Condo Media - April 2017 - 32

FORWARD THINKING
SNOW REMOVAL
Environmental concerns are intersecting with snow removal strategies,
with positive impacts on both. That's
according to Richard Churchill,
owner of The Groundskeeper, Inc.,
a Massachusetts landscaping and
snow removal company, who notes in
particular efforts to reduce the use
of salt in de-icing treatments. In one
innovation, his company and others
are combining water with a 22 percent
concentration of rock salt to create a
brine that works more quickly than
undiluted salt to melt snow and ice.
Because the brine is more efficient,
the de-icing treatments require less
salt, which makes this approach both
more cost effective and less damaging
to the environment. But brine isn't always the best choice, Churchill notes.
It works best when the temperatures
are at or close to freezing. At lower
temperatures, rock salt is more effective. "Brine isn't a substitute for rock
salt," he emphasizes. "But it is another
arrow in our quiver."
Snow removal contractors are
also using more scientific methods
to determine the amount of salt required to treat snow- and ice-covered

roadways. Instead of flipping the on
switch and spraying salt from trucks
as they drive, contractors can rely on
tables that calculate more precisely
the amount of salt required based on
the temperature, the intensity of the
snowfall, and other variables.
Taking another large step in the
salt-reduction direction, some trucks
are coming equipped with meters that
automatically set the distribution rate
to the desired level. "You just set the
dial to the poundage you want, and the
electronics do the rest," Churchill says.
A lower-tech but equally interesting innovation comes from Canada,
where an imaginative snow removal
contractor discovered that farm tractors with rear-mounted, modified
snow blowers cleared snow more
effectively than trucks pushing plows
in front of them. Instead of pushing
the snow into large piles as a plow
would do, the blower blows the snow
onto open land. This approach works
particularly well on driveways and in
small contained areas-for example,
a condominium clubhouse with 15 to
20 parking spaces. "But you still need
snow plows on roadways," Churchill
emphasizes.

CERTIFICATION
One of the most significant developments in snow removal focuses
on contractors rather than on the
material and equipment they are
using. The International Standards
Organization, which sets standards
for a wide range of manufacturing
and service companies, has developed
standards for snow removal as well,
and has begun certifying contractors
who meet the ISO benchmarks.
The standards cover every detail
of a company's operations, Churchill
says. "They run the whole gamut of
everything you do," including: How
contractors and suppliers are selected; how pre-season and post-season
damage inspections are conducted;
where contractors push snow on
individual properties; and customer
satisfaction with the contractor's
services. In addition to reviewing the
extensive documentation companies
submit as part of the annual certification process, the ISO also sends auditors to review their work.
"They actually go out to customer
sites and compare what we do with
what we said we do; they look at the
maps we submit for each customer
site to see if we're depositing the snow
where we're supposed to be depositing
it. And they ask clients if we're meeting our contractual requirements and
providing the service they expected."
Certification for snow removal
contractors is still new-Churchill
says his firm is one of only 14 in North

Snow removal contractors are also
using more scientific
methods to determine the amount of
salt required to treat
snow- and icecovered roadways.
32

CONDOMEDIA

Condo Media - April 2017

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