As the winter begins to creep up on us, you might start thinking about expanding your snow removal team with a few more employees for the upcoming season. If you’re lucky you might find some seasoned professionals to help you out, but most likely you’ll end up with a crew that’s new to the snow and ice removal game. They’ve got the spirit and attitude, but they might lack some of the basic knowledge that you want all of your rookies to have before sending them out for their first jobs. No matter what, they'll have to start somewhere. Here are some helpful tips that you can use to train your new employees and create the best snow and ice removal team your contractors have ever seen. 

Your cutting edge is looking worn after restoring order in your community and you may be asking – should I replace with a urethane cutting edge or a steel cutting edge?

When mounting a snow plow to your vehicle, you are adding additional weight to the front end of your vehicle.  As such, it sometimes becomes necessary to counterbalance that weight by adding ballast. "Ballast" by definition is a heavy material carried temporarily to provide stability.  Ballast needs and requirements will vary depending on what you put on and in your truck. You will want to refer to your snowplow manufacturer recommendations to know if and how much ballast is recommended.    

As anyone in snow and ice management knows, the selection of deicing material and equipment can be complicated and varies greatly by personal preferences and experiences. For those new to the industry finding straightforward answers to basic questions regarding the use of deicers can be somewhat of a challenge.There is much debate about what materials to spread and which equipment to use. If you find yourself needing assistance when choosing spreading materials, use this blog and infographic to help find the right equipment, and more importantly, the proper type of deicing material you should be filling that equipment with.

When considering all the aspects of a snow plow and how it functions, you can come across some unusual terms. If you’re new to the snow & ice removal industry these terms could result in questions like: “What’s the difference between a solenoid and a manifold? “, “Snowplows can float?” and “what does a pigtail have to do with a snow plow anyway?” To clear up some confusion and for your future reference, keep this snow plow parts glossary of terms handy.  While some of the termimology is specific to BOSS Snowplows many of the terms are common across all snow plow brands.