Two-Plow Towns: A Winter Readiness Self-Audit in One Page

Scenario: a small town has two plows, a handful of drivers and no dedicated shop. Direct answer: a one-page self-audit, done each autumn, can show where a single failure would stop the town. The checklist below is simple and aimed at very small operations; adapt it to your equipment and rules.

Maintenance checklist: the one-page audit

People

• [ ] Two named drivers per truck, both trained and current.
• [ ] A call list that works, with someone responsible for updating it.
• [ ] Someone who decides when to start and who to call.

Trucks and plows

• [ ] Each truck started, driven and tested with the plow fitted.
• [ ] Edges inspected and a replacement trigger agreed.
• [ ] Hydraulics cycled and hoses checked.
• [ ] Lights, tyres and brakes checked.

Spares

• [ ] One spare edge set per plow, with bolts.
• [ ] Spare hoses, pins and a few fittings.
• [ ] A change kit, labelled, with a torque wrench.

Backup

• [ ] A plan if one plow fails: which roads are covered, by whom.
• [ ] A contractor or neighbouring town to call, with the number written down.

Materials and communication

• [ ] Salt or sand stock checked.
• [ ] Message to residents about priorities and timing.

Scoring

Tick, partly, or not done. List every line that is not ticked, and give each an owner and a date. If a failure of one plow would leave major roads uncovered, make that the first thing to fix.

After the first storm

Review the page. What was missing? What was wrong? Update it before the next storm.

Common weak points in very small fleets

In a two-plow town, the weak points are usually a single trained driver, no spare edge, a call list out of date and no agreement with a neighbour. Each is cheap to fix in the autumn, and each is awkward in a storm.

If you can, ask a neighbouring town or a local contractor to look over your page with you. A second pair of eyes often spots the single point of failure that the home team has stopped seeing.

Boundary: The audit is a simple template with no external standard behind it; adapt it to your equipment, staff and legal obligations.