It’s a cold grey dawn here in Western Massachusetts. I’m headed to work with the plow on the front of my truck, wondering what the day will bring. Somewhere between two and eight inches of snow is forecast, and we are ready. In another hour, Joe will be out salting the parking lot. Austin and Jack have the larger plows ready on their trucks, and they’ll start clearing as soon as snow starts to accumulate. Jose will be watching over the parking lot, keeping it clear as best we can for plowing.
The ambulance operations in our complex never close. We never know when they will be called out, and we have to make sure they can get out when calls come, no matter what the conditions.
We’re pretty good at handling storms now. Having our own equipment and a good staff makes all the difference. We have three heavy duty pickups with 8 foot plows ready. Two John Deere tractors have snow blowers mounted for sidewalks and snow piles. A larger John Deere is ready with a loader and a bigger blower, but no one expects us to need that. There are salt spreaders and several pallet loads of snow melt in the shed.
Lots of people with equipment like ours hire their crews out to the City, but I don’t want to beat our stuff up plowing roads. It’s enough to clear our three acres of yard, the street around us, the short street we live on and our driveways.
So often, I read about “our great people,” as if people single-handedly handle snowstorms and whatever else life throws at us. They (we) don’t. We would be nowhere without machines. With workers alone, it would take days to clear a six-inch snowfall, and it would be backbreaking work. With the right machines, it’s a few hours work from the comfort of heated cabs.
If your machines are well-maintained, you can drive into a storm like this and be confident your equipment will do its job. Properly maintained gear does not break down or fall apart when things get tough. Before we owned plows and blowers we were at the mercy of hired contractors who generally arrived late and did a less than stellar job. Now, thanks to our equipment, we decide when to work and how to do it.
Machines make the life we take for granted possible.
So as you watch the plows go by, tip your hat to all the workers out there keeping the roads clear and as safe as they can be. But don’t forget that we’d all be home shoveling without modern equipment.