How do you plan a snow plow route?
Group sites into compact zones, rank each site by its promised service window, and assign a primary and backup crew. Record access notes and the required proof of service before snow falls. Test the route against a slow storm, when a second pass and a broken truck are both possible.
Snow plow route planning starts with the contract, not a map. The route has to meet each customer's service window after accounting for travel, loading, and a second pass. A short route that misses a hospital entrance deadline is still a failed route.
What belongs on each stop?
Keep the address, entrance, trigger depth, service window, surface hazards, snow pile location, salt instructions, and site contact in one job record. Mark gates, parked-car trouble spots, and places a truck cannot turn around. Have the crew confirm these notes on a dry run before the first event.
How should stops be ordered?
Put contractual deadlines and high-consequence entrances first. Then reduce travel within each zone. Estimate total route time as service minutes plus drive minutes plus loading and fuel time. Leave room for traffic and return visits; a plan that assumes every stop takes its best-ever time will fall apart.
What should happen after a storm?
Compare planned and actual arrival times by stop. Review missed windows, repeated trips, and material use. Change the route while the event is fresh, then preserve the notes for the next storm. The purpose of the review is a more reliable promise, not a prettier map.
Common questions
- How many properties should be on one plow route?
- There is no safe universal count. Add the promised service time and realistic travel time for each site, then check whether the route fits its tightest deadline with room for a repeat pass. A small complex property can consume more time than several simple driveways.