The sun is shining; well, not today as it’s raining but we are in Summer! As a local Winter Gritting
Services Contractor, Weatherwise Services Ltd, offer gritting services whether that is using salt,
brine or a specialist non corrosive product and in the event of snow fall, we also operate a snow
clearance service (we are also able to offer a snow removal service too) to ensure that your site
remains safe and compliant.

However, as we operate during the winter months, when the weather is inclement and poses risks of
Slip, trip and falls injuries, many people ask us “what do you do in the summer”? Sit with our feet up
waiting for the frosty weather to return?

No, Never!!

As soon as our season concludes, at the end of April, we go into maintenance and repair mode both
on our fleet of vehicles and the specialist equipment on them but also on our premises, which we
continue to expand and adapt. In all honesty, the summer months are always extremely busy
preparing for the forthcoming gritting season doing all of the jobs that time restricts us on during the
winter operational months

We have purchased three new (new to us) vehicles and these are currently undergoing their
conversion into Road Gritting Vehicles. They are being stripped down completely, their chassis’ are
being shortened by over a metre and then they are having a new bed installed. Following this, the
gritting equipment will be bolted onto the chassis and the controls wired in and they will be ready to
go out to site offering you the necessary protection.
In addition to the new vehicles that we are bringing into operation, by the end of July, all of our
existing vehicles will serviced and repaired (if necessary) ensuring that they are ready to head out
onto the road again when required. All of these preparations are done to the highest standards to
ensure that our vehicles are safe and compliant for their operators and safe to be on your site
delivering winter gritting services.


We are also in the process of building and installing a new salt storage bay which will allow us to
carry a larger stock of white marine salt. The expanded facility will hold around 150 tonnes which
sounds a lot but we will use approximately 30 tonnes per night during our busy periods so we need
to have a good partnership with our salt supply chain. Each salt delivery weighs approximately
30 tonnes so it is essential that we have enough stock and enough on order to enable us to fulfil our
contractual duties.


We have also extended the footprint of our operations yard allowing the articulated delivery
vehicles to drive in, turn around and drop their delivery – this doesn’t sound like a big deal but
previously we have had to have the delivery vehicles reverse down our driveway which has caused
its own issues!!

Aside from being busy with the works going on in the operations yard, we are also extremely busy
working on and improving many areas of the business including, but not exclusively,
Developing operator training packages which include important information about Safety matters
whilst they are out working on site. Many sites have their own individual requirements too so each
operator needs the correct information to ensure that we meet our clients’ needs and expectations
at all times.


Developing systems to allow help should breakdowns happen; we prepare our vehicles to work but
Sometimes they let you down – a breakdown causes an immense amount of work ensuring that our
operative is safe, that the vehicles are recovered in a timely manner but also that the route the
operative is working can be completed by a different crew or a replacement vehicle is delivered to
the crew to allow them to continue.


We are also working on developing our policies to ensure that we comply with the various rules and
regulations. We have to ensure that our policies are up to date and compliant too.
We are currently working on Corona Virus policies to ensure that, if needed when our season starts,
everyone is aware of the procedures and precautions that are necessary to ensure a safe working
environment both for our staff and yours too

.
Our Health & Safety policies are constantly reviewed and updated as necessary as are our Risk
Assessments and RAMS documents as well as all of the documentation associated with them.

Should you require any help or advice with your winter service preparations or to arrange a site
Inspection please do not hesitate to contact us; this can be done via the contact page on our website
www.weatherwiseservices.co.uk, via telephone on 0333 772 9525, email
[email protected]