Embedded Files
There are many factors that can influence or impact the overall snow and ice budget not only for the Department but also for individual maintenance stations. It is important that the maintenance stations understand the portion of their budget that has been earmarked for winter operations, prior approval from the district engineer should be obtained if this funding is being requested to use on an activity not associated with winter operations. Many of those factors have been discussed above and should be considered when preparing your snow and ice budget, including but not limited to:
Changes in maintenance stations areas: evaluate if this requires a different approach to snow removal than past policies and what the budgetary impact would be.
Staffing Plan: Be aware of the following employee compensation and how it may impact the overall snow and ice budget as well as the total maintenance budget.
Compensation for employees
On-call
Snow pay
Shift differential
Equipment
Material usage
Plow blades
Changes in expectations
Third party agreements.
Assisting other maintenance stations
Historical budget information
Historical weather information (past five to ten years).
Processing of material Invoices
In general, UDOT’s snow and ice budget is split in thirds across equipment, materials, and labor.
There are tools available to assist tracking and evaluating costs for winter operations. Contained within the UDOT HUB, there is a searchable dashboard that allows the user to see what has been spent within the current fiscal year that can be attributed to snow and ice removal.
Current Snow Expenditures Link.
It is recommended that timely meetings be held to evaluate winter operations and the overall status and projections of the region snow and Ice budget. Attendees for these meetings include the station supervisor, area supervisor, maintenance analyst, area engineer, and district engineer.
Impacts to Inventory
Impacts to Inventory
Plow Blades (ordering)
Plow Blades (ordering)
Every late spring/ early summer Central Maintenance partners with our regions and the comptroller's office to get an accurate account of the usage and current inventory of snow plow blades. Central Maintenance works with the regions to determine the quantity of blades that will need to be ordered for the upcoming winter season.
Central Maintenance and the comptroller's office work to minimize excess inventory from one year to the next. The following approach is used to order snow plow blades:
Review the ongoing ten year history of the amount of blades used and ordered (both at a region and maintenance station level).
The highest two year average based on the past ten year history has been deemed sufficient to accommodate the needs for snow plow blades in a given year. This may mean that stations need to adjust their inventory in a given year to meet their needs.
Best Practice
Best Practice
It is a best practice to track the number of miles per snow plow blade change based on the type and configuration of blades being used. This data is important for two reasons:
It determines the actual mileage a plow blade is lasting so UDOT can determine if a high performance blade is really providing additional life and therefore worth the extra investment.
It compares plow blades against one another to determine if there is a significant difference in life expectancy and performance based on a given set of circumstances (pavement type, location, bridges, new employees, vehicle type, etc).
Limit stock piles
Limit stock piles
As winter operations begin to wind down, maintenance stations need to evaluate their use and ordering of deicing materials. Ordering materials based on a storm by storm approach rather than filling the entire salt dome is an effective strategy to limit stockpiles and carrying over material from one year to the next. Additional material that is carried over from one fiscal year to another may result in paying a higher price for material than expected (if contract terms and pricing change).
Understanding the delivery times and methods set forth in the deicing contract provides an opportunity to reduce the amount of products carried throughout the winter season and into spring. For more information regarding the current deicing contract please contact either the region contract specialist, or the winter operations engineer at Central Maintenance.
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