Sustainable salt use is a path forward for industry

'It will take a lot of research, hard work and training to help our industry. We are taking a big step forward this fall with our newest initiative, the Best Practices: Guidelines for Sustainable Salt Use.' 

By Phill Sexton
Over the past two years, I’ve been traveling a lot, building new relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders and discussing a variety of industry-related initiatives. The single biggest focus that has come out of that work relates to the issue of salt use in our industry.

We’ve come a long way over the past 10 years. We’ve invested in research on application rates, launched the Sustainable Salt Initiative and renewed our focus on the use of liquids and other practices that can reduce salt output while maintaining safe conditions. I have also shared my experiences with the Fund for Lake George, the New Hampshire Green SnowPro program, and several other regional entities focused on this issue. 

It’s been an eye-opener, and I’ve realized that our industry is exposed to some major risks — and I’m not talking about slip and fall liability. Studies and initiatives in various regions of North America are beginning to identify the impact salt applied to properties (vs. roads and highways) is having on our environment and water. We have a responsibility together to proactively move the needle, or the government is going to start trying to move it for us.

There is no clear path for us. It will take a lot of research, hard work and training to help our industry. We are taking a big step forward this fall with our newest initiative, the Best Practices: Guidelines for Sustainable Salt Use. 

SIMA identified that there are no basic standards or minimum requirements for salt use. The research, while making progress, can’t tell us exactly what to apply for each situation. 
The guidelines serve as an informal audit of any site, company, or organization that utilizes salts (calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, etc.) to deice or anti-ice. It provides a set of policies and activities that when used together can reduce salt output while increasing the training, knowledge, and skill of the organization.

Just like our other Best Practices checklists, the guidelines are available to anyone in the industry. We won’t hide this work behind a membership firewall. However, in 2017, SIMA members will be seeing some new members-only value related to best practices in snow, including elements related to salt use.

I hope you will join with SIMA, access the guidelines and begin implementing a plan to reduce your usage while improving performance and managing risk. Download the guidelines today at www.sima.org/bestpractices. 

Methodology

• 17 stakeholders, representing snow contractors, facility management, deicing material supply, municipal, and equipment supply. The geographical distribution included reviewers from Canada, the Midwest, the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic. SIMA also engaged three subject matter experts in the review process. 
• SIMA reviewed more than 125 comments and recommendations from those stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Glossary-specific: As with all of the educational and best practices we produce, the guidelines are aligned with our Glossary of Terms. 

Phill Sexton is Director of Outreach for SIMA. Contact him at Phill@sima.org.

SIMA sponsors report measuring scope of industry

'In SIMA’s process of building professionalism and best practices, we need to better understand who we are. Having this first impact report is a step toward this knowledge acquisition.'

By Martin Tirado, CAE
$23 billion. That’s roughly the market size of the private snow and ice management industry in the United States and Canada combined, according to the first-of-its-kind impact report sponsored by SIMA. 

The purpose of producing this report was simple: Generally, there is a complete lack of essential information on size, scope, demographics and economic impact in the private snow and ice management industry. Thus, SIMA contracted with an experienced researcher, WolfWorks Consulting, to uncover this information. We found that knowledge of the market is critical to understanding the current state of the industry. Once acknowledged, benchmarks and trends can be built upon the baseline data and decisions made on how our market impacts all of us. In SIMA’s process of building professionalism and best practices, we need to better understand who we are. Having this first impact report is a step toward this knowledge acquisition. 

The strategy now for SIMA is to discover what’s next. We want to hear from you about what information was useful in the impact report and where information is still lacking. We will work to analyze what information can be used at a local level to help SIMA members successfully operate their businesses.

This will not be easy since the impact report confirms that the industry is exceptionally fragmented. The top four largest operators account for less than 5% of overall revenue. With an industry of more than 22,000, we see an opportunity to grow the association and bring value to a greater number of snow and ice management professionals. We will continue to lead the industry and need make clear, convincing value propositions for more membership participation.

A few demographics measured in the impact report:

• A ‘Top 10’ list of the largest U.S. states in overall market size.
• Total snowplow service operators, including how many are employers vs. sole proprietors.
• Amount of paved surfaces in square miles, including total parking spaces and facilities.
• Percentage of snow and ice services for companies with multiple lines of business (landscaping, exterior maintenance, etc.)

An executive summary of the report is available to download here. A full report and webinar addressing the findings will be available in late August. 

Getting a head start

SUNY Cobleskill is the first college in North America to offer ASM modules as part of its degree process

By Timothy Marten
This spring, SUNY Cobleskill became the first college in North America that incorporates Advanced Snow Manager credentials as part of the degree completion process.

In collaboration with SIMA, SUNY Cobleskill has developed the “Advanced Snow Management” course that couples SIMA’s Advanced Snow Management online modules and credentialing with hands-on lab experiences, site visits and coaching from Advanced Snow Managers and Certified Snow Professionals.

Snow and ice services are becoming an increasingly complex and critical part of many landscape companies’ offerings. By undervaluing snow and ice management, the typical college or university landscape-oriented degree program prepares students for only half, or – at best – three-quarters of the work and potential revenue of a year-round landscape firm. This degree model leaves graduates with a vast gulf in career-readiness in snow and ice management. 

Comprehensive preparation
Snow and ice management is an unforgiving industry, rife with opportunities for a crew leader, manager or owner to end up at the center of a lawsuit. As such, merely incorporating snow and ice management into a series of lessons or a handful of lectures across various courses is no longer sufficient preparation. It requires a comprehensive approach as a standalone component of a landscape-oriented degree track. SUNY Cobleskill has begun to use ASM as an essential factor in educating the next generation of industry professionals.

This Advanced Snow Management course brings students together from across curriculum areas, including landscape, plan science, turf management and agricultural engineering. Online ASM modules are supported with forum discussions and assignments highlighting learning outcomes. I manage the course day to day, and SIMA Director of Education & Outreach (and adjunct faculty) Phill Sexton coordinates and plans full-day lab experiences, including firm visits, mentoring and equipment rodeos. 

Real-world exposure
Placing students into the professional environment is an essential part of applying classroom knowledge in the real world. In one of the full-day labs, students visited Rick Kier, CSP, of ProScapes in Jamesville, NY. The students received a behind-the-scenes look at snow planning, operations and equipment management, and learned from Kier’s 30-plus years of experience. His professionalism and business location make ProScapes an excellent partner for incorporating mentorship into our ASM education at SUNY Cobleskill.

This May, eight students from the SUNY Cobleskill Advanced Snow Management  course completed ASM credentials as part of their degree completion. AS SUNY Cobleskill celebrates its centennial, the landscape program is looking ahead as it strives to more effectively prepare students for the complexities of snow and ice and green industries.

Timothy Marten is an assistant professor at SUNY Cobleskill in the Plant and Animal Science Department in Cobleskill, NY. Phill Sexton is the Director of Education & Outreach with SIMA and Adjunct Faculty at SUNY Cobleskill. Contact him at Phill@sima.org. 

Join the Snow Business Readership Panel

Snow Business magazine seeks to deliver relevant experiences, insights, and solutions to the snow & ice management industry. As an industry professional, now you can weigh in on relevant topics year-round with the newly created Snow Business Readership Panel. 

Join the Readership Panel today by filling out the form at www.sima.org/readership to be considered as a resource for future stories. For example, if we’re writing a story on sidewalk best practices and that is an area in which your company excels, we can reach out for your insights. In addition, we’ll send short surveys on trends throughout the year and share responses in our Last Word feature. It’s easy to join and you can participate as much as you’re able (including the opportunity to write stories for the magazine or SIMA Library).

How else can you take part in industry content & education?

• Share your thoughts on Snow Business with Editor Cheryl Higley by emailing cherylhigley@grandviewmedia.com. 
• Visit the SIMA Library at www.sima.org/Library, where magazine articles and exclusive content is available 24/7. 
• Submit a proposal or an idea for future education at www.sima.org/SIMAspeakers.

Library to add members-only content

By Cheryl Higley 

The 2014 launch of the new SIMA website improved functionality not only for visitors but also for the back-end processed of the association that have allowed us to better serve our members.

SIMA is dedicated to providing the industry with comprehensive training and educational tools to help empower snow and ice management companies as they build stronger businesses. As such (and after a cyber-attack on our previous educational arm - GoPlow.com), we followed up the new website and more robust SIMA Training Center with the 2015 launch of the new SIMA Library.

Still in its infancy, the Library houses the most recent Snow Business archives as well as new content generated by myself, SIMA staff and industry experts. It's a work in progress, but we hope you find the easily searchable Library useful.

Now that we have launched the Library, the next goal is to add further value, specifically for those who have made the financial commitment to join SIMA. The Library allows us to protect some content solely for SIMA members, and over the next year we will begin building more in-depth content covering a variety of topics that will be accessible through a password-protected Members Only section.

Expanding our goal

Our goal as an association, through training, Best Practices, Snow Business magazine, and various digital initiatives like the Training Spotlight and Snow Business Insights e-newsletter is to provide as much education and information as possible to the industry at-large; however, we also believe membership has its rewards. This is a new step for SIMA, so we hope you'll be patient as we build the Members Only content. We also are seeking your input as we build the section. Please feel free to contact me at chigley@grandviewmedia.com and let me know what resources you'd like to see us add to the Members Only site.

Cheryl Higley is editor in chief of Snow Business magazine and Editorial and Information Manager for SIMA.

Trade Show Tune Up

Symposium will feature new interactive opportunities between exhibitors, attendees

By Heather Carew
As we enter the final planning stage of the 19th Annual Snow & Ice Symposium set for June 22-24 in Providence, RI, we wanted to share some upgrades and changes we've made for this year to improve the trade show experience. The two-day trade show features the latest and greatest industry innovations. It's also a once-a-year opportunity for suppliers to get direct feedback from the marketplace about their products. We are working hard to make this experience even better this year through the following:

1:1 meetings
The trade show is a wonderful way to experience the innovation and sophistication of the snow industry. But the show has become popular and busy enough that we hear from attendees and exhibitors that they want more one-on-one time with key contacts during floor time. Considering that, this year we are unveiling off-hour meeting opportunities. A SIMA 1:1 at the show will enable a show attendee to proactively schedule protected time with a key exhibitor in a quiet location on or near the floor. All preregistered attendees can sign up for one or more 1:1 meetings using a simple scheduling system. To schedule a meeting, visit www.sima.org/LetsMeet. Each 1:1 will include a reminder of the date/time and a SIMA usher to lead the attendee to the appropriate location at the scheduled time. 

Navigation revisited
SIMA took a big step this year as a maturing trade show by investing in navigation software to help attendees and suppliers navigate the trade show floor. Visit www.sima.org/showfloor for an interactive floor map. This features the ability to hover over booths and get more detailed information about exhibitors. It also empowers anyone to search the exhibitor list by categories such as technology/software, salt, heavy equipment, etc. The bonus is that the Web-based system will be available long after the show is over, so you can find and review all of our exhibitors as needed. Our goal is to make your time on the trade show floor as efficient as possible, so you can get the tools you need and build the relationships that sustain your business. On-site, watch for a new trade show floor map pullout in the Xtra show guide.

Relationships enhanced
Lead retrieval units for each exhibitor are another new feature included this year.* We pride ourselves in being an exhibitor-friendly show with noncompete trade show hours, free food and beer, and more. Now we are enhancing the ability for exhibitors to connect post-show with individuals who visit their booths through our lead retrieval systems. This benefits attendees as well, since they can be assured that most exhibitors that they want to connect with will follow up with them after the show, even if they forgot their business cards.

App-tastic
If you haven't tried the Symposium app yet, this is the year to do it! Aside from having your own personalized schedule for all education and networking events, you can access all trade show-related information and link to other event attendees. Visit https://guidebook.com/g/2016SnowShow/. 

We are always open to feedback and suggestions on how we can improve your trade show experience, email Heather@sima.org. Learn more about the Symposium and register today at www.sima.org/show. 

Heather Carew is Manager, Membership & Sponsor Development, for SIMA. *Note: Exhibitors must be an active member to qualify for free device.

SIMA moves to new Milwaukee headquarters

The Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) relocated its operations to its new Milwaukee headquarters on April 29, 2016. SIMA has been headquartered in Milwaukee since moving from Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2008.

SIMA Chief Executive Officer Martin Tirado, CAE, said the association’s growth necessitated the move.

“The new office allows SIMA the flexibility to grow over time, and it gives us a permanent home,” he said. “Financially we found an option to purchase that was similar to leasing, except now SIMA receives the benefits of ownership.”

The association had been leasing space in the same Milwaukee office for close to 8 years. The new headquarters is three miles north of the current office.

SIMA closed on the sale of the headquarters office building in August 2015. Since then, remodeling and updating work have been under way. The majority of SIMA’s professional staff will be working in the new office. In addition, SIMA maintains staff in IA, OH, and NY.

“Having SIMA professional staff in multiple locations allows us to interact and meet with members and affiliated companies throughout North America. Yet, with our base office in Milwaukee we can continue to offer centralized services and benefits to help snow and ice companies grow and succeed,” Tirado said. 

The new address is:

Snow & Ice Management Association, Inc.
10140 N Port Washington Rd
Milwaukee, WI 53092