Purpose: show the arithmetic of turning wear parts into a per-push cost. All figures below are invented for illustration. Replace them with your own invoices and logs before using any number.
Step 1: cost per plowing hour
| Item | Assumed cost | Assumed life | Cost per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cutting edge (parts) | $420 | 120 plowing hours | $3.50 |
| Skid shoes (pair) | $90 | 150 hours | $0.60 |
| Bolt set per change | $35 | per edge change, 120 hours | $0.29 |
| Shop labor for one change (1 hour at $60) | $60 | per edge change, 120 hours | $0.50 |
| Total wear cost | about $4.89 per hour |
Step 2: per push and per season
If one push of this lot takes 1.5 hours of blade-down time, the wear cost is about $7.34 per push. At 25 pushes in a season, that is about 37.5 hours and $183 of wear for this lot. In this example, the lot uses about a third of one edge’s assumed life.
Step 3: stress it
Suppose the lot has rough surfacing or heavy sand, and the edge lasts only 60 hours. The same arithmetic gives about $9.18 per hour, $13.78 per push and $344 per season.
| Case | Edge life | Per push | 25 pushes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth pavement | 120 h | $7.34 | $183 |
| Rough or sanded | 60 h | $13.78 | $344 |
Where the example breaks down
Edge life is not constant. It changes with sanding, speed, the share of passes on bare pavement and the driver. A lot plowed mostly with snow on the ground wears the edge less per hour than one scraped repeatedly down to dry pavement. If you have no records yet, use two or three scenarios, as above, and price the middle one with a note that the rough case is billed differently.
Also decide what counts as an hour. Count blade-down time, not shift time, or your life figure and your push time will not match.
What goes into the price
The example is a method, not a benchmark.
- Use your own wear cost per hour, not the example’s.
- Add it to the other direct costs: labor, fuel, truck, insurance, salt and margin.
- Price surface type: a rough lot should cost more per push than a smooth one.
- State in the contract how wear is covered, so it is not a surprise item.
Boundary: the example omits damage claims, downtime and the cost of a hidden-object strike, all of which can exceed routine wear. No industry average is implied; build your own from records.
