Snow Plow Options
The damage that can result from heavy snow on a building and surrounding areas can be significant, with the damage from Winter snows in the United States currently estimated at 38 billion dollars. To clear the snow from a facility, correct equipment must be selected for efficient snow removal. If the wrong choices are made, equipment failures are essentially assured, which can be dangerous. After all, snow rarely will close certain facilities, and a lack of cleared paths and parking could be a hazard. There are many types of equipment for snow removal as well as many different techniques, but given current technology, the best options to clear a large facility are three heavy duty snow plows that each perform different functions.
- Straight Plows: These steel snow pushers are designed with the goal with the rules is to never angle the blade of this snow plow toward a structure, starting close to any buildings and working slowly away from them. The come in a variety of sizes based on vehicle and need. Of this list, this is the option with the least versatility.
- V Plows: This angled snow pusher is a versatile option. The V can be employed for initial breakthrough and it works well in deep drifts of snow and also removes hard pack snow. The traditional v design clears sidewalks well, and can also be used as a shovel for final clean up.
- Pushers or Box Plows: These heavy duty snow plows can move massive amounts of snow quickly with the bonus that they do not require repeat plows because of snow falling down. during the first pass. When attached to the right vehicle, they can stack giant blocks of snow. The is the biggest containment plow and definitely a powerful machine.
- Outsourcing: This is the option many companies and managers choose as opposed to purchasing heavy duty snow plows. It gives less control over the crew and when tasks are performed, but allows for the use of heavy snow plows that may be outside of the budget. There is less certainty that staff are trained properly, but an outsource company will have backup equipment, an option outside most facilities initial spending ability.
With these heavy duty snow plow options and a different route to snow maintenance entirely, the correct equipment should be attainable for most who need such heavy duty plowing options during the heavy winter snows. Winter weather snow storms were second only to thunderstorms in the list of storm damages for 2014, so consideration of these options should be made on the basis of research and calm consideration.