Snow and ice management glossary

ASCA

Also called: Accredited Snow Contractors Association

The Accredited Snow Contractors Association, a US association founded in 2012 that focuses on “reducing risk through education and advocating for industry-friendly legislation” for professional snow contractors. It publishes the industry standard ANSI/ASCA A1000-2014, “System Requirements for Snow and Ice Management Services”, and runs ASCA-C, an annual certification for individuals (ASCA).

Bare pavement

A level of service where surfaces are cleared down to the pavement, with no packed snow or ice left — usually plowing followed by de-icer. The contract should say which surfaces get it, because it takes more visits and more material than a standard that allows some packed snow.

Brine

Also called: salt brine

Salt dissolved in water and sprayed as a liquid. It is the usual material for pre-treatment before a storm, and it is also used to pre-wet dry salt so the salt sticks to the pavement and starts working sooner.

• When to pre-salt

Certificate of insurance

Also called: COI

A short document from an insurer or broker that summarizes a business’s insurance: the policies, their limits and the dates they cover. Many property managers ask a snow contractor for one before work starts, often naming themselves as an additional insured, and contractors ask the same of their subcontractors.

• Snow removal insurance guide

De-icing

Putting salt or another de-icer on snow or ice that is already on the pavement, to melt it and break its bond. In a contract it is usually a separate service from plowing, with its own trigger and its own price; whether the salt is included in that price or billed separately is up to the contractor.

• Salt and de-icing tracking

Hold-harmless clause

Also called: indemnity clause, indemnification clause

A contract clause in which one party agrees to cover the other’s losses if a claim is made — in a snow contract, usually the contractor agreeing to cover the property owner or manager if someone is hurt. Read it with your insurer before you sign, because it can make you answer for more than your own work.

How far such a clause can go depends on the law where the property is. ASCA says its model bill, the Snow Plow and Deicing Limited Liability Act, “eliminates the practice of property owners and property managers passing on their liability to snow and ice management companies,” and that it has been signed into law in Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut and Pennsylvania (ASCA). This is general information, not legal advice.

• Snow removal insurance guide

Level of service

Also called: LOS

What a contract promises for each surface: how clear it will be kept, how soon after the trigger, and in what order. For example: entrances and fire lanes first, then the lot to bare pavement within a set number of hours after the snow stops. Writing it down is what lets a contractor show the work met the contract.

• Snow removal contract clauses explained

Occupier’s liability

Also called: premises liability, occupiers’ liability

The legal duty of whoever occupies or controls a property to keep the people on it reasonably safe, including from snow and ice. In Canada it is a matter of provincial law, and Ontario and British Columbia, for example, each have an occupiers’ liability act. British Columbia’s Occupiers Liability Act says an occupier must take the care that “in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable” to see that a person “will be reasonably safe in using the premises,” and Ontario’s Occupiers’ Liability Act adds a 60-day written-notice rule for snow and ice injury claims (see our guide).

In the United States the same idea is called premises liability, and it comes from each state’s own law. This is general information, not legal advice.

Per-event pricing

A price for each storm event, however many visits the storm takes, usually higher for a deeper storm. De-icing is priced as its own event with its own rate, so a per-event quote is a rate card — a price for each service — not a season total.

• Per-event snow billing explained

Per-push pricing

Also called: per-visit pricing

A price for each time the crew plows the property — each “push”. A long storm can take several pushes, so the client pays more in a heavy winter and less in a light one.

• Per-push vs seasonal vs per-event contracts

Per-season cap

Also called: season cap

A limit written into a seasonal contract: the season price covers up to a set number of visits or events, and each one past that is billed at an agreed price. It shares the risk of a record winter between the contractor and the client.

• What is a season cap in a snow removal contract?

Pre-treatment

Also called: anti-icing, pre-salting

Putting de-icer down before a storm — usually liquid brine — so snow and ice can’t bond to the pavement. It takes less material than melting ice that has already bonded, but it pays off only at workable pavement temperatures and when rain won’t wash it away first.

• When to pre-salt

Proof of service

The record that a visit happened as the contract requires: arrival and finish times, the GPS location, photos taken at the site, who did the work and what material went down. It settles billing questions, and it is key evidence if a slip-and-fall claim comes in.

• Proof of service in Icey
• Proof-of-service checklist

Push-back

Also called: pushing back banks

Pushing snowbanks farther back from the edges of a lot or driveway to make room for the snow from the next storms. It is usually done with a loader or a plow after a big storm, and a contract may price it separately.

Route

Also called: snow route

The ordered list of sites one crew services in a storm, with priority sites — such as emergency access and early-opening businesses — first. A good route keeps drive time between sites low, so every site is reached within its level of service.

• Snow route planning guide

Salt application rate

Also called: spread rate

How much de-icer goes down on a given area. In North America it is usually stated in pounds per 1,000 square feet; 1 lb per 1,000 sq ft is about 4.9 g/m². The right rate depends on the pavement temperature and the material.

• Salt application rates cheat sheet
• Salt quantity calculator

Seasonal contract

Also called: seasonal flat rate

One fixed price for the whole winter, whatever the snowfall, often paid in monthly instalments. The client gets a predictable bill; the contractor carries the risk of a heavy winter unless the contract has a per-season cap.

• Per-push vs seasonal vs per-event contracts

Sidewalk crew

Also called: walk crew

The crew that clears walks, steps, ramps and entrances — with shovels, snow blowers or small sidewalk machines — and puts down de-icer. Walks often have a stricter trigger or level of service than the parking lot, because that is where people walk.

SIMA

Also called: Snow & Ice Management Association

The Snow & Ice Management Association, a non-profit trade association for snow and ice professionals, with members across the US and Canada. It runs training and events, publishes best practices and standards, and offers the Certified Snow Professional (CSP) credential (sima.org).

Slip-and-fall claim

A claim or lawsuit from someone hurt after slipping on snow or ice on a property. It usually names the property owner or occupier, and often the snow contractor too; the records of when the site was plowed and salted are central evidence.

• Slip-and-fall documentation
• Ontario’s 60-day notice rule

Stacking and hauling

Also called: snow relocation

Stacking is piling snow in agreed spots on the property; hauling is loading it into trucks and taking it off site when there is no room left. Hauling is usually priced separately, by the load or by the hour.

Storm event

Also called: event

One storm as a contract counts it: it usually starts when snowfall reaches the trigger depth and ends once snow has stopped for a number of hours the contract names. Per-event prices and per-season caps both count events, so the definition belongs in writing.

• Per-event snow billing explained

Subcontractor

Also called: sub

An independent business a snow contractor hires to service some of its sites with the sub’s own equipment and crew. The hiring contractor usually wants a written agreement and a certificate of insurance before the sub starts.

• Snow subcontractor agreement guide

Trigger depth

Also called: trigger

The snowfall depth at which the contract says plowing starts — for example, 5 cm (2 in). Below it, the contractor isn’t required to plow, though the contract may still call for de-icing.

• Snow removal contract clauses explained

Zero tolerance

A level of service where the property must be kept free of snow and ice at all times, so crews respond to any snow or ice, with no trigger depth. It costs more, because crews are on site more often.

• What is a zero-tolerance snow removal contract?