Snow removal innovation is enabling municipalities to keep public areas clear and safe with significantly less equipment, labor, maintenance, and repair

Municipalities are accountable for maintaining clear roads, highways, and common areas to uphold commerce, public safety, and services amidst excess snow accumulation. The selection of snow removal equipment, including snow blowers and plows, is therefore a critical decision that can impact the effectiveness and output of municipal and county workers responsible for keeping public areas cleared of snow.

However, it has often been challenging for municipalities to quickly clear all roads and public areas after heavy snowfall. One constraint is the high cost of standalone snow blowers and plows, which are expensive and cannot be used for other purposes during warmer months.

When municipalities look at snow removal equipment, they are looking for ease of use, customer service [from the manufacturer], and affordability. Most cities don’t have an unlimited budget, which factors into any decision they make.

To better serve the public, municipalities are turning to high quality snow removal attachments that can be used on their existing fleet of skid steers, wheel loaders, tractors, and other heavy equipment.

The benefits of using more efficient, maneuverable attachments with their existing equipment include expedited snow clearing, greater public safety, and substantially reduced labor, maintenance, and repair.

In the past it would have required two full days to complete all the snow clearing in the city, often with overtime. Now, they can finish in a normal workday. The snow removal usually encompasses clearing out city streets, alleys, parking lots, and sometimes public buildings and municipal airports. Cities have experienced at least 50% more efficient [clearing snow] and the cost savings is noticed in the bottom line.

Efficient Snow Removal

For municipalities, the most common snow removal application involves truck loading by blowers, particularly in congested downtown areas. Snow blowers gather and expel snow through a telescopic discharge chute into nearby trucks for convenient removal. The machines come in various sizes, from small electric models for residential use to larger gas-powered ones for commercial applications.

However, due to the high cost of self-powered snow blowers with an engine, municipalities often have an insufficient quantity of dedicated snowblowers available to rapidly clear public areas. In response, industry innovators have striven to provide municipalities with snow blower and plow attachment designs that are far more efficient for snow clearing.

A self-contained snow blower with its own engine can cost three to five times more than a snow blowing attachment, when you factor in the purchase price and maintenance.

Rudimentary snow blowers may be sufficient for fresh or day-old windrows, but are not designed to handle icy, old snow with grit, salt, and other debris. More rugged snow blowers on the market combine a hydraulic drive with an aggressive open ribbon design that prevents jamming in snow drifts and piles.

Low-end snow blowers are considered relatively expendable and often need to be repaired after every snowfall. In contrast, high-flow blowers using an open ribbon design are equipped to reliably move snow even after a series of snow events.

Snowplow attachments are also critical for clearing roads, highways, parking lots, and other government owned facilities. However traditional attachments such as fixed box snow pushers are bulky and limit the ability to easily maneuver skid steers and payloaders. They also do not accommodate variations in the height or contours of the surface, leading to inadequate clearing.

For these reasons, a growing number of municipalities are turning to a unique attachment that allows operators to switch between angle plowing, wide-angle plowing, pushing, and back dragging on the fly. Such attachments are available in four models and machine operating weights.

The equipment includes a wheel loader with a five cubic yard bucket, a payloader with a pusher, and a grader.

Cities just tried to move snow with buckets and were definitely not nearly as efficient as having a plow, because you can’t turn with a bucket and catch snow like you can with a quality snowplow.

A key feature of the newer more efficiently designed equipment is the ability to extend and retract its side wings independently, depending on the width of the road or the amount of snow cleared. 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 advantage of the [design] is being able to go around the corner or the edge of a parking lot and just swing your plow. You can keep moving, without having to pull back from the sidewalk all the time and then drive forward. You can basically drive, push the snow into a pile, back up once, and make your loops in the parking lot.

The attachments are used on a skid steer, tractor, wheel loader, and a mini wheel payloader.

Another unique aspect of the equipment is that it only requires one hydraulic circuit for efficient operation. No additional wiring is necessary and there are no specialized controls. The attachment can be angled left or right with a standard control feature on the joystick. The user-friendly design simplifies operator training.

The ease of use is excellent. Anyone can operate [the equipment] within 10 minutes and feel comfortable using it.

Municipalities can also benefit from utilizing an innovative 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. This minimizes the need for excessive salt or deicing agents and makes it much easier to follow the contours of the pavement.

This multi-cutting edge equipment is very good for parking lots and streets since it follows contours and approaches very well. It allows operators to effectively clear an uneven road or an angled approach. The cutting edges essentially ‘float’ and scrape the surface.

To improve safety and performance further, accessories such as tires specifically designed for snow clearing are also available. The increased traction not only reduces the risk of accidents but also prolongs the usable life of both the attachment and vehicle. 

The superior plow attachments have translated into some important benefits for both the city and the public works department.

The upgraded equipment has also reduced the need for premature equipment maintenance and replacement.

Snow clearing equipment plays a crucial role in maintaining road safety. As a result, municipalities should assess the long-term advantages of utilizing advanced attachments, including the improved efficiency, superior clearing quality, and increased productivity even with limited staff.

By opting for more flexible and nimble attachments and accessories, municipalities can enhance the operational efficiency and effectiveness of their snow removal services.

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By Jerry Holman

Jerry Holman is an expert in snow removal and the president of SnowWolf Plows (www.snowwolfplows.com), a Minnesota-based manufacturer that offers various snow removal accessories such as snow blowers, plows, and pushers which are compatible with skid steers, compact loaders, wheel loaders, front-end loaders, tractors and other machinery. For more information, call SnowWolf at (800) 905-2265; email info@snowwolfplows.com.