To:  Public Works Agency Trainers

Training is essential for proficiency in winter operations.  These training materials build on the Salt Institute's long-standing Sensible Salting Program, but they are entirely new products.  They were developed by a partnership between LTAP winter operations training specialists and the Salt Institute.  You have probably heard of the LTAP program if you are a U.S. agency.  With funding by the Federal Highway Administration, 57 transportation technology transfer centers ("Local Technical Assistance Programs") provide training to local transportation agency personnel.   [Note: These training materials are useful for Canadian snowfighting training too, but the Salt Institute has cooperated with the Transportation Association of Canada to produce special training materials and a train-the-trainer guide for use in training Canadian snowfighters -- of course, the TAC materials are useful for U.S. training too].

Designed for LTAP trainers, these programs are equally useful for agency trainers directly.  There will be new programs added to those now available, so please check back as you begin your training preparations.  The  newest program (Operations) was added in August 2004.

These materials are protected by copyright, but the Salt Institute provides them for your free use.  They can be modified and customized as well.  Please read the Terms and Conditions of Use.

These programs are designed specifically for use by experienced trainers; they are not self-training materials.  They are flexible and easily customized for your audience.  In addition, the Salt Institute will maintain its earlier snowfighters' training materials on its website until this new set of programs is more fully developed.

At present, the available materials consist of four separate training programs, for use with different audiences.  Each program is capable of standing alone or presented in conjunction with the other as a full half-day training session to inform and prepare local government officials, snowfighting management, supervisors and equipment operators for winter operations.

The first program, "Winter Operations: Survival Lessons for Public Officials," is directed to your bosses (or your boss' bosses), local government elected officials and managers (or the top non-public works professionals, like city managers). You can use this program to introduce them to the value of an effective, efficient and safe snowfighting program and to the problems, concerns, and potential devastation of winter storms.  It features ten lessons for winter survival to enhance a local snowfighting program. "Survival" means not only the lives saved through effective snowfighting, but their career security.  The presentation has a training outline to assist your delivery and a handout document which you can provide to your students.

The second program, "Winter Planning and Organization," is directed to your agency technical personnel, from the Public Works Director and Engineer, to the Road/Street Superintendent and public works technicians. You can use this program to review the importance of winter operations and the importance of planning and organizing for winter operations.  It emphasizes the need for a Comprehensive Winter Plan, providing key elements to be included in such a plan.  Public works managers will understand how to develop and implement a "Comprehensive Winter Operations Plan" and gain an overview of all aspects of a winter operations program.  This program contains all the elements of an operators' training program and can be modified for that purpose.  This program, too, has a training outline and a handout -- in this case, the handout is on worker safety practices and is designed for operator training.

The third program, "Materials" is directed to supervisors and operators.   It reviews how various materials used in winter maintenance work and how they should be applied.  It includes a discussion of proper storage, use of liquids for pre-wetting, and introduces the concept of anti-icing and the use of liquids.  This program has a training outline and a handout.

The fourth program, "Equipment" is also for supervisors and operators and reviews the rather extensive variety of snowfighting equipment available to winter maintenance professionals.  This program has a training outline.

A few notes and recommendations regarding delivery of the training sessions:

1. The sessions were developed in Microsoft Power Point 97. This gives you the flexibility for delivery and also makes for easy revisions and changes that you may need or desire.   Each program also has a training outline, developed in Microsoft Word 97, also easy to revise.
2. The beginning and end slides should be revised to include your community/agency program information.
3. We have provided you with a complete program with instructor’s notes. However, we recommend that you customize your programs with your local data and agency policies. Local photos can be added or used to replace the existing photos as you feel appropriate. They can illustrate the equipment and locations appropriate to the points you are making. There are actual recommendations in the instructor’s notes at certain locations that we feel are appropriate for local additions or replacements, or at least citing your State or Local regulations and standards.
4. The critical survival lessons in the public officials session and the key plan elements in the public works officials session are not numbered. This was intentional to provide flexibility to add, delete, or replace as may be desired or needed for local conditions.
5. The instructor’s notes are a guide for an "experienced instructor", experienced in winter operations and able to relate personal experiences to enhance the effectiveness of the presentation.
6. Remember, the sessions were developed to be introductory sessions, but also to create an interest in further, more detailed training particularly in those areas that participants need further information.
7. The handout materials were developed in Microsoft Word 97.  They are also provided in .pdf format to preserve the graphics.

There is no cost to you to use these materials -- but we do have a request:   Because we intend to improve these materials with actual experience in their use, and because we intend to develop additional materials in this series, it would be most helpful to us -- and to you! -- if you would take a couple minutes and complete the evaluation form to tell us your experience with these programs.  Thank you.