Winter is upon us and that means your snow and ice management equipment will be getting a workout.

Equipment Trader, an online classified advertising service bringing equipment buyers and sellers together, offers professional snow and ice management contractors 11 useful tips for maintaining your equipment this winter and to ensure it's ready to go the distance when you need it to perform.

 

Inspect Equipment Daily
Because extreme temperatures can significantly impact your equipment, start to increase the number of visual inspections you perform as the weather cools down, conducting daily inspections during the freezing winter months. Inspect the electrical wiring, hydraulic hoses, batteries, tire pressure, and the undercarriage, looking for signs of wear, damage, or clogged debris.

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Change the Oil
It is advisable to conduct a complete oil change before and after the winter season. As the weather changes, you want to use oil that is appropriate for the outside temperatures, including engine, transmission, hydraulics, and final drive lubricants. Low-viscosity oil flows more easily in the cold and puts less strain on your engine, making synthetic oil a preferable choice in the winter months (though it is more expensive).

Check the Oil
Even if you switch to synthetic oil during the colder months, always check to make sure the oil is fluid enough for proper flow before starting your machine in extreme cold. You may also consider having your local service shop perform a fluid analysis, which can help determine how oil, coolant, and fuel is used in your vehicle and can help you set an optimized maintenance schedule, during winter and all year-round.

Keep Batteries Charged
Batteries can lose up to half their strength in very low temperatures, meaning your equipment’s battery is working overtime in the cold. Regularly check the battery’s electrolyte levels and, if they are low, be sure to not overfill with water. Doing so can dilute the electrolyte and increases the risk of freezing. If you are storing the machine in extreme cold, the battery should either be insulated or removed and stored indoors at room temperatures.

Check & Replace Hydraulic Hoses
In colder temperatures, hydraulic hoses can become inelastic and may even crack. To avoid cold-related damage, warm up the hydraulic system for up to an hour before operating the attachments, then half-throttle the engine and engage attachments for a few moments before full operation. Even with those precautions, it’s a good idea to have spare hoses, seals, mounts, and fittings available during freezing weather.

Warm the Engine
Before using your heavy equipment in colder temperatures, run the engine until it reaches operating temperature, which helps ensure the intake and exhaust valves will not stick. Starting fluid can facilitate starting, but use caution as it can ignite too early and damage your engine. Block heaters can also accelerate engine warming. Once the machine has run for a while, cycle through the equipment’s functions, which distributes warmed oil to each of the machine’s moving parts.

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Check Tires & Traction
Cold weather causes tires to lose air more quickly, decreasing fuel efficiency and making the engine work harder, so check your equipment’s tire pressure at the beginning of every shift. Using dry nitrogen to inflate tires in freezing temperatures can prevent the formation of ice crystals that contribute to deflation.

Use Caution Driving and Parking
In poor conditions following winter precipitation, maintain traction and control of your machinery by removing as much snow and ice as possible from the jobsite and then taking operations slowly. When parking, clear off any snow or ice from the tires and park on planks to avoid the tires freezing to the ground.

Keep the Tank Full (with the Right Fuel)
If ignored, fuel tanks and lines can freeze overnight in extreme cold, so drain the water from the separator and refill the tank with fuel at the end of each day. Fuel treatments may also be added to thaw frozen filters, liquify fuel that has thickened in the cold, and remove moisture from the lines and tank. You could also consider winter blend diesel, which lowers the temperature at which the fuel gels, but follow the OEM’s fuel recommendations, as the wrong blend can damage the engine.

Follow Safety Best Practices
Make sure your windshield and windows are kept clean and clear during the colder months, as frost and condensation can create dangerous blindspots. Ice can form on steps, grip plates, and grabs, so be careful to not slip when entering and exiting equipment, while also avoiding touching frozen metal with your bare skin as it can cause serious injury. Upgrading your equipment’s lights to LEDs can additionally improve visibility and endurance in winter conditions.

Smart Storage
Before storing your equipment, clean the undercarriage of the machine, which may have collected not only snow, but also salt or other de-icing chemicals that get placed on roads. Ideally, equipment will be stored in a heated facility to protect it from the elements and allow for faster and easier start-up. Short of being indoors, machinery should at least be covered to hide it from precipitation. If your equipment is stored long-term over the winter, detach any attachments so the hinges and joints avoid unnecessary wear from the constant pull of weight and gravity.

It pays to listen to customers.

Positive customer feedback from the recent improvement to its Patriot Cutting Edge System has lead Winter Equipment to improve the wear bar on its Razor XL Carbide Snowplow Cutting Edge System.

The Razor XL system features a trio of interlocking cutting edges that have pre-welded wear bars and

abrasion-resistant covers. The new wear bars are one-piece, high-quality cast design that are 2-inches longer than the previous wear bar and filled with Winter carbide matrix for increased blade life and superior cutting power.

For snow professionals, longer blade life means reduced blade changes, reduced material costs, reduced labor costs and reduced workman comp claims from the hazards of heavy, one-piece blades.

“The new wear bar on our Razor XL system can provide up to three times the wear life compared to standard carbide and cover systems,” says Winter Equipment founder and CEO Kent Winter. “Longer blade life means users experience less downtime changing out blades and more time plowing to keep streets and parking lots safe.”

Designed to clear packed snow and ice to reveal a safe road surface with minimal salt and chemical treatment, Winter Equipment’s aggressive Razor XL cutting edges are intended for highway, city street, and rural road applications.

In addition to extending its wear life, the blade’s larger footprint decreases pounds per square inch, which increases overall blade life as well as decreasing salt usage and chemical treatment.

The Razor XL system features a HammerHead carbide radius tip that offers 30 percent more carbide and allows for premium performance on multiple attack angles.

An integrated, heat-treated, steel cover protects from impact and is welded on for easy installation. On both sides of the cutting edge, the system includes a heavy-duty steel adaptor plate and two Winter PlowGuard MAXX  guards manufactured from high-quality material and reinforced with proprietary carbide matrix to defend against uneven and premature wear.

The system also 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.

As we begin to turn the corner on 2020, I much rather remain mindful and present then dwell on this last year. So, in a different take on Thanksgiving, let’s take a minute and look ahead to what we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and on into 2021.

We are thankful…

For the opportunity of another prosperous snow season. The start of every season provides with new hope, opportunity, and challenges. The ability to overcome those challenges is often the key that leads to success.

That our teams are well trained and ready to go for the season. If any positive has come out of the pandemic, then it’s a reinforcement of the importance of training proper procedures and an emphasis on

maintaining safe working conditions from shop to site and back again. Once this unfortunate event is behind us, let’s be mindful to remain vigilant when it comes to safe work conditions. Likewise, we are thankful for our fleets of equipment and especially those employees who tune them up, grease their components, change their oil and make sure they’re ready to go.

For our customers who we work so closely with to best service their properties. These relationships provide us the opportunity to thrive and be successful.   

For sleepless nights, as they provide us with serviceable opportunities. Only in the snow industry do we relish sleepless nights. They give us and our teams the opportunity to exercise our craft and prove ourselves against the elements.

For numerous 2-3-inch events this coming season. We all know the perfect storms are the ones that allow us to drop the plows, provide deicing services and move on. Fifteen to 20 of these events would provide for a perfect winter.

That we established well thought out plans for the season and have backup plans in place for the unknown. The most important part of being a snow and ice management company is the work done before the season even starts. A well thought out plan allows the season to progress smoothly.

For our dedicated teams! Without them we have nothing!

For being an essential service. We know we are going to work when the weather comes.

For the opportunities presented to us every day! These days, with so many unknowns for so many people, knowing we are going to work is a blessing.

For our families at home. They are who we do this for! A lot of us have been able to spend more time than ever before with our families. This is a true blessing and something we all should be thankful for!
Did I miss any? I’m sure I did. That’s why I’d love to know what you believe should be on this list, as well. If you have one, email me at kgilbride@ascaonline.com.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   

It’s an instant gratification world where people/employees/leaders want things to change immediately. They want progress to be a flip of a switch. They want the easy button. Every leader, team and organization wants to snap their fingers and magically arrive at their desired outcomes.

However, developing people and culture doesn’t happen like that. There is no quick fix or hack to developing leaders and the team culture you desire. It's a process. It takes commitment, discipline and focus. The most

compelling team and organizational cultures invest time, energy and resources into shaping the culture they want, not just the culture they've experienced in the past. They know that one of their greatest competitive advantages in today’s day is not just WHAT they do as a company, but the culture of HOW they do it. People want to be a part of a compelling culture and contribute their skills to something greater than themselves.

Every team and company wants to be known for having an amazing culture, but only some understand how they are created and are disciplined enough to lead a culture-shaping process. If you’ve studied change theory in your spare time (you know, the process for how any person or group stimulates change) then you understand the reality that we grow as individuals and groups one step at a time.

All change follows the same pattern. The best leaders and teams on the planet know that growing the ecosystem they desire within their organization takes proactive leadership and support. The best team cultures don’t just magically happen, they are intentionally designed and led along the process. And it’s not a top-down dictator style of leadership that is compelling to people, but a participatory style that invites cross-functional representation throughout the organization to share in the dreaming and creation of the culture they desire.

The process to create your culture requires 6 A’s and participatory leadership:

Assess
Many cultures don’t even know where they are on the map. Where are you succeeding and where are you falling short? You've got to be honest about your current state as a culture. Momentum begins to build when you can establish urgency and identify opportunities to improve.

Align
People are the lifeblood of every team and organization and in today’s world your people want to participate.

They want their mind and heart to be engaged and connected to the “Why,” the Mission at the heart of your efforts. It takes time and space to establish alignment with your people and constant efforts to stay in alignment along the way.

Aspire
What do you want to be different in the future? You have to be able to dream together and paint the vision for the future culture you desire. Give your people the opportunity to see beyond your current reality and into possibilities for a newly created future.

Articulate
If you can’t describe where you’re going and the values you want to guide you as a culture then you can’t be surprised when it doesn’t exist. Your people need common language and the ability to see and share the story of where you’re heading, together. “Language drives behavior” so the best cultures have compelling language linked to actions and behaviors for the future they are creating.

Act
All change requires action. However, action without vision and alignment is a nightmare. Once the aspirational vision for the culture is established, the best leaders and teams empower a bias toward action and identify the next steps they will take to stimulate progress. All change happens when actions grow out of an intentional vision and spirit.

Anchor
Culture-shaping is not a drive-thru experience. It’s not a one-time company meeting or a singular poster on the wall. Every culture must create habits that anchor the values within their organizational ecosystem. The organization intentionally anchors them with their structures for how they hire, onboard employees, identify emerging leaders, do performance evaluations, raise the bar on leadership at all levels, and develop and empower culture ambassadors.

So, does your team culture get all A’s?

Good grades don’t just magically happen. Great schools, great companies, great teams, great communities, and great collections of humans anywhere and of any kind in the world, don’t just magically happen. They are grown, developed, cultivated and led with intentionality.

It’s way easier to ignore studying, practicing, engaging with your people, and just put your head down and “do your job.” And because that is easier, that’s why many team cultures do not become compelling places to work.

The process for developing high-performing and engaged cultures never stops and the best leaders, teams and organizations are committed to the continuous journey of development, vision, communication, engagement, authenticity, and action.

Good luck on your next test. I hope you get all A’s.

Jason V. Barger is the globally-celebrated author of Thermostat Cultures, ReMember and Step Back from the Baggage Claim as well as the host of The Thermostat podcast. As Founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, he is a coveted keynote speaker, leadership coach and organizational consultant who is committed to engaging the minds and hearts of people and growing compelling cultures. Learn more at JasonVBarger.com