Plow Blade Supports Save Space
Plow Blade Supports Save Space
Item #: 20250014
Embedded Files
CONTACTS
Implementing Organization: Region Four
Implementation Lead: Justin Woodard
Development Team: Thompson Maintenance Station (4454)
Justin Woodard
Josh Jarvis
Adam Gardner (former employee)
Article Written By: Justin Woodard
Innovation Team Coordinator: Quinten Klingonsmoith
STATUS
Implementation Date: January 1, 2020
Adoption Status: Fully Implemented
Adoptability Note: Would implementing these supports make sense for your station?
APPLIES TO
Topic: Tools
Organization(s): Central Maintenance / Facilities Management, Equipment Operations, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4
Job Role(s): Mechanics / Equipment, Roadway Operations / IMT, Transportation Technician
Tags: capital productivity, labor productivity, employee empowerment, job satisfaction, occupational safety, expenses, expenditures, inventions, equipment, facilities, maintenance, plow, garage, support, blade
PROBLEM
PROBLEM
Some older maintenance stations have shallow garage bays. When parked inside with the blades down, plows take up the entire space between the wall and garage door, blocking access to the rest of the shed.
To get to other trucks and areas of the shed, crew members had to exit the building and re-enter using the overhead doors or climb over or under the plows. Frequent use of the overhead doors allows the heat to escape, forcing heaters to run constantly.
CHANGE
CHANGE
To create enough space to walk around the trucks with the garage doors down, the Thompson Maintenance Station built plow blade supports to hold the blade in a raised position, saving several feet of space in front of the blades.
Supports are made from scrap metal and feet were added to protect the floor.
RESULT
RESULT
With the extra space, crew members can now access all areas of the shed while the plows are parked inside with the garage doors down.
Besides being much more convenient, the station saves on winter utility bills.
IMPACT
IMPACT
BETTER MOBILITY
BETTER MOBILITY
N/A
GOOD HEALTH
GOOD HEALTH
Crew members are not tempted to climb over the plow to get to the other side of the truck
CONNECTED COMMUNITIES
CONNECTED COMMUNITIES
N/A
STRONG ECONOMY
STRONG ECONOMY
Crew members can leave the garage doors down, saving heating costs
Easy access to all areas of the garage saves time
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