Let's talk... Life is not easy, your job is not easy. If you want to run in a marathon, you have to train for one. Unless you are a very gifted athlete, you can't just show up at the finish line - without first paying your dues. If you want to have a successful snow removal program - you have to inject focused time and energy. It doesn't just "happen". The RIGHT tools can make your job EASIER. With that said, there is NO RIGHT tool for everyone. Any software you select, must be USEFUL, easy to operate and provide budget conscious VALUE back to your snow and ice removal program.

Your situation has it's own unique set of personnel, budget constraints and resource limitations. So, how will you know if you are using the RIGHT tool to make a difference?

Ask yourself the following:
Does it improve your life on the job? Are you eliminating meaningless tasks?
Does it help you plan and organize?
Does it simplify a task?
Does it give you better or faster information?
Does it return VALUE back to you in terms of accountability?

Case in point:

A large metropolitan city wanted to provide internet access from inside of its salt domes. The goal was to improve the speed in which inventory levels and costs were shared with upper management. The hopes, were to capture this information either real-time, or at least by the end of each shift.

Unfortunately, the salt domes were located in "dead zones" - zones where cellular or DSL service could not be provided. To get around this problem, the city purchased heavy-duty Bar code readers. These readers would "scan" incoming trucks - like your UPS delivery person scans boxes to your home. What it failed to consider, was each truck (including both municipal and contracted vehicles) would need to be BAR coded FIRST- BEFORE it could get scanned. Whoops! Lack of planning, lack of thought.

There must be an Easy button out there somewhere? Right? The city rushed to outfit each truck and contractor with a unique bar code. A massive effort. Some trucks were missed - and the resulting Salt inventory counts became unreliable. The original salt tracking solution morphed into a bigger problem to resolve. No value in this solution. And no easy button.

More band-aids were applied. The city continued to use bar code tools despite so many trucks traveled without traceability. By the next year they added a full time employee who recorded each salt usage transaction by HAND - in addition to the bar coding. Value is dwindling by the minute. Wasted human effort due to poor implementation of tools - and the mess kept getting bigger. By year 3, the bar code units were sold at auction - and automation at the salt domes were scrapped completely.


How can you choose the RIGHT tools to make your job easier?

Most people don't want to hear this - so I have to go back to the "Easy Button" refrain. THERE IS NO EASY BUTTON. You must do your research. You must soul search. And, you must put in the effort - to plan for every contingency.

What tool would provide VALUE to your snow and ice removal program? Many software companies DON'T want you to know everything about their products - because they are afraid you won't buy it. That's why you see so many animated demos. A video can be crafted to see only one window, of the big picture. Software companies only want you to see the dessert. The icing on the cake. They don't want you to know about the work involved to actually succeed.