow backwards

SnoFoil - attach to top of blade for snow rolling

• Curb guards
• LED lights as an add-on

15. V-Plows

• Flared wings

Removes a lot of snow & big drifts Double-acting cylinders

Trip-edge (for manhole covers, etc) Fisher XV2 V-Plow

• Trip Edge technology

Cutting edge is segmented and moves with topography to save operator lifting the blade & protects surface.

Reduced premature wear on the equipment Reduces salt use by up to 50%

Reduces plowing time by up to 30% (No need to pass twice over the same area)

• Reduces hardpack

16. Box Blades /

• Metal pless w Wings

Move maximum snow in minimal time For wheel loaders / large machines

Eg. 12’-wide Storm box moves 12 cubic yards of snow

Limiting in some factors

• LARGE SIZE
• Doesn’t go on a truck

17. Snowblowers

• Size options are variable

Can be very useful for clearing snow quickly / throwing larger distances

MUST be mindful of ejection direction!

Doesn’t always provide a clean scrape.

18. Light Snow Options:

Rotary Brooms

Pushes snow forward, sweeping.

Auto-float follows contour of ground Backpack Blowers

Snow has to be very light - can be hard to control!

19. True Snow Removal…

Actual snow “removal” includes hauling the snow off site, moving it to a different location onsite, or melting…

Snow storage sites are a challenge due to environmental concerns and physical space.

20. Snowmelters

Why melt snow

• No dumping fees

Eliminate turf and curb stacking damage Reduce liability of stock pile refreeze

Used in spaces with limited real estate for snow piling.

• Snow Melter News report from Chicago

21. TrucBrush: Trailer Snow Removal

Mobile, quick effective patented device

Improve facility and roadway safety Less damage to trailers and vehicles

Avoid additional weight (violations and fuel) Productivity and employee safety

• Improve facility & roadside safety

22. Ice Management Strategies…

23. Two Approaches: Reactive

De-icing salts, lay down layer post ice buildup Not very efficient (cost is much higher)

Throw down a large amount of salt Laying down salt AFTER snow clearing

These products are particularly damaging to concrete

De-icers lower the freezing point of water

Water gets trapped in concrete & causes a repeated thawing & refreezing

In poor quality concrete this expansion can cause chipping and other damage

Remove the melted ice and snow as quickly as possible

24. De-icing

Deicing is required when the snow has fallen and the ice has formed a bond with the pavement surface.

For thinner layers deicing liquids can be used on their own

Or in combination with solid ice melt

Both are effective ways to release the bond of ice with the surface

Before applying a de-icing solution, plowing must be done first

Areas with a higher volume of traffic will require less material

Foot & vehicle traffic help mix the material with the snow & ice

• Rock Salt vs Liquid Brine

25. De-icing Products

Chloride salt benefits

Popular/inexpensive Disadvantages

• Corrosive

Damage to soil & vegetation Potassium Chloride Works great as a blending agent

Less harmful than sodium chloride Effective to -6 C

• Sodium Chloride
• Most commonly available
• Inexpensive
• Effective to -15 C

26. Magnesium Chloride

Good blend with other de-icers More volume to be effective

• Less corrosive

Effective to -32 C Calcium Chloride More expensive

• Melts ice very quickly
• More corrosive

Effective to -32 C Both pull moisture from the air and onto the roads.

27. Non-chloride De-icers

Benefits

Non-corrosive Less toxic Disadvantages

• More Expensive

Main uses

• Airports
• Parking Structures
• Bridges

Potassium acetate for sensitive structures to reduce chloride damage

• Reduce maintenance cost for bridges

28. Calcium magnesium acetate & Urea:

Effective to -7 C The nicer de-icer Sodium formate:

Effective to -17 C Potassium acetate

Effective to -9 C Consider GRIT options instead

• Sand
• Zeolite

29. Ice Mitigation Tools

Hopper style broadcast spreaders

Delivers efficient salt and sand spreading operation

• Poly Hopper

30. Two Approaches: Proactive

Application of brine prior to snowfall Economically more effective

Use significantly less salt Notes

Doesn’t STOP accumulation usually There is a window of time to optimize clearing

31. Liquid Brine Mixture

• Liquid brine is about 23.3% salt

Sodium Chloride freezes at -10℃, there are other options, with lower freezing points (MgCl & CaCl)

Beet “molasses” added to brine mix as an anti-freeze (sugar)

• Balance has to be right

Too much or too little won’t be beneficial

32. Brine Mixers

Brine is 3 x more time to mix, but more efficient & cleaner

• Brine Mixer

User friendly option for mixing Removes guesswork

• Touch Screen controls
• Automatic batch
• Cleaning modes

Automatic salinity control Correct amount of salt & water

Mixing chamber which creates a more uniform brine mix

• Henderson Brine Extreme
• How it works

33. Procedures used to Manage Ice

Principals of Snow Plowing & SIMA Snow & Ice Training Video

Use road and and weather information to make chemical ice management decisions

Pavement temperature and ambient temperature reading will gear you towards your ice/snow preventative/fighting tactic

Choose your approach Anti-icing, de-icing, or mechanical removal alone

Combination of strategies are almost always used together

Lasers on vehicles to measure ambient & ground temperature.

34. Prioritize the most critical areas to clear first

Safe walking and driving is key Strategize where snow will melt and create ice buildup

• Move snow away from those areas

Regular ice management to ensure water is draining where it is supposed to go

Shovel snow 1 ft or more back from sidewalk edge to ensure snow doesn't melt on to concrete and create slippery surfaces

• Procedures used to Manage Ice

Referenced Links

• https://weather.gc.ca/