Public (Over) Worked: Plowing Snow Plans

admin ASKED

ANSWER

Brian Silcott
September 04, 2014

Jamie, in Goddard, KS the snow response is an all hands job. When conditions are conducive we pretreat our roadways with salt brine in preparation for winter weather. The City of Goddard train’s all public works & utility personnel in snow response operations. Even my management team and I have a CDL’s and operate snowplows as back-up to rest crews. Public Works personnel tend to work 10-12 hour shifts with at least 8 hours of rest during a snow emergency to avoid fatigue. We rotate crews so that we have plows on the roadway during the entire event. We utilize the traditional snow plows but we also put plows on our 1-tons which are highly effective in combating drifting roadways & intersections. We are a small organization serving a resident population of 5,000 but a daytime work population of 14,000. We have special snow response website http://goddardks.gov/Departments/PublicWorks/Snow/ . During a snow event we provide a brief response update and link to our snow page. We average 3-4 significant events per year (>6") but can areas of significant drifting with snowfall of <6". In my experience (all in Kansas) residents look to snow response as a primary reason they pay taxes. They expect a well-organized response. I look at it as an opportunity to provide a high profile quality customer care experience. We utilize the Everbridge notification system http://goddardks.gov/pulse/ when we are plowing to remind citizens not to park on the streets. We have even ticketed & towed vehicles for parking on the snow route. Because of our use of the citizen notification system we received more compliments than complaints. https://www.dropbox.com/s/oht7m9pzfwypjmw/Recorded%2BAudio%2B13914686438... The system utilizes utility billing information and white page data to contact residents and businesses. The system enables us to log each contact and to verify how and when they received notification (text, email, voice). It is quite handy, especially when citizens call regarding a ticket or vehicle tow to complain. We have been able to politely indicate that we sent the message and it was left on a voicemail. I hope my response has been helpful.Goddard's Snow Response Page: http://goddardks.gov/Departments/PublicWorks/Snow/ Goddard's Citizen Notification Sign-up Page:http://goddardks.gov/pulse/Sample Snow Emergency Notification (sent voice, text, & email): https://www.dropbox.com/s/oht7m9pzfwypjmw/Recorded%2BAudio%2B13914686438...

admin
September 04, 2014

All of our plow truck drivers are union and governed under the CDL guidelines, as such, we have broken our plow routes in two shifts, A & B or Red and Green. When we have a sustained snow event, our drivers work 12 hour shifts and alternate until the snow event is concluded and the roads are pushed back to the curb. I have heard that some communities further alleviate the stress on their drivers by alternating which team is listed as the primary and which is secondary in 2 week cycles. For instance, December 1st-15th, the Red team is the primary and the Green team is secondary, then December 16th-31st, the teams alternate. Sometimes it works out the one team get more hours, but by alternating the shifts it helps to reduce the stress on any one team and it spreads out the overtime a little more equitably. In Elgin, IL, our crews average 20-30 plowable (not a real word) events per year, although the ’13-’14 season our crews went out more than 50 times, and even with the two shifts our drivers are exhausted by the end of the snow season. I agree that the APWA might be an additional resource for suggestions. Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck…

Public (Over) Worked: Plowing Snow Plans

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