Snow & Ice Management

ICYMI: Ah, the arrival of Spring and end of snow season! Think again! In Turf’s August 2022 issue, Phil Sexton, director for WIT Advisers, outlined why selling and optimizing snow services is a year-round affair. Spring means crucial post-season review and the start of a fresh, new 52-week timeline. Success for any Winter management business ideally requires a 52-week focus and commitment to planning and implementing standards of practice. Essentially, this means the end of any current snow season should be viewed as the beginning of a new one. The snow and ice management industry can—and should—organize like the retail industry which plans for the upcoming Christmas holiday shopping season the day after Christmas. Given today’s economic environment and supply chain challenges, it’s now important to plan even earlier than the original standard to ensure you have enough supplies and equipment on hand. Practicing standardized planning enables standardized success. The Calendar There are various criteria to consider as a framework for your sales and operational calendar. The timeline from the Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA), seen above, will help guide you through the planning process. When you view snow work as a four-season business, each season has its own unique set of tasks to be accomplished. Further, each season has a corresponding series of questions—and others you can add. Answering them can help you determine seasonal timing, philosophies, and constraints. Philosophy. Thinking about your plan requires that you first buy in philosophically to being “forward thinking.” Thinking two seasons ...