BUILDING MAINTENANCE
MAINTENANCE IS NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS
Andy Simpson, Winter Operations Manager for
Ground Control explains the importance of keeping on top of your winter maintenance plan, to ensure a smooth transition and eradicate reactive works.
Winter maintenance not only has a significant impact on companies’ real estates and infrastructure, it also affects staff, customers and the surrounding communities. In the UK we always get a cold snap – in some cases severe – at some stage in the season, so it makes sense to plan ahead. Waiting for the winter to come along is not only too late, due to the impact already being felt, but a reactive posture makes it difficult for winter maintenance teams to react quickly, with mismatched resources and the obvious potential problems of playing catch-up.
“A SITE RECCE CAN BE COMPLETED TO WORK OUT WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AT WHAT TIME.”
Allocation of resources for winter maintenance solutions should also needs be a priority. After all, it is not as straightforward as deploying salt or shifting snow. Instead, companies like Ground Control need to plan ahead to ensure everything is in place for a quick and smooth deployment process that has as minimal an impact as possible to a customer’s business. Tasks include:
• Planning what sites require winter maintenance when, incorporating an estimate of the time each job will take, how much work is involved and what timeframe is best to complete the tasks
• Mapping out of the site(s), including the areas that require work, where
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such things as snow is to be moved to and what the main routes in and out of the site are
• Optimising the route to each location, therefore ensuring the teams know where they are going and what is the most cost- efficient route
• Resource planning per site, incorporating products needed for each job and how much, whether any products such as salt can be deployed in advance, what equipment will need to be transported and how many personnel will be required for the job.
All of this planning enables companies like Ground Control to provide a streamlined, cost-effective winter maintenance service to customers. In addition, Ground Control has a contract with the Met Office, which enables it to forecast where winter maintenance will likely be required across the country. Richard Stedall, Account Manager at the Met Office explains: “We are pleased to be extending our strong working relationship with Ground Control. As a user of our OpenSiteGold service, they receive the highest density winter gritting service available in the UK. With our high resolution road forecasting model, we provide Ground Control with a forecast for every first half of a postcode.”
Using this, in conjunction with our detailed planning process, provides proactive customers with the best possible service. However, if a customer, despite all of this, chooses the reactive-only service, that customer will be in danger of
losing out to those who have thought ahead. After all, winter maintenance providers will service sites that have an agreement in place first, simply due to the ability to be able to think ahead. Salt can be taken to locations close to customers’ sites ahead of time; conversations will have been completed around what will need clearing.
“SALT CAN BE TAKEN TO
LOCATIONS CLOSE TO CUSTOMERS’ SITES AHEAD OF TIME.”
In addition, a site recce can be completed, if required, to work out in advance what needs to happen and at what time the gritting should take place to cause the least disruption. For those with a reactive service, none of this can happen meaning these companies will be at risk of causing disruption to their own staff and customers, with the obvious potential knock on effect on the company’s finances.
In conclusion, my recommendation to any organisation is that they treat winter maintenance like any other business need; plan ahead for it. Cold weather is just around the corner, and if not planned for, the risks could be at best, problematic, and at worst catastrophic, if customers cannot access their premises for example. Don’t be reactive, be proactive to avoid a winter of discontent.
www.ground-control.co.uk twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
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