How we deliver a more safe and sustainable winter gritting service

At OUTCO we are well and truly into our winter gritting season, and we’re proud to have already provided our winter services to thousands of sites across the whole of the country. As well as ensuring sites are safe, compliant and operational, we also support our clients to achieve their sustainable goals.

An example of this support is where we use the correct size vehicle for the size site we are gritting. We use a wide range of winter gritting and snow clearing vehicles from small 4×4 utility vehicles (UTV) up to more familiar heavy goods vehicles (HGV). Using the correct vehicle means we operate efficiently and effectively.

We embrace modern technology where possible, especially if it allows us to improve our service delivery. We are currently pushing the UK automotive industry to improve its supply and expand its innovation when it comes to electrifying larger vehicles.

Where we operate vehicles that have internal combustions engines, we use GPS data to reduce the distance travelled per vehicle. The average radius our winter fleet operates in is 20 miles, which is a reduction of five miles since last year, substantially reducing our emissions and increasing our ability to serve clients on time.

Spreading more winter gritting salt doesn’t automatically deliver better results. Instead, OUTCO takes a more scientific approach and uses gritting salt only when it is necessary and likely to be effective. Our proactive winter gritting service is guided by accurate forecast data to ensure that winter gritting only takes place when there is a probability of ice forming. We model conditions using industry-leading accurate data, which provides a detailed and real-time view of road surface temperatures, which is often combined with historical data for optimum accuracy. This takes the guesswork out of winter service delivery and helps to save our clients costs, reduces the environmental impact of too much gritting salt being used, and reduces vehicle emissions of unnecessary gritting activity.

Fully electric vehicle to trial

Looking to the future, we want to make sure we deliver a sustainable winter service to our clients without compromising on safety and efficiency. Our gritters are already fully electric, now we need to look at the vehicles we use. We are investigating the use of a fully electric vehicle to trial its ability and efficiency when gritting and clearing snow. If the trial works well, we will transfer more of our winter fleet to electric as the technology becomes available. In the meantime, we will continue to use our experience of providing winter services to reduce emissions and create efficiencies for our clients throughout the winter period.

Keep your customers safe and book your winter services

Our advice couldn’t be simpler: don’t wait until it gets cold before booking your winter services.

To find out how we can work together, or to obtain a free winter gritting quote or site inspection, please contact us today.