Okay, winter is officially over. So how did you and your agency perform? Were your customers pleased with what they were provided in winter maintenance service. Did you provide the highest quality service that your budget allowed? Have you debriefed with all the entities involved in your winter maintenance program – operators, suppliers, elected officials, risk management associates, and key driving publics including corporate representatives who depend on just-in-time-delivery? All are key players to help you determine where your agency needs to go from here. Even though you may not want to think about it at this point in time, now is the best time to critique your actions and reactions, and determine where the weak links in your winter maintenance efforts were to take the next step….creating a training program for all involved to exceed your customers expectations during the winter of 2000-2001.
The Salt Institute has been producing information on snowfighting and Sensible Salting training materials for more than a quarter century. Through the Salt Institute website, you can get the basics, the full training program’s written materials, or a new set of materials developed for snowfighting trainers. These online training materials can be downloaded, customized for your specific policies and reproduced as part of your own training program.
Training Programs
Before you get started, you should review your objectives in providing training and do an honest self-assessment of exactly where you are in the training process. Obviously, like most agencies, your workforce is pretty diversified: old and young, experienced and inexperienced, with varying commitment to getting the job done right the first time and in the most efficient and effective manner. So any training program you use will have to meet the needs of a varied audience: simple yet with specific content, targeted at improving your agency’s specific weaknesses. Here are the elements of such a program, focused mainly on operators:
Suggested Program Outline
For Fall Training Sessions
I. The Importance of Coordination
II. Equipment - Its Operation and Maintenance
III. Application Procedures
IV. Review of Winter Maintenance Policy
V. On-the-Job Safety
VI. Discussion, Questions and Answers
You may find it useful to create a checklist of tasks you need to accomplish to get ready for next winter. Here's a good checksheet. We’d suggest having your superintendents or foreman complete a checklist showing their progress in pre-winter preparation.
Train for TeamworkMaintenance people typically feel a keen obligation to the traveling public. Proper training for maintenance personnel is vital. It provides the know-how to get the job done and encouragement to perform in a way that brings praise rather than discredit to your organization. Through training and experience, they develop a kind of esprit de corps. Even though training meetings can be held throughout the year, many maintenance organizations schedule and conduct training courses in the early fall months to assure that:
The underlying theme of all training sessions should be the Sensible Salting concept, which includes:
Why have a training meeting? A session on snow and ice removal well ahead of winter gives a chance to discuss your plans with the people expected to carry them out. This meeting is a course on snowfighting tactics for experienced employees and an introduction to winter maintenance techniques for new personnel. This meeting gives management a chance to formally review the previous winter's operation with operators and supervising personnel. Use it to determine what may have gone wrong last winter, then make corrections for the coming season. Promote a free exchange of ideas at the meeting. Encourage all personnel to speak up. New ideas and better tactics can come out of this session.
Resources for Training
There are several sources for possible outside participation in your training efforts. The first that comes to mind is your Local Technical Assistance Program (a.k.a. LTAP or T2 or T-square program) located within each state, usually university based. LTAP Centers offer training, some at their location, but often provided in regional meetings around the state. They also have a library of materials for you to pull from to meet your specific needs. You can find your local LTAP online. The Salt Institute partners with the National LTAP Association to produce snowfighter training materials.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and American Association of State Transportation Officials (AASHTO) also have substantial resources for your consideration, particularly on anti-icing and Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS).
Peer information exchange is a vital element in keeping your program in top shape. APWA sponsors the granddaddy of snow conference, the annual North American Snow Conference, as well as a Western Snow Conference. FHWA organizes an Eastern Winter Road Maintenance Symposium and Equipment Expo. The Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Conference hold regular meetings. Some state organizations have their own regional or statewide Winter Expo. Make sure you know the dates and budget for as many as possible of your key operators to attend. See our calendar for dates of training sessions and expos we're aware of. You can also join a listserv of these research types. If you have the budget, any of these can be a good resource for finding out what other people are doing to improve their winter maintenance levels of service.
Attitude
Ninety percent of any effort is attitude – yours and that of your workforce. Perhaps you’re so proud you don’t think your program could be better – or so discouraged you don’t know which deficiency to tackle first. Do you feel good about what a good job you think the public feels you’re doing? Or do you think the public is ignorant and uncaring about the enormity of the challenges you face? How do you know? Did you ask your "customers"? Some agencies have been doing public opinion surveys and giving themselves a "report card" for meeting their customers’ expectations. On this and other particulars of snowfighting, there’s nothing better than finding out what other agencies have done to overcome the challenges you’re facing. As the leader, your attitude towards change and improvement, your insistence on excellence or your acceptance of "adequate" service is the key. Your attitude will determine the success of your program.
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