First Standard for Snow and Ice Management

SIMA-10-2020 Standard Practice for Procuring & Planning Snow & Ice Management Services

The Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) has released SIMA-10-2020 Standard Practice for Procuring and Planning Snow & Ice Management Services—the American National Standard for the commercial snow and ice management industry approved by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).snow and ice management

Identifying the industry’s lack of resources for those who seek to hire quality commercial snow and ice management services, SIMA convened a diverse Stakeholder Advisory Group, including snow contractors and facility managers, and its Standards Development Committee to help craft and approve an initial standard. As an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer, SIMA then went through a rigorous process to publicly announce this standard, including a public review period, consensus body vote, and finalization following standards policies.

The Standard Practice for Procuring and Planning Snow and Ice Management Services covers the following:

  • General Procurement: Includes recommended minimum snow services contract term lengths, optimal contract award dates, and general information related to the use of subcontractors.
  • Level of Service (LOS) and Scope of Work (SOW): Identifies descriptions of desired outcomes, service time frames, and service priorities related to LOS. It also emphasizes guidelines for SOW, including site assessment and inspection recommendations, as well as information related to environmental, architectural, and equipment considerations.
  • Monitoring Procedures and Documentation: Establishes minimum guidelines for snow service documentation/reporting, billing requirements, technology requirements, service controls and decision-making, and communication processes between the snow contractor and facility or property manager.

SIMA members can access the standard at My.sima.org or via an online certificate course at Train.sima.org at no charge. Non-members can purchase the standard for $150 atsima.org/store. Complete information on SIMA’s standards process is at www.sima.org/standards.

“Through cooperation and adherence to these standards, snow contractors and facilities management/owners will be able to protect public safety while keeping sites open, reducing environmental impact, and managing the threat of slip and falls effectively,” says SIMA CEO Martin Tirado, CAE.

 

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