How many of you have been staring at the computer screen, numerous excel sheets, and looking at last year’s snow removal contract, wondering where to begin with the new season’s bids? The 2014-15 winter was above normal from Chicago to the Northeast, with even historic snowfall in New England. Should these extremes be accounted for this year? It’s been said ‘knowledge is power’, and a snowfall history or climatology is the place to begin when creating snow removal contracts.
Start with at least a 5 year climatology for the bidding location in question, this should give a good idea of what to expect. However, 10, 15, or even 30 year seasonal snowfall information may be more useful, especially if the location is new to the company. In addition, don’t just go by average snowfall, these can be skewed based on lean snowfall years or crazy historic seasons. A product like Snowtistics™, provides a wealth of data, including the median snowfall, which will likely be more representative of your location’s seasonal number. Not to mention, Snowtistics™ will also display historical data by month and event count based on ranges set by the customer. Think about it, could you benefit from knowing how many coating – 1.0”, 2.0”+, or even 6.0”+ events occur in a season?
These are just a few tips to begin the bidding process. Snowfall climatologies can be used to create confident, accurate and competitive bids, while also protecting companies from winter’s extremes. Wouldn’t you like that information at hand during contract negotiation? Contact Sam DeAlba for more snow history information.
