Snow Clearance
OUTCO specialise in providing a reliable and high-quality snow clearance service for commercial and industrial properties.
Snow Clearance
OUTCO are the experts at clearing snow from car parks, roads and pedestrian areas, ensuring our clients’ facility remains safe and compliant at all times.
Our regional operational teams are responsible for local delivery of snow clearance and snow event management. Our regions are South-East, Midlands, South-West, North, Scotland, and Ireland. Each region has an allocation of vehicles and equipment relative to their portfolio of sites and the individual requirements.
OUTCO (formerly GRITIT) are the UK’s award-winning winter gritting and snow clearance experts. Our nationwide winter gritting service has an established, market-leading track record of making sure your sites stay safe and open all winter long
Snow removal involves taking the snow from your site altogether, which is often required when space is at a premium
OUTCO’s managed grit bins solution provides strategically placed grit bins with a salt top-up service including the required tools.
OUTCO has the capability to spread or supply a wide range of traditional and specialist de-icing products. Available products range from traditional salt and grit types to low corrosive or eco-friendly products, all supplied in bulk or bagged. OUTCO de-icing products cater for all surfaces, including metal car parks and stairways, airport runways, train stations and sensitive ecological areas
OUTCO is the sole UK distributor for BOSS winter equipment, North America’s rugged brand of highly resilient gritting and snow clearing equipment: tough gear for tough conditions. From gritting spreaders to a range of snow ploughs, we stock all the equipment to service the winter industry’s requirements including all spares, and a full maintenance and servicing provision
Ordering Snow Clearing
We will work with our clients to define an effective snow clearance plan and ensure that each client understands precisely what is expected. This bespoke approach will help clients proactively manage their site and minimise business risk.
As part of our pre-season planning, we assign dedicated regional teams to specific local sites for the duration of the winter. This ensures site and service familiarity.
- OUTCO will digitally map out a site and agree areas to be included using the latest technology
- We will then attend a site and perform a physical snow clearing site survey. This allows us to identify any on-site features we need to be aware of when performing snow clearance
- Once any potential hazards or areas where additional care and attention have been identified (i.e. where the snow piles up), we report our findings back for agreement, prior to commencing our service.
OUTCO removes any regulatory and compliance pressures for our customers, by effectively identifying and addressing liabilities on site. In doing so we proactively safeguard against any predictable operational, financial and reputational risk for total peace of mind
OUTCO Snow Clearance Process
Our snow clearance service involves monitoring the weather on behalf of our client. Whenever snowfall is forecast to reach a certain depth, we will attend a sites with our snow apparatus, clear the snow from the designated areas and “push” it to the assigned locations, where it can safely melt away. We can also perform de-icing on the area afterwards, so the site is compliant and clear of both snow and ice.
Why Outsource Your Snow Clearance
Most facilities managers choose to outsource their gritting and snow clearance services. An outsourced snow clearance service can provide better access to well-trained staff, along with the latest knowledge and innovation, bringing improved service quality and the reassurance that full compliance is being achieved. In certain sectors, such as healthcare, transport and utilities, there is usually a requirement for the facilities to be accessed safely and securely around the clock, whatever the weather and these require a high specification service. Snow clearance services need to be available throughout the day, in addition to a pre-emptive service, to ensure all the facilities always remain accessible. Most importantly, OUTCO removes any regulatory and compliance pressures for our customers, by effectively identifying and addressing liabilities on site. In doing so we proactively safeguard against any predictable operational, financial and reputational risk for total peace of mind.
Snow Clearance Planning
Snow clearance with OUTCO starts with a snow clearance plan. A snow clearance plan must be well communicated with key performance indicators (KPIs) drawn up to ensure that clients know precisely what is expected.
- Decide who will oversee the plan
- Assign special tasks to individual team members
- Identify site areas that could become hazardous in severe weather conditions
- Detail the exact areas that need to be cleared, as well as when and how
- Ensure that snow and ice clearance equipment is regularly maintained
- Ensure that the site is supplied with sufficient salt, grit bins and clearance equipment for a prolonged winter season
- Agree on a clear process for dealing with problems/issues.
OUTCO have an immense variety of snow clearance vehicles suited for all types of areas on site and can be dispatched at short notice for all site requirements. As soon as we view any un-forecast snow, we will mobilise machines to start moving into strategic locations to avoid traffic delays or other potential issues that could result in a delay. We would ensure our teams were on standby, local, and available to attend site if there was any indication of snow irrespective of amount. We monitor the weather 24/7 through radars and reports, if any snow is forecast for an area regardless of the level, we go into Amber alert and have our teams on standby ready to be deployed should the weather change and require service. If the snow forecast is within 1cm below the activation level, we will action a live event and have machines placed in strategic locations where required to avoid any delays on roads getting to sites.
OUTCO Services
A complete range of award winning winter gritting, snow clearance, winter risk management and specialist de-icing products to keep estates free of snow and ice, ensuring sites remain safe, compliant and operational even through the harshest winter weather.
Our grounds maintenance services keep the grounds of your estates well-managed, tidy and appealing. With our PPM or one-off grounds maintenance services, our outdoor maintenance teams ensure that you have well-managed grounds and communal areas, important for enhancing your consumer and employee experience
Asset maintenance and replacement services for estate infrastructure, keeping your assets fully maintained, operational, and up to specification, 365 days a year come rain or shine. Our reactive outdoor maintenance services ensure that your compliance and health and safety obligations are always kept up to standard.
Case Studies
We have worked with Northern under contract since November 2016 and are now entering our fourth season. For the past three seasons we have delivered exceptional performance, including during extraordinary cold weather events such as the Beast from the East in 2018. Last year we attended 99.9% of sites within time, with zero inspection failures
To meet such a broad range of business needs, ISS Facility Services has built a team of personnel who share a dedication to impeccable customer care, a flexible approach and a belief in teamwork. OUTCO match their enthusiasm and respect for their client’s needs. As a facility services provider, ISS Facility Services South needed to offer a winter gritting and maintenance service, providing protection for its clients against the financial and physical risks of adverse weather
NHS Property Services Ltd Birmingham has employed the services of OUTCO since 2015. OUTCO was initially recommended by another NHS body. The contract was put out to tender and OUTCO won on service and cost differentiators. One of the principal aims of NHS Property Services Ltd Birmingham is to maintain a constant high level of support for hospitals, clinics and hospices. They need to supply 24/7 coverage, in all areas of their services, which includes keeping the roads, paths and car parks free of snow and ice in the winter months. This is essential as the NHS has a statutory obligation to keep staff, patients and visitors as safe as possible.
News
As the old scout saying goes ‘be prepared’ and this motto should certainly apply to UK property and estate managers,…
In the face of severe winter weather, maintaining safety and accessibility on commercial sites is crucial for business continuity and…
The term ‘Greenwashing’ has been used to describe the practice of businesses and organisations taking part, or exaggerating their participation,…
With the UK experiencing huge disruption from extreme winter weather in recent years, the subject of winter contingency planning is…
As OUTCO’s winter services business celebrates its 20th year anniversary, founder and CEO Jason Petsch, examines how technology is transforming…
As we approach November 2024, weather forecasts suggest the UK may experience one of the coldest starts to winter in…