July 8, 1998
To:Budget Committee
From:General Manager, Transportation Services
Subject:Winter Maintenance - Standby
Purpose:
To provide information to the Budget Committee on how the Winter Maintenance
"Standby" system works and the costs related thereto.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no financial implications related to this report.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Background:
On February 27, 1998, the Budget Committee when considering the 1998 Works and
Emergency Services current budget, requested the Commissioner of Works and Emergency
Services to submit a report to a regular meeting of the Budget Committee providing
information on how the "standby" system works for winter maintenance and the costs
related thereto.
Discussion:
Standby is the cost of having equipment and human resources dedicated to snow ploughing
and de-icing operations during the winter maintenance season. It provides for the timely and
efficient deployment of snow and ice fighting equipment at the beginning of a winter storm.
This keeps the streets safe for the travelling public and allows essential emergency services
such as the police, ambulance and fire departments to reach all parts of the City in a timely
manner. By way of analogy, snow and ice fighting is viewed as similar in nature to the fire
fighting function. Generally speaking, it is the highest level of response with respect to the
entire road operations hierarchy of functions.
The ability to respond immediately to the onset of a storm is critical because late
deployment of resources can result in the ice/snow fighting equipment being caught in
traffic congestion created by the storm. Response time is the time taken for the equipment to
become operational from the time of call in. The response time selected varies depending
upon the level of service required or the nature of the operation being carried out. For
example, since de-icing operations are the "front line" defence during any winter storm the
response time needed is less than that required for snow ploughing operations which
generally commence when there has been five centimetres of snow accumulated on the
pavement. Each of the seven former municipalities which constitute the geographic area of
the new City of Toronto have different levels of service and hence different response times
and standby requirements.
As a rule, the level of service is highest for expressways and progressively lower for arterial
roads, minor collectors, residential streets and lanes, and the corresponding response times
are generally lower for expressways and progressively higher for the other road categories.
In general terms, the levels of service, standby methods and associated costs used by the
former Municipalities are as follows:
Toronto:
The former City of Toronto pays standby to salter and plough contractors by means of a
performance guarantee. This is to ensure the availability of their equipment during a storm.
Salt spreading on most City streets , with the exception of laneways, is carried out by
in-house staff who are scheduled into two eight hour shifts separated at each end by four
hours. If a storm occurs during a shift the operators can then cover the interim four hour
period until the next shift arrives thus ensuring the availability of vehicle operators on a
twenty four hour basis. These employees are used for other road related activities when not
engaged in winter maintenance activities.
The contractors supplying salt distribution equipment for laneway salting are guaranteed the
cost of a minimum of six salt spreading events per winter season. The cost of actual events
worked is deducted from the total cost of the six events so that the funds spent to ensure
availability during the winter season could be zero. This work is carried out at night and the
contractor is notified during the preceding afternoon.
Snow ploughing on City streets is carried out in-house and by contract. Contractors are
guaranteed a minimum of one hundred hours per vehicle per winter season to ensure their
availability within one hour of call in. Actual hours worked are deducted from the one
hundred hours. Penalties are applied if the contractor fails to provide the equipment within
one hour of call in.
Scarborough:
The former City of Scarborough pays its contractors both a daily standby and a performance
guarantee for both salting and snow ploughing equipment. The daily standby ensures that
the equipment is parked at the City yard, in good condition, ready for use by the contractors'
operators who are on one hour call in. The guaranteed equipment hours vary depending on
the type of equipment used and the actual hours worked during the season are deducted from
the guaranteed hours. Penalties are applied for non-performance.
North York:
The former City of North York pays a daily standby rate for both salters and ploughs. They
also pay a standby rate for three salt camps situated on North York property to provide for a
twenty four hour dispatcher/loader operator in each camp. Salt truck operators are on one
hour call in and snow plough operators are on two hour call in.
Sidewalk plough contractors are guaranteed forty hours labour per week and when not snow
ploughing they are used for other activities such as pothole repair. They are on one hour call
in on nights and weekends and are paid an additional hourly rate for their snow ploughs,
when in use.
York:
The former City of York carries out salt spreading operations with in-house staff within one
hour of call in. Snow ploughing operations are carried out fifty percent by in-house staff and
fifty percent by contractors who are paid a daily standby rate to have their equipment parked
in the City yard in good condition ready for use. The contractors' snow plough operators
must be available to operate the equipment within one hour of call in or penalties are
applied. The City staff are also on one hour call in.
Etobicoke:
The former City of Etobicoke pays its salter and snow plough contractors a daily standby
rate to have the equipment parked in the contractors' yards ready for use in the event of a
winter storm. The rate varies according to the type of equipment and also includes a price
for the contractor to provide space for salt piles within their yards.
City equipment operators and supervisors are paid two hours standby per day at their
regular hourly rate for the winter season (December to March). The call in response time for
salting and snow ploughing is one hour.
East York:
The former Borough of East York carries out all winter maintenance activities with
in-house staff. During the winter season two equipment operators are always available either
on night shift or weekend standby in order to respond effectively to a winter storm.
Metro:
The former Metro Toronto carries out all salting and ploughing operations by contract. It
has a level of service which requires that bare pavement be maintained twenty four hours a
day, seven days per week on the F.G. Gardiner Expressway, Don Valley Parkway and the
Allen Roadway. The level of service for the former Metro arterial road system requires bare
pavements between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. In order to achieve these
high levels of service it is necessary to ensure the immediate availability of equipment and
operators. Metro has seven temporary winter maintenance camps strategically placed
throughout the City and pays its contractors standby rates to have the salters and ploughs
parked at the camps in good condition ready for immediate use during the winter
maintenance season. The salter standby rates include a provision for on-site live-in
personnel to ensure immediate response by salt spreaders to an ice or snow emergency.
Snow ploughs are required to be operational within one hour of notification, since the
ploughs are used as the second phase in fighting most snow storms. The camp personnel in
the camp servicing the F.G. Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway are also used to
provide twenty four hour emergency response for other road emergencies such as guide rail
and pot hole repair.
Table I summarizes the maximum costs associated with contracted standby. In some cases
such as the former City of Toronto if enough deductions are made from the performance
guarantee during the winter season the "standby" cost might be zero.
TABLE I
In order to provide the safest and best winter maintenance service to the public, the
response time is especially important for "front line" vehicles such as de-icing trucks.
Failure to respond in a timely fashion will have detrimental safety, environmental and
economic implications. Experience has shown, for example, that much more salt is required
to cut through an ice packed pavement than when salt is applied in a timely fashion. This has
environmental implications in that more salt is applied and more atmospheric pollution
occurs due to vehicles idling in traffic jams if equipment cannot be deployed quickly.
The level of service, especially on the major arterials and expressways would also have a
major impact on the City's economy due to the number of motorists and goods vehicles that
would be standing idle in a traffic jam during a snow or ice storm. Litigation could also be a
hidden cost factor, particularly, for example, from motorists who have had accidents and
industries which rely on "just in time delivery" who have suffered business losses as a result
of being delayed in traffic.
A staff study team is reviewing the best way to deliver winter maintenance services in the
amalgamated city. This study is looking at a variety of issues such as contract service versus
in-house service, routing, response times, standby requirements, etc. The study would also
determine how service levelling across the City could be carried out and what levels of
service should be applied to each classification of road. The results of this study will be
reflected in the 1999 Budget process.
Colin J. Hebbard, Assistant Director, Road Operations, Transportation Services
David C. Kaufman
Barry H. Gutteridge
