No matter how positive a manager feels about the department’s snow management and planning process, success will depend on building on last year’s efforts, according to an article from Facilities Maintenance Decisions on the FacilitiesNet website.

The key to getting a head start is to perform a thorough assessment of requirements and desired outcomes, as well as to understand the way they affect the budget.

Assessing requirements is a major undertaking, but this can be done whether the organization handles snow and ice management in-house, uses contractors, or employs both. The process can even help managers make the decision when to outsource more effectively over time.

The first step is to assess and understand the items to consider related to the outcomes and expectations a manager desires during and after winter weather occurs, which is referred to as level of service (LOS). Managers need a description of the expected outcomes from the completed performance of snow and ice management services, including expectations for surface conditions in different scenarios.

Read the article.