Snow Removal Season

Well its that time of year, actually its beyond that time of year and we are now in the thick of things up here in Michigan, winter time!  Time to get out your skis, snow boards, fishing shanty's, ect and have some fun right?  Well, if your part of a maintenance team, probably not until you do some shoveling first.

As maintenance technicians it falls on our shoulders to keep those sidewalks and parking lots clear.  Residents, office personal, cleaners, contractors, ect rely on us to make their trek across our property safe.  This could mean coming in as early as 4am!  Think of it as if its a little battle, you against mother nature!

All jokes aside, snow removal is one of the most important jobs we have.  If done right you will get praised by the tenants as they see you out there in the blistering cold clearing off the snow so they can get to work.  If its done wrong it can mean someone getting hurt and a very costly lawsuit against your property. 

Every season I would start out with a little speech to my crew, stressing the importance of keeping sidewalks clear.  Even so, after a week or so of coming in early and going home late things became a little lax, people start getting burned out, and I would have to go over it all again.  There are a few things I found that help keep people out there diligently shoveling away:

1. Work as an organized team.  When I first started doing maintenance I worked at a very large property, over 800 units.  16 miles of sidewalks graced that property and there were usually about 5 of us that would show up every morning to clear away the nights precipitation.  The grounds supervisor was in charge of snow removal and he was good at it.  He would split us all into teams and give us assigned areas, splitting up snow blowers between teams.  He even had assigned routes that the snow blowers would go so the people shoveling could work their way easily around the property.  We could finish the entire property, including shoveling out between cars parked in handicap spots, in a little over 2 hours.

  Once I moved on from that property I became supervisor at another, smaller community.  There were four of us to take care of just over 250 units, about 10 miles of sidewalks.  The fist snow fall was a disaster, nobody had a clue what to do, I had assumed a plan was in place from years before but I was wrong.  We split up into two groups, two with snow blowers and two with shovels.  The snow blowers both went off with no plan in place, the same with the shovels.  It took us a total of 4 hours to finish our sidewalks.  People were backtracking over already clear sidewalks and there were even a couple areas that were missed.  That's when I knew I needed a better organized plan.  I took out a map of the property and drew routes for the snow blowers to go, same with the shovelers.  The next time it took just under 3 hours.  After 3 or 4 snowfalls we had it down to an hour and a half.

2.  Throw out the 2" rule.  I have been to many properties where they have a 2" rule:  We come in to clear sidewalks when we get 2" or more of snow.  So what happens when it doesn't snow but the wind picks up and creates four foot drifts across some of the sidewalks?  How about a warm afternoon followed by a freezing night?  If you set the 2" precedent and then call people in when there hasn't been any snowfall there are going to be some unhappy campers.  If you don't come in to take care of the situations then your liable to have somebody get hurt on your property.  My crew knew I could call at any time to have them come in.  It didn't make them much happier having to come in early or stay late but at least they knew right from the beginning that it could happen.

3. When in doubt salt.  I know there are going to be property managers who do not like this rule.  Salt is expensive and a big part of budgets are based around purchasing a certain amount but salting sidewalks during normal work hours can mean not having a whole crew on overtime shoveling snow and breaking ice.  That, combined with the fact that it could prevent a major lawsuit against the property, always made my decision on whether or not to salt and easy one.  If the weather called for under 1" of snow fall, if there was high winds in the forecast, or if we had a midday heat up we would always salt sidewalks about an hour before we left for the day.  This way the salt would have the chance to work overnight and, many times, saved us from coming in early the next day.

4. Take breaks.  No matter how organized you are or how much salt you put down there are going to be days where you have to shovel throughout the day in order to keep up with the snowfall.  On these days I would always schedule more breaks than normal.  About every 2 hours we would take a break, on really heavy snowfalls that could become every hour if necessary.  Make sure there is a warm spot for the crew to take a break with hot coffee, hot chocolate, ect available.  I would even provide a warm lunch on some of those days.

5. Maintain your equipment.  Different size properties are going to require different equipment.  You may have a front loading tractor, a plow truck, multiple snow blowers, salt spreaders, or just plain shovels.  No matter what your equipment consists of be sure to keep accurate inventory of it and keep it maintained.  Before the season begins be sure to start the mechanical equipment up, look over shovels for wear and tear, be sure your crew has the right gear to stand negative degree temperatures, and above all make sure you don't run low on salt.  Keeping the crew supplied with the proper equipment will make removing the snow a less stressful operation.

6. Don't afraid to ask for help.  After weeks and weeks of heavy snowfall the crew is going to start to get burned out, no matter how hard you try to prevent it.  On these occasions don't be afraid to ask for help, maybe somebody from the office will be willing to pitch in or somebody from another property.  Don't make this standard practice however, the responsibility still rests on you and your crew.

7. Clear those handicap spots.  Clearing away from parking spots can be difficult.  Plow trucks can't get in there, snow blowers might throw debris at the cars, and shoveling packed snow can be arduous work.  Even with all those challenges I made sure we shoveled out handicap parking spaces, even if a car was parked in them.  Handicap spaces, being wider than a normal parking spot, allow for a snow blower to get through in most cases.  The spots should be treated like another sidewalk, salt when you salt, shovel them out whenever you clear sidewalks.  We would clear out regular parking spaces also, if time allowed or if a car was seriously blocked in.

8. Keep residents happy.  Remember, residents usually don't want to be out in the blistering cold any more than you do but they have responsibilities to uphold (work, school, ect).  The rent residents pay covers the clean up of the sidewalks and parking lots and they rightfully expect them clear.  Help them by clearing out unusually large snow piles behind cars, shoveling next to their cars, ect.  They will be ecstatic and it may even be a deciding factor on whether they move out or not.

9. Walk the property before the first snowfall.  Most properties have a company that is contracted out to remove snow.  Be sure to walk the property with them pointing out sidewalks, parking areas, trash bins, ect.  When there is 10" of snow on the ground a sidewalk can be hard to see.  Most companies will stake out a property for free, see if yours offers this service.  I also walked the property with my crew, making sure everybody was on the same page with our plan and making sure I didn't miss anything.  Be sure to point out fire hydrants, gas valves, ect that need to be kept clear in case of emergencies, you can't always rely on your snow removal company to keep these clear, they may have to be shoveled out by hand once in a while.  Also, work with your contractor, let them know if your not happy with the service they are providing.  Most will correct the situation before the next snow fall.

10. Stay Positive.  People feed off each others emotions.  You will get tired, worn out, and generally crabby during the long winter months.  Try to keep those emotions away from the rest of your team.  Stay happy and positive as much as possible.

These ten simple tips will help you bear through the winter, keep your property looking professional and safe, and keep residents happy.  Just remember summer is just around the corner!  If you have any other tips I would love to hear them, just post below!