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SNOW & ICE RESPONSE Tyler Bemis Pierce County Planning & Public Works September 24, 2019 Road & Street Maintenance Supervisors’ Conference
SNOW & ICE RESPONSE
Tyler BemisPierce County Planning & Public Works
September 24, 2019 Road & Street Maintenance Supervisors’ Conference
About Us
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Resources
Staff• 164 Road Ops• 25 SWM Ops• 26 Equipment Services
Equipment• 34 Heavy Trucks• 5 Motor Graders• 5 1Ton “Hit Trucks”
➢ Truck Setup / Route Running➢ Plow/Sander Control Training➢ Snow Fighting Plan➢ Snow and Ice Fighting Equipment Maintenance➢ 1 Ton Plow Training for MW’s➢ Loads and Load Securement➢ Policies and Procedures➢ Intro to NIMS / ICS Training➢ iPad Training / 123 Survey➢ Communication / Media Outreach➢ Rivers 101➢ Chainsaw Training ➢ Chipper Safety Training➢ Anti-ice Day
Annual Emergency Preparedness Training
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https://youtu.be/bQhNcOS-_UA
ECMF Salt Shed
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Emergency Response Plans – 4 PhasesPhase 1 – Prep & Readiness
• Driven by forecast
• Communication & Outreach
• Brief EICG
• Resource Staging
• Shift Changes
• Preventative Applications
Phase 2 – Transition to Response/ICS• Driven by conditions
• Communication & Outreach
• Brief EICG, recommend conf call as warranted
• Respond to isolated impacts
• Resources Assigned to Response Zones
Phase 3 – Response, Open Operations Center (ROC)• Impacts are occurring and are widespread
• Communication & Outreach
• Regular EICG Sit-reps
• Inclement Weather conf calls as warranted
• Social Media updates
• Normal M&O Ops are deferred
• 24hr Coverage
Phase 4 – Recovery, Return to Normal Ops• Driven by forecast and conditions
• May conduct Rapid Damage Assessment
• Communication & Outreach
• EICG Sit-reps as warranted
• Social Media updates as warranted
• Clean, repair, inventory resources
• Transition to normal shifts
• Resume normal M&O Operations
9/24/2019 Presentation Title 6
Emergency Plans
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28 Emergency Response Zones
Five Map SetsMap Set A
• 1,700 LM of Primary Roads
• Major arterials, life-line routes
• Principle Map Set when in Phase 3
Map Set B (subset of Map Set A)
• 650 LM of highest volume roadways
• Utilized when conditions overwhelm available
resources
Map Set C (subset of Map Set A)
• Multi-lane Arterials
• Utilized when available resources support multi-
truck plowing operations
Map Set D • 1,600 LM of residential, local access roadways
• Parsed out by developments within sub-zones
Map Set E (subset of Map Set A)
• Utilized for preventative liquid applications
• 760 LM of high risk areas
• Hills, curves, controlled intersections, shaded
areas, elevated structures
February 1st 2019 - Initiate Phase 1
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February 3rd 2019 - Phase 2
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February 4th 2019 - Transition to Phase 3
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February 5-8th 2019 - Continue Phase 3
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Tactical Decision Point
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Facts:
• Forecast suggest emergency response needs likely to continue for several days or more,
• Most staff on 12hr shifts since Feb 3rd.
• Salt supply at 58% of 3,100 ton target
• Relative lull in weather impacts mid-week
• Beginning to receive salt & salt brine requests from contract agencies
Problem 1 – Crew Fatigue
Decisions:
• Short term- Staff afforded 8hr shifts and leave requests honored (until next round of severe weather)
• Long term- Developed plans to adjust shifts to 3 – 8hr shifts to provide 24hr coverage with modest LOS reduction.
• Sandwiches – provided each crewmember a 6” sub at beginning of shift
Problem 2 – Materials Re-supply
Decisions:
• Short term- Re-located sand supplies to utilize salt/sand blend until salt storages are adequate and/or emergency
response needs abate
• Interim term- Fuel resupply orders placed
• Long term- 2,000 ton order placed with primary salt vendor, guaranteed resupply of 60T per day until fulfilled
• Contingency 1,500 ton orders (PO) placed with WSDOT supplier as “insurance.” Confirmed with vendor (LTI) that
supplies at POS were adequate at that time.
February 9-12th 2019 - Continue Phase 3
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Tactical Decision Point
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Facts:
Compact snow/ice continues to impact many roads county-wide
Heavy accums of snow/slush impact most all residential roads
Most staff on duty since Feb 3rd.
WSDOT commandeered salt (from LTI), local trucking resources, fuel and
plow blades
Problem 1 – Crew Fatigue
Decisions:
• Short term- Reached out to other PPW divisions for support
• Sewer Utility staff with CDLs assigned to lower risk areas
• Long term- 3 – 8hr shift plans readied.
Problem 2 – Materials Re-supply
Decisions:
• Short term- Continue to pursue salt resupply alternatives
• Long term- 2,000 ton order placed with primary salt vendor, guaranteed resupply of 60T
per day until fulfilled
• Contingency 1,500 ton LTI order intiated. WSDOT directed LTI to decline PO. Negotiated
500 ton FOB.
Problem 3 – Increasing complaints about unplowed snow accums on secondary/residential roads
Decisions:
• Short term- Stand up Operations Task Force to focus on residential roads, AGO dash board, Snow Plow Hot Line w/web page
• Engage private sector for additional resources to support new task force
• Move 1T & 5yd plows into secondary roads as primaries are returned to bare/wet in each response zone
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Tactical Decision Point
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Facts:
Gig Harbor, Key Penn, Anderson Island impacted by up to 12” new accums
• Heavy tree damage affecting roadways, power outages
Heavy rain affecting central, south and east county
• Melt accelerated, local flooding
Heavy accums of snow/slush persists on all residential roads
Most staff on duty since Feb 3rd.
Salt re-supply progressing better than expected
Problem 1 – Crew Fatigue
Decisions:
• Short term- Reached out to other PPW divisions for support
• Sewer Utility with CDLs, SWM DM leading Residential Task Force, Traffic Ops
assigned to local flooding response, PIS supporting Snow Plow Hotline,
• Long term- 3 – 8hr shifts plans readied.
Problem 3 – Extensive tree damage in Gig Harbor, Key Penn, Anderson Island areas
Decisions:
• Short term- Shift CMF resources to GH, KP, AI as conditions warrant
• Secure rental chippers
• Engage private sector for additional resources to support residential task force
• Move 1T & 5yd plows into secondary roads as primaries are returned to bare/wet in each response zone
Summary
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Duration:
Feb 3-15th in Phase 3
Resources:
Labor – 16.7K hours; $815K
Equipment Hours – 27K; $1.3M
Materials –
Salt – 2,700 ton; $440K
Sand – 1,700 ton; $26K
Brine – 33K gal; $11K
Total Costs: $2.7M
Lessons Learned
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Staffing & Training
• Pro-active cross training
• CDL holders, plow/salt basics
• Chain saw & Utility Line safety
• Mobile device usage
Plans
• Minimize dependence on WSDOT contract
resources
• Improve response zone maps
• Cohesive segmentation
• Develop Hot Line implementation plans
• Exercise NIMS tactics PPW-wide
• Develop plans/contracts to provide employees
meals when warranted
• Develop basic snow removal plans (re-
location of problematic roadside snow
accums)
Tactics
• Engage PPW team members early
• Exercise NIMS expansion
• Ops Task Force
• Private sector oversight
• Improve real-time employee communication
Equipment, Materials & Tools
• Improve materials quantification capability
• Develop canned Ops Dash Boards
• Transition to single-product chloride
• Max capacity of salt sheds pre-winter
• Consider sand supply/logistics
