Sicop Talks Winter Ops

How do maintenance managers know what’s in deicing chemicals and do they meet the specifications?  Many years ago a group of states in the pacific northwest region of the US banded together as the The Pacific Northwest Snowfighters (PNS) and one of their objectives was to collectively test deicing chemicals and share best practices in purchasing materials that are effective deicers and also protective of the environment. The PNS created the Qualified Products List (QPL) to review, test, and approve products used by the Pacific Northwest states.PNS and Clear Roads have partnered to refresh the QPL and make it relevant for agencies across the nation.  In this episode SICOP Talks Winter Ops with Patti Caswell, Maintenance Services Section Manager at the Oregon DOT and chairs the Clear Roads subcommittee that oversees the QPL.For more information on the QPL you can visit the QPL website at https://clearroads.org/qualified-product-list/ or contact Patti at patti.CASWELL@odot.state.or.usSign up for email notificati

There are many different alternative methods and equipment available to perform winter maintenance.  In this episode Jed Falgren and Jeff Perkins from the Minnesota DOT talks about a new strategy to break up ice pack on the roadways without the use of any chemicals at all.  Mechanical ice breakers make short work of ice pack in an environmentally friendly way. This equipment is another tool in the winter maintenance arsenal.Listen in as SICOP Talks Winer Ops with Jed Falgren and Jeff Perkins with the Minnesota DOT.  Want to see an ice breaker in action? Check out the MnDOT Minute showcasing the IceBreaker at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbD9iJ-dzD0 or a more detailed video on the IceBreaker at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPgHKh1tpkwContact Jed Falgren at jed.falgren@state.mn.us or Jeff Perkins at jeff.perkins@state.mn.us for more information.Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscri

The Federal Highway Administration Road Weather Management Program plays an important role in winter maintenance across the nation.  Contributing significant work in the development of Maintenance Decision Support Systems and the use of Road Weather Information Systems to improve safety for the motorists and efficiencies for the DOT’s the Road Weather Management Program continues to help advance programs the DOT’s rely on during winter operations like Pathfinder, Integrated Mobile Observations, and Automated Driving Systems in inclement weather.  Listen in as we discuss advancements at the FHWA Road Weather Management Program.  If you would like to learn more about this technology follow this link to the FHWA Road Weather Management Program: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/index.aspFor more information you can contact Team Leader David Johnson at david.Johnson@dot.gov or Tony Coventry at Tony.Coventry@dot.gov Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter m

What is El Nino and how do the trade winds influence the weather on the east coast? We’ve all heard the terms atmospheric rivers, the polar vortex, Siberian Express and others, but what are they really.  SICOP Talks Winter Ops sits down with Mike Alger, Chief Meteorologist at KTVN, 2 News in Reno, Nevada to talk about what these weather phenomena really are, what sets them in motion, and what do they mean for the maintenance crews.Mike is no stranger to winter highway maintenance. Many years ago when the Nevada DOT began creating their Road Weather Information System network and the precursor to 511, Mike provided a conduit and explanations to his viewers on the RWIS information and road weather forecasts to improve winter-time commutes in northern Nevada.   Find out more about Mike at https://www.ktvn.com/story/6059462/mikeSign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Wi

There are many different alternative methods and equipment available to perform winter maintenance.  In this episode Laura Fay from the Western Transportation Institute at the University of Montana talks about a recently completed project for the Clear Roads Pooled Fund Study dealing with Alternative Methods for Deicing.  This project helps maintenance managers dealing with snow and ice obtain a better understanding of the performance and impacts of various alternate methods through case studies.  Listen in as we discuss this project Laura Fay.  If you would like to learn more about this project and its final report follow this link to the Clear Roads website for this project https://clearroads.org/project/18-05/ or contact Laura Fay at  laura.fay1@montana.edu Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in an

Having sustainable winter maintenance practices is one of the Top 10 things for a world class winter maintenance program.  Environmental considerations is one of the three pillars of sustainability along with budgets and societal needs.  In this episode we’re visiting with Connie Fortin of Fortin Consulting about environmental considerations for winter maintenance.  Of all the water on the planet only 2.5% is freshwater.  Once salt is introduced its very difficult to remove it.  Listen in as SICOP Talks Winter Ops with Connie and hear about smart salting from the environments perspective.There are several good resources regarding salt (chlorides) and water.  Connie mentioned this site from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/chloride-salts and follow the link to Salt Applicators for Smart Salting training and success stories.Fortin Consulting is active in promoting smart salting through Salt Symposiums (https://fortinconsulting.com/salt-symposium/) and several training pro

The Covid pandemic has dramatically altered the way we do business and maintenance has not been immune.  In this episode we’re having a discussion with the leadership of the AASHTO Maintenance Committee - Maintenance Operations Technical Working Group on the impacts they’re seeing in maintenance operations in response to Covid safety guidelines while still maintaining mobility across the roadway network. Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

In this episode of SICOP Talks Winter Ops were visiting with Frank Rizzardo, President of Emcon Services, an employee owned construction company, with maintenance contracts across Canada that includes providing winter service in some of the harshest environments in North America.  Frank shares his story of how British Columbia transitioned from an agency that self-performed maintenance into one that contracts for those services and his take on winter service from a contractors perspective.  You can check out Emcon Services at http://www.emconservices.ca or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/emconservicesinc/Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

Road Weather Information Systems or RWIS provides invaluable data about road weather and the real-time condition of the roadway during winter events.  When RWIS began to be deployed back in the 1990’s the big question was, and still is 30 years later, how many sensor stations should be installed and where should they go.  The Aurora consortium has been looking at this question and recently completed a project on Optimum RWIS Density, Phase 2.  Dr Tae Kwon from the University of Alberta describes this work and the results he obtained.   For more information on this project visit the Aurora website at https://aurora-program.org/research/completed/optimal-rwis-sensor-density-and-location-phase-2/or you can contact Dr. Tae Kwon by email at tjkwon@ualberta.caSign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay

Maintenance Decision Support Systems or MDSS are an excellent tool to help maintenance managers evaluate all the important information about a storm including the output from advanced forecasting tools and make better decisions regarding optimal treatment strategies.  On this episode Dave Huft of the South Dakota DOT will give us some insight into these systems and how DOTs utilize them in their winter maintenance operations.For more information about the MDSS Pooled Fund Study you can follow this link to their website: https://mdss.iteris.com/mdss/pfs/ Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

Colorado DOT and Front Range Community College collaborated in the creation of the first Highway Management Program in the nation.  Developed strictly for current highway maintenance personnel this two-year degree program is an excellent way to advance your career in highway maintenance.  Listen in as the programs director, Susan Baillargeon, explains how it came about and what students can expect to experience as they make their way through the program.You can find out more about this program through the program flyer, visiting the Front Range Community College website, or by contacting our guest Susan Baillargeon directly.Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

The most important element of a successful winter maintenance program are the employees.  Having a well trained, efficient, and alert workforce is a key to success.  However, working long hours during a emergency without opportunities to refresh can lead to dire consequences.  For example, when you’ve been awake for 24 hours your performance can be similar to someone with a blood alcohol content of 0.1%Listen in as Dave Orr, Director of the Cornell LTAP center talks about research into driver fatigue and discusses Tech Tips they’ve developed to help agencies understand driver fatigue and ways to combat it.You can reach out to Dave Orr for more information through his email dave.orr@cornell.edu View the Tech Tips at https://cornell.app.box.com/v/SnowFatigueFullSeriesSign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening

Lots can be learned from see how others approach winter operations.  James Morin of the Washington State DOT had the opportunity to interact with the Norwegian Road Authority and compare notes.  On this episode James shares his observations on the similarities and differences between the two winter operations.  Some key elements during our conversation included equipment, materials, relationships with academia, and levels of service.Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

One of the primary missions of SICOP is to promote work advancing winter maintenance operations.  Clear Roads is a consortia of states conducting practical research in winter maintenance.  In this episode we’re going to spend some time with Paul Brown, a long time member of Clear Roads, discussing a recently completed project 15-01: Synthesis of Material Application Methodologies for Winter Operations.  For more about this project follow the link to the Clear Roads website: https://clearroads.org/project/15-01/ Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

Recording at the TRB Annual Meeting, Wilf Nixon returns to SICOP Talks Winter Maintenance to visit about winter maintenance and the new Professional Snowfighters Association (PSA).  The PSA is a new non-profit professional association dedicated to creating a community of practice, improved knowledge and practices in the pursuit of safe, sustainable snowfighting.  If you want more information about the Professional Snowfighters Association you can visit their website at http://professionalsnowfightersassociation.org or you can contact Wilf Nixon by email at wilf@psa.orgSign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

In this episode Steve Lund, SICOP Chairman and Rick Nelson, SICOP Coordinator, recap SICOP activities from the past year.  From producing episodes of SICOP Talks Winter Ops to hosting State Showcase Webinars to collaborating with other winter maintenance organizations, SICOP has had a busy year. AASHTO’s technical service programs are supported by voluntary contributions from state DOTs.  For SICOP this contribution is $4,000 and has been since the creation of the program back in 1998.  It’s important for the program to communicate the activities accomplished back to our member states to show how their contribution was used to promote winter maintenance and help states with their winter maintenance maintenance mission.To view the hard copy of the 2019 SICOP Year in Review CLICK HERE Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comTha

When you talk about maintaining mobility during inclement weather, one group of folks that can make it or break it for the maintenance crews are the weather forecasters.  On this episode of SICOP Talks Winter Ops we’re going to get some perspective from that side of the fence from a someone who’s no stranger to the winter maintenance community, Chris Albrecht, Director of Business Development and Consulting Services at The Narwhal Group and member of the American Meteorological Society Committee on ITS and Road Weather.  We first met Chris many years ago when he was involved with the AURORA Pooled Fund Study Focusing on research in Road Weather Information Systems and road weather.  Over the years these two fields have experienced rapid growth in the technology and the mainstreaming of the strategies the technology allows.  If you want more information about road weather and the connections with the American Meteorological Society ITS and Road Weather Committee you can contact Chris by email at calbrecht@narw

No part of the country is immune from the effects of winter weather.  Winter storms in the southern reaches of the US are particularly difficult to deal with.  Events severe enough that require attention, frequent enough you have to plan for them, and the challenge of dealing with budget realities of not enough to address all your maintenance activities.Listen in as SICOP Talks Winter Ops with David as he shares some insight into what it’s like to deal with the winter on the roadways in Louisiana. For more information about the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development visit their website at http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Pages/default.aspxor contact Chief Maintenance Engineer David Miller at david.miller@la.govSign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.comThanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

SICOP Talks Winter Ops with Rod Schilling from the Nevada DOT as he talks about Integrated Mobile Observations.  Obtaining data about the weather and other things happening onboard snow plows helps managers and the public know what's happening out there during winter storms.  Rod discusses the experiences and growing pains surrounding this newest way to gather data on the fly.FHWA has a collection of presentations discussing a host of aspects regarding the Nevada DOT IMO project that you can view here: http://bit.ly/2MOnGGaThe Nevada DOT IMO project Final Report can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/35HddovContact Rodney Schilling directly for more information at roschilling@dot.nv.govIn the mean time, listen in as SICOP Talks Winter Ops with Rod as he shares some insight into Integrated Mobile Observations. Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops websit

SICOP Talks Winer Ops with Laura Fay.  Who are you going to call when you have a perplexing problem in Winter maintenance, Laura Fay at the Western Transportation Institute.  Winter maintenance is much more than salt, trucks, and snow plow drivers.  Without the folks behind the scenes supporting the practitioners we could not have progressed as far and as fast as we have over the past 20 years.  Laura Fay is no stranger to the winter maintenance community.  As the Program Manager for the Cold Climate Operations and Systems Research group at Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University Laura has been involved in many winter maintenance research projects that have made their way into practice.   Listen in as SICOP Talks Winter Ops with Laura Fay as she shares some insight into what it’s like being a researcher of winter maintenance.  If you’d like to reach out to Laura to talk about winter maintenance or other projects you can drop her an email at laura.fay1@montana.edu Sign up for email notific