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Jessica Schwartz
2022 U.S. Winter Outlook: How Busy Will You Be?
Wondering how busy the snow and ice management part of your business might be this winter? A wet winter is predicted for many northern parts of the U.S., while drought is expected to persist in Great Plains, and parts of the West. From December 2022 through February 2023, wetter-than-average conditions are predicted for areas of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. The prediction comes from NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook by the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, La Niña returns for the third consecutive winter this year, which will drive warmer-than-average temperatures for the Southwest and along the Gulf Coast and eastern seaboard. NOAA predicts drier-than-average conditions across the South. “The hardworking forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center produce timely and accurate seasonal outlooks and short-term forecasts year-round,” said Michael Farrar, Ph.D., director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. “NOAA’s new supercomputers are enabling us to develop even better, more detailed forecast capabilities, which we’ll be rolling out in the coming years.” NOAA forecasters, in collaboration with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), continue to monitor extreme, ongoing drought conditions that have persisted in the Western U.S. since late 2020, as well as parts of the central U.S. where historic low-water conditions are currently present. “Drought conditions are now present across approximately 59% of the country, but parts of the Western U.S and southern Great Plains will continue to be the hardest hit this winter,” said Jon Gottschalck, chief, ...
What’s The Average Snow & Ice Revenue?
Find the answers to this question and more in SIMA’s just-released Industry Impact Report. The Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) recently released an Industry Impact Report with important statistics for private-sector professional snow and ice operators. Here are some of the key findings for the U.S. market. The U.S. private snow and ice management industry is estimated at $20.8 billion in revenues, spending $6.4 billion on labor and $5 billion on equipment. It comprises 88,200 businesses and 180,000 workers. The market is exceptionally fragmented. The top four largest operators control just 5% of the market revenue. The vast majority, four out of every five businesses, are sole proprietors. The Providers The typical snow and ice services provider… Has been in operation for at least 10 years. Generates revenue from snow and ice of $152,000. Runs a multi-line business including landscaping, earning $435,000. Snow and ice accounts for about 1/3 of its earnings. Serves 66 accounts, spanning 100 properties. Commercial clients comprise 60% of its business, residential 40%. Works 13-16 plowing events and 20-25 de-icing events per season. Has a one in six likelihood of facing a slip-and-fall claim each season. The average medical claim for a S&I-related incident is $33,000. Retains 93% of customers year over year. Most providers offer several different services. Just 15% of operators are entirely or mostly dedicated to snow and ice management. On balance, the average operator earns 37% of their total revenue from snow and ice business. Over half of all snow and ...
Plow Insurance That Kicks In Only When You Need It?
SnowSOS, a patent-pending insurtech platform for plowers in the U.S., launched open registration at snowsos.com last month. SnowSOS gives plowers and plow businesses a way to lower their general liability insurance cost to $99/month per vehicle with no annual commitment. This is achieved by giving plowers control over when their insurance turns on and off for each job via smartphone. Pinnacle Risk Management owner Mike Evans Caradimitropoulo created the concept after personal experience with an under-insured plower. “We had a slip and fall incident and property damage because a plow job was done incorrectly,” says Evans Caradimitropoulo, who also serves as SnowSOS CEO. “It was clear the plower’s policy lacked necessary coverage and the marketplace lacked an affordable solution for him so I created one.” Insurance premiums can affect client retention or simply be prohibitive for independent contractors. Residential plowers often jump through hoops to prevent clients from leaving for lower-cost competitor rates made possible solely by low or no insurance coverage. The same can be said for larger commercial operations whose premium can impact pricing, account retention, and ultimately their team. SnowSOS is designed to help level the playing field by improving margins and lowering a barrier to coverage. It also adds value to subs whose individual coverage can reduce risk exposure or future premium increases for the employing business. Plowers control coverage via the SnowSOS app by uploading a picture before and after the job. Behind the scenes is a platform business administrators can use to view fleet ...
Winter Improves Wear Bar On Its Patriot® Steel Snowplow
Winter Equipment has improved the wear bar on its Patriot® Steel Snowplow Cutting Edge System. The new wear bar is a one-piece, high-quality, cast steel design with increased hardness that is filled with Winter® Carbide Matrix™, providing greater wear life. The improved Patriot system is built to last four times longer than the industry’s standard steel snowplow blade. Longer blade life means that users experience less downtime changing out blades and reduced material costs. Patriot system’s new wear bars are 2″ longer than the previous wear bar. The blade’s serrated design self-sharpens and cuts through packed snow, which decreases salt usage and chemical treatment. For easy and safe installation, the system features three Patriot sectional blades to replace dangerous, full-length cutting edges. “Our engineers looked at how we could make our already durable Patriot system even better,” said Kent Winter, founder and CEO of Winter Equipment. “We anticipate that our customers will continue to see as much as four times longer wear, when compared to the industry’s standard steel cutting edges.” Winter Equipment’s Patriot system cutting edges are designed to clear packed snow and ice from rough roads, asphalt and concrete streets at lower speeds. The system comes with a satisfaction guarantee, ensuring that if the product’s wear system does not perform or last as long as promised, the company will work with its customers until they are satisfied. Shipped free, the Patriot system comes ready to mount with all parts, hardware, and installation directions. The system can be ordered ...
10 Quick Plowing Tips To Protect Your Transmission
According to BOSS Snowplow, transmission damage is one of the most common problems that can occur while plowing. BOSS recommends the following steps to help protect your truck transmission: • Do not plow in overdrive unless your vehicle’s Owner’s Manual recommends it. • Plan your plow pattern so that you drive forward as much as possible. • Come to a complete stop before shifting from forward to reverse. • Wait until the transmission engages before accelerating. • Accelerate slowly, allowing the tires to grip the road surface for better traction. Avoid spinning the tires. • Start driving forward before lowering the plow for a pass. • Whenever possible, back into a cleared area. • If you have a manual transmission, avoid riding the clutch while plowing. • Change the transmission fluid before and during the plowing season. If the fluid has a burnt smell, change the fluid as soon as possible. • You can install an inline transmission heat gauge to monitor the temperature in your transmission. If it reaches 121°C (250°F), let the vehicle idle until the fluid cools. Want to talk with fellow lawn care and landscape professionals about Truck & Equipment Repair? Join the discussion in the forum at www.expired-link.com.
Winter Weather: Selling More Than Plowing
We all know that a heavy snowfall can do more than just make roads and sidewalks impassable. For property owners, the weight of the snow, the ice, and the water can cause real damage to roofs, basements, and existing landscape trees and plants. In fact, each cubic foot of drifted, piled or compacted snow contains two to three gallons of water, writes Ken Hellevang, professor at North Dakota State University in “Preventing Snow Melt Water Problems.” That means a 1,000 square foot roof with one foot of snow on top contains about 2,500 gallons of water. A 10-foot high pile of snow, 20-feet in diameter, contains about 2,600 gallons, says Hellevang. This amount of water accumulated in a short period of time (such as during a storm) can begin causing problems immediately and be a real headache for your clients. As a result, this is where your company has an opportunity to upsell a plowing contract. Here are a few recommendations for additional cold weather tasks you can perform for customers to help them and their property survive the winter: In Early Winter Check sump pump discharge hoses. Does your client have a sump pump? Ensure that the discharge line on the property carries the water several feet away to a well-drained spot. Ideally, the line should run down sloped ground to increase drainage and prevent freezing. Check and clean gutters. Clogged gutters mean water isn’t being diverted properly away from the client’s house, a key problem after a storm. ...
How Does NYC Handle Snow? A Q&A With Chief Grayson
Ever wonder how a city as large and dense as New York City (which also happens to be a island) handles snow? Chief Edward Grayson, director of the bureau of cleaning and collection at the New York City Sanitation Department recently spoke about how the city readies itself for winter weather on Prep Talk, an NYC emergency management podcast, hosted by Omar Bourne and Allison Pennisi. Here’s a brief sampling of the interview edited for clarity: What are some of the plans and procedures for snow? We literally plan for snow all year, it’s never a downtime for us. From the end of season last April and ongoing through the final week of October. Residents have seen our driving around recently in fair weather. That’s part of our training protocols. We’ve been servicing the fleet, we’ve been training staff, we’ve been procuring supplies and tools, managing inventory, working with agency partners to ensure that we’re ready for what mother nature may or may not throw at us this season. As the standard operating procedures for a storm, we have a tiered response protocol that starts with a seasonal change in the staffing dynamic that we affectionately call Night Plow. In Night Plow, we reorganize our staff into more fixed night shift posts. We have a three-watch system similar to other agencies where we put more dedicated staff on the 4:00 PM to midnight and the midnight to 8:00 AM shifts to be sure that if the forecast pivots on a ...
