Educational facilities officers aim to maintain, protect, and promote the quality of their facilities. In this regard, effective snow clearing always becomes prominent this time of year as part of effective grounds maintenance, campus planning, and asset management. While sometimes considered routine, prompt and reliable snow removal can also touch on preventive maintenance, utilities management, building systems, infrastructure, custodial and housekeeping, facilities renewal, and financial planning.
To ensure safety and access on their campuses, facilities managers are often tasked with clearing snow from roads, bus stops, emergency access lanes, driveways, parking lots, loading docks, and common areas. When the grounds are extensive, traffic is heavy, and prolonged access restrictions are impractical, many universities choose to utilize in-house personnel for snow removal rather than relying on expensive third-party services.
Due to the high cost of specialized snow-clearing equipment, most facilities managers opt to purchase snow-clearing attachments compatible with existing skid steers or wheel loaders, which are also used for other tasks.
Often, the initial cost for the snowplow or snow pusher is the primary driver. However, the primary challenge with most fixed box snow pusher attachments is the lack of flexibility to back drag or angle. Those that offer these features tend to be bulky, restricting the skid steer’s maneuverability. Since operators may only remove snow seasonally, not to mention the high turnover in these positions, the equipment controls should also be easy to learn and simple to use.
Considering these factors, investing in more adaptable and agile snow removal attachments may involve a slightly higher initial cost but enhance the efficiency and quality of snow clearing with reduced training.
Adaptable and agile attachments offer a better long-term investment through improved efficiency and quality.
One option comes from a Minnesota-based manufacturer of high-quality snowplow equipment. One type of snowplow attachment can be used for machines weighing 6,000 to 30,000 pounds and widths from eight to over 14 feet. These specialized attachments allow operators to switch between angle plowing, wide-angle plowing, pushing, and back dragging on the fly.
A key feature of the snowplow attachment design is the ability to move the side wings 165 degrees on the go, depending on the width of pass you wish to take, the amount of snow you want to carry, or whether you are pushing snow forward or back dragging. This allows operators to efficiently clear wider swaths of snow without manually adjusting the plow’s position, increasing productivity and reducing the need for additional passes.
The snowplow attachment is also unique because it only requires one hydraulic circuit for efficient operation. Just plug in your two hoses and go. No machine setup is required, no wiring is necessary, and no specialized controls are needed, meaning you can move the snowplow attachment from machine-to-machine in minutes. The attachment can be angled left or right, and the desired wing position is obtained right from the standard auxiliary function on the machine’s joystick. This user-friendly design greatly shortens the time required for operator training allowing them to become proficient much faster and clear more acres of snow per hour.
The increased efficiency of snow removal can substantially improve operations. Some users of the snowplow attachment are reporting that the time required to clear a complex site can be reduced by 30 percent or more.
Durability in harsh environments is crucial, as high-quality attachments save time, reduce the need for additional equipment, and increase operational efficiency.
Another innovative plow attachment design can expedite snow removal for facilities managers. The OEM’s snowplow attachments are also available with a unique design involving multiple cutting-edge sections with individual adjustability and adaptability. The floating cutting edges allow for more precise snow removal even on varied surfaces and minimize the need for excessive salt or deicing agents.
The design’s ability to conform to surface contours more effectively clears the area, reducing the necessity for additional passes. The equipment requires almost no maintenance and is designed to withstand the rigors of commercial snow clearing.
By selecting more flexible and nimble snow removal attachments instead of the lowest-priced options, facilities managers can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their annual snow-clearing efforts. When the return on investment is carefully analyzed, it becomes evident that the initial higher investment in advanced attachments pays off, making them an indispensable component of facility snow removal strategies.
Dale Oberg is sales manager of SnowWolf Plows (www.snowwolfplows.com). He can be reached at [email protected]. This is his first article for Facilities Manager.
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