Letting the foremen teach

As the seasons shift and ITD prepares for the next round of snowfighting, District 1 foremen have stepped up and into a new setting: the classroom.

For the first time, all of the foremen will guide their crews’ training through the Storm 102 course to analyze data from multiple sources and improve winter operations, highway safety and mobility.

Originally the course was taught only to foremen, but a July memo from ITD Chief Operations Officer (COO) Travis McGrath instructed all Transportation Technicians to take both Storm 101 and Storm 102. 

Storm 101 is learning the about the various materials we use — Salt, Brine, MagChloride, Boost — and when to use them and in what application rates. It does go over the Clear Roads Matrix, the Cirus Controller, plow safety, and TAMS/WARS.

"Storm 102 is about using Vaisala mainly to understand the data coming from the Roadway Weather Information Systems (RWIS) stations to see what effect winter operations is having on the roadway. It goes over the graphs in Vaisala in detail to explain what happens to the grip, ice layer, snow layer, water layer, etc. as we apply chemicals and plow the roadway," explained Jerry Wilson, D1 operations engineer.

"The class also goes over the National Weather Service (NWS) forcasting that we use to make a plan for how they will fight the storm and where, when, and how many resources to use. The NWS also is used to do a forecast in Vaisala to show what will happen to the roadway ifwe don't do anything. All this information is used to debrief after the storm so the team can learn together what worked well and what could be done differently next time."

COO memos are developed with input from operations leaders, but Wilson added on to this one by advising his foremen to educate their own sections.

“This way the techs are trained on what they need to know and hear it from their supervisors, who are the best sources for this type of information,” he said.

The class will empower operations employees to observe the effect of road applications on grip, and predict the outcome if crews don’t do anything. Crews can use this data during their weekly storm debriefings to help them make better decisions the following week, Wilson said.

“This is a good experience for both the foremen and the TTOs and will help the team to be the best,” he added. 

Published 09-14-18