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23 Survey responses indicated several varied institutional and workforce issues. As might be expected, these issues are often characterized by the need to balance conflicting interests and demands on the part of the public and executive levels. Iron- ically, success in meeting maintenance goals set through close observation of these interests and demands frequently serves to further increase the expectations. One problem area is public expectation and policies toward bare roads. A number of states have implemented bare roads policies. Once in place, the expectation by the public is that highways will be cleared immediately and that driving con- ditions will be commensurate with clear pavement conditions. Public awareness campaigns that emphasize caution during winter driving, while explaining the efforts of maintenance forces to clear roads, could be very effective in addressing this problem. Training, particularly with regard to the handling of liquids used for pre-wetting and anti-icing, is also a problem experi- enced by many agencies with winter maintenance responsibil- ities. Not surprisingly, the primary winter maintenance opera- tions identified by highway agencies are plowing, sanding/ salting, and application of anti-icing materials. Also identified were other snow removal operations such as snowblowing and rotary plowing. Several agencies commented on the importance of having trained winter maintenance personnel and the difficulties asso- ciated with delivering this training effectively and efficiently. Advances in technology compound this problem, as person- nel need more and more technically specialized training to make use of advanced equipment and materials. AASHTO has developed a computer-based training program for RWIS and anti-icing. The projectâs primary goal has been to create an interactive, computer-based training program that is com- prehensive at three levels: equipment operators, supervisors, and middle managers. The program was unveiled during 2003 and is very promising, covering information needed by all users, such as basic meteorology and chemistry. Users will be able to customize the program to include such variables as climatic information for their region, treatments for specific local road conditions, and regional and local weather fore- casting and monitoring. Operators, supervisors, and managers can then perform simulations for a range of maintenance activ- ity alternatives and view the resulting consequences of their selections. Organizations use a variety of maintenance skill levels for snow removal from entry level to master level, with the mas- ter level more prevalent on rotary plows, snowblowing, and operation of V plows. Similarly, all skill levels conduct sand- ing and salting activities, whereas anti-icing and deicing are done by journey- and master-level workers 88% of the time. Other master-level activities identified include avalanche con- trol, pay loader, snow route supervisor, and ice removal. A handful of the agencies reported that they experience dif- ficulties accomplishing winter maintenance as a result of inad- equate workforce skills or high turnover rates. These diffi- culties are particularly pronounced during early winter storms when the workforce is not fully staffed for winter operations. On average, just over 15% of the workforce available for winter operations is considered entry level, just over 53% is considered journey level, and the remainder (32%) is con- sidered master level. In general, turnover rates for the journey and master level are low, ranging from 5% to 10%. Entry- level turnover rates average approximately 10%, with very few agencies reporting entry-level turnover rates above 45%, and one agency reporting 90% for this category. The limited budgets available for both adequate numbers of personnel and their training also present problems for maintenance managers. This problem quickly multiplies the effects of the issues already discussed. Added emphasis on environmental protection also affects maintenance operations, particularly with regard to the use of chemicals and abrasives. This added emphasis elevates the importance of training skill and the optimization of the appli- cation rates of treatment materials. Highway agencies were asked to rate several potential improvement and current research areas aimed at aiding snowplow operations. Snowplow operator training and test- ing was identified as an essential important improvement area by 85% of the agencies, whereas 80% noted forward lighting as an essential improvement area. Nighttime con- spicuity (lighting) and daytime conspicuity (snowplow col- ors, lighting, etc.) were considered essential by 55% and 41% of agencies, respectively. CHAPTER SIX INSTITUTIONAL AND WORKFORCE ISSUES
Other improvement areas were considered good ideas by the agencies, but were not, on average, judged essential. These include the following: ⢠Better snowplow cabin display and control arrange- ments; 24 ⢠Improvements to the driverâs vision contrast sensitivity; ⢠Better in-cab systems to provide location, near-real-time operation data, communications with a base station, and proximity radar; ⢠Lane departure integrated into the warning system; and ⢠Magnetic edge line and tactual seat response.
