Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets (2015)

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37 Small airports are consistently challenged to implement effective practices because of limited budgets, equipment, and available manpower. Although effective practices culled from larger airports may be impractical to implement or adapt at any one airport owing to the wide variability of oper- ating conditions, airport managers are encouraged to review the practices for ideas and areas for consideration. SNOW FENCES While not asked on the survey, one airport operator brought up the use of snow fences. Another described having used natural vegetation to help hold/trap snow by creating living snow hedges. The manager cut native vegetation very short about 50 feet parallel to and on the upwind side of the runway. A parallel swath about five feet wide was left uncleared, followed by 30 feet of cleared vegetation, and lastly another five-foot swath of natural vegetation. The undulating pattern assists in catching drifting snow through the varying air movement. It is effective until there is enough snow to bury the tall grasses and make for a smooth landscape. Additional study revealed the use of snow fences is not uncommon and they appear to be ben- eficial. A research study on interstate highways in 2005 calculated that mechanical snow removal costs about $3 for every 2.2 tons of snow. A 20-foot section of four-foot snow fence can hold back 85 tons of snow, resulting in a snow removal saving of about $116.00 for every foot of snow fence (Snow Barrier Effectiveness 2012). The same article is a good reference source on snow fences in general. AC 150/5200-30C describes the use of snow fences at airports. Figure 17 shows a snow fence installed at the Lewistown Airport in Montana, where the wind blows a lot, according to the manager. TENANT AREAS Survey responses indicate that in some cases the airport lease requires hangar tenants to remove snow in front and around of their hangars; in other cases, the airport has responsibility. Factors that appear to affect the arrangement are the size of the lease area, the availability of equipment and manpower, type of hangar door opening, and the concern for minimizing damage to the hangars by operating equipment close to the hangar. City ordinances, airport rules and regulations, or airport minimum standards can be established to reinforce lease terms. In Anchorage, the local municipal code prohibits tenants’ dumping or relo- cating snow onto or across taxi lanes, taxiways, runways, or airport roads (Snow Storage Procedures 2012). A diagram of the requirement accompanies the airport’s communication to tiedown tenants (Figure 18). STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES Small airports with limited budgets are faced with many challenges that were presented in earlier sections. This section compiles lessons learned, advice, and practices derived from the operators of the surveyed airports, the AC on winter operations, and other literature reviewed for this synthesis. The FAA Eastern Region ADO has produced a Certalert on winter practices for Part 139 that has pertinence to small airports (Appendix K). chapter five OPERATIONAL PRACTICES

38 Management • Develop a snow and ice control plan. • Be dedicated to achieving your goal. • Get buy-in from all stakeholders, including financial backing from outside benefiting groups if possible. • Work closely with the [PWD] department and get mayoral support to prioritize the airport. • Work with the governing body that budgets for work and continuously request additional funding. • Address underlying issues of budget and equipment in a business plan and with the finance director. • Track operational data on cost, performance, and winter events for comparison and budget development. • Maintain a daily log of airport snow removal activities for comparison and justification of personnel, expenditures, and need for equipment. • Charge the tenants a fee for snow removal from their leased areas. • Prioritize what to plow. • Plan out vehicle patterns in advance to minimize unproductive time and expense going back over previously plowed areas. • Negotiate and establish priority repair of SRE with public works or private maintenance facility during a winter event. FIGURE 17 Example of a snow fence installed at an airport. Photo credit: J. Moline, Lewistown, Montana. FIGURE 18 Guidance to aircraft owners on the placement of snow around tiedowns at Merrill Field, Alaska. Source: Snow Storage Procedures (2012).

39 • Develop a backup plan to address disabled vehicles or vehicles that may become stuck in an airfield location. • Develop a state-wide peer network to exchange ideas and information on winter events. • Identify performance measures that your airport can use to benchmark your snow removal efforts. Personnel • Train personnel on multiple pieces of equipment to reduce down-time. • Have an experienced heavy equipment mechanic/operator/welder as part of the crew. • Offer a higher pay rate for call-in personnel for storms only. • Consider salaried or managerial positions for employees to reduce overtime or stand-by pay. • Hire temporary seasonal employees. • Use part-time or contract employees to supplement the one or two employees at the airport. • Only allow employees to work 32 hours. • Do not have part-timers plowing the high priority areas, such as runways and taxiways. • Reduce personnel turnover. • Keep the crew as happy and as rested as possible. • Negotiate a single wage rate for operation of different SRE rather than base operation and cost on seniority. Tenant Coordination and Communication • Establish relations with airfield tenants and hold a tenant meeting or disseminate pertinent information before the season starts (see Appendix L). • Have a snow committee involving tenants and agree on what is acceptable so that no single entity is served at the expense of the others. • Establish communication protocols with FBOs, flight schools, and corporate flight departments to facilitate aircraft ground movements during winter operations. • Have tenants keep the airport manager or office apprised of flight schedules. • Post SICP, event operations, and contact numbers on bulletin boards and/or web. • Coordinate activities and inform through text, e-mail, and phone. • Focus on meeting the specific needs of the primary users for the airport, and develop a strong relationship/chain of communication with these users to identify routine operations schedules. • Keep in touch with airline personnel as to the status of their flight versus the status of field conditions and coordinate specific airline use areas first [to] get them in the air. All other areas are second tier priority, as per lease agreements. • Put in leases that tenants are responsible for three feet of snow removal in front of hangar doors to keep truck plows from damaging hangar doors. • Develop a maintenance responsibility matrix that identifies where the tenant is responsible for snow removal. • Purchase an electric demolition hammer with 2-foot-long, 4-inch floor tile spade for tenants to use to chip ice away from hangars, with training first. Safety • Develop a standard set of procedures for snow removal practices and use them always, making adjustments as necessary. • Ensure NOTAMs are posted before commencing operation, especially by contractors (Figure 19). • Get confirmation of NOTAM before approaching the runway. • Use NOTAMS to close an area for snow removal rather than transiting back and forth between aircraft operation. • NOTAM runway or taxiway closed, not entire airport, to allow for pilots to file flight plans. • Make sure the NOTAMS reflect the field conditions at all times. • Issue a NOTAM requiring a 10-minute prior permission approval during plowing operations. • Issue NOTAMS by means of phone calls to eliminate having to stop and enter them electronically.

40 • If ATCT is not in operation or at an uncontrolled airport with instrument approaches, monitor or involve air traffic control center operations. Obtain phone number of air traffic operations desks. • Use a telephone answering device for pilots to call in and check latest conditions. • Broadcast conditions on automated information aids or social media. Equipment • Constantly improve equipment in incremental steps. • Use state surplus equipment programs to buy SRE at a discount to new, with state funding assistance. • Acquire surplus equipment through GSAxess (General Services Administration listing of federal excess and surplus personal property); local ADO can obtain access to the website for screening. • Avoid purchasing or accepting someone else’s used equipment. Consider buying used equipment only if you have top quality mechanics that can ensure the reliability of the older equipment. Maintenance • Make sure mower decks are removed and plowing equipment is clean and in good working order before winter weather starts. • Have appropriate sized plow trucks. • Keep equipment well maintained. • Realize equipment breakage affects morale. • Use adhesive plastic filament sheets on windshields to reduce pitting, chipping, and abrasion. • Inspect equipment after each use. Techniques • Plow crosswind runway and some ramp areas only during the regular workday after all other priority pavements have been taken care of. • Wait to remove snow if there is a temperature inversion and rain might fall on frozen surfaces. FIGURE 19 Example of a posted snow information board. Photo credit: S. Quilty, SMQ Airport Services.

41 • Start at first snowfall and continue to the end of the event to minimize any large accumulations. This allows for the plowing to go as fast as possible. • Establish a trigger point for commencing snow operations (e.g., accumulation one-half inch, one inch, etc.). • Sweep after plowing to prevent packed snow/ice buildup and to keep windrows to a minimum. • Position plowed snow in areas that allow for additional snow accumulation later in the winter. • Limit snowpiles as they will cause drifts. Place snowpiles in strategic locations to minimize flooding in the spring. • Plow several times a day if needed, rather than waiting until after the snow event has concluded. • Hold off plowing if it appears that ice will develop after the snow falls. Ice on top of snow is easier to remove than ice on pavement. • Monitor forecasts to mitigate snow removal expenditures. For instance, an expected strong sun exposure will often melt thin snow on non-priority surfaces. • Place reflective tape on lights and signs to help drivers see them and prevent damage. • Place castor wheels on the plow blade for better maneuverability. Additional snow removal techniques can be found in Appendix M, Alaskan Rural Airport Maintenance Manual. SUMMARY Managing snow on the airport, especially snow banks, wind drifts, and tenant areas, can be a problem for airports with limited budgets. Advice, lessons learned, or unique or standard practices from other airports can be of value to managers and may help them to cope within their budgets.