Scenario: your agency has its own plow blade specification and wants to know how it compares with the Clear Roads standard. Direct answer: use a gap-analysis worksheet with one row per topic the standard covers, fill in what each document says and mark the differences for review. I read the Clear Roads Project 17-02 page on 24 October 2026, not the full specification, so I list only the topics the page names and cite no values from it.
What the project page says
The page is a project summary, so read it for what the standard covers and what it deliberately leaves alone.
- Project 17-02 produced standard specifications for plow blades with carbide inserts, completed in April 2020 (investigator SRF Consulting Group).
- The page says there are no common procurement specifications for carbide inserts and agencies use a wide variety of requirements, and the standard aims to let agencies share specifications.
- The specifications address carbide inserts, geometry and dimensions; blade materials, assembly details and dimensions; plow blade configuration (front, underbody or tow) and dimensions; and quality assurance inspections and accept/reject procedures.
- A note on the page says Clear Roads revised part of the specifications following an industry peer review, so download the revisions listed under the study documents as well as the main document.
Worksheet
| Topic (from the project page) | Your agency says | Clear Roads standard says | Gap? | Action / owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbide insert material | ||||
| Insert geometry and dimensions | ||||
| Blade steel and material | ||||
| Assembly details (how inserts are held) | ||||
| Blade dimensions: length, height, thickness | ||||
| Mounting: bolt pattern and holes | ||||
| Configuration: front, underbody, tow | ||||
| Quality assurance inspections | ||||
| Accept/reject procedures |
How to run it
A gap analysis is only useful if both sides are quoted from the text rather than from memory.
- Download the current standard and any revisions from the project page.
- Fill in the left side with your own specification’s text, citing the section.
- Fill in the right side from the standard, citing its section.
- Mark each row as same, different or missing, and note why your agency differs.
- Discuss gaps with maintenance staff and suppliers before changing anything.
Limits
Adopting a standard may affect price, supply and existing contracts. The worksheet identifies differences; it does not say which document is better.
Boundary: Only the project page was read, not the full specification; no specification values are cited and the worksheet does not rank the documents.
Sources and further reading. External references are dated; where a figure is quoted, the link shows where it came from.
Clear Roads: Standard Specifications for Plow Blades with Carbide Inserts (Project 17-02) (completed April 2020) ↗Carbide Grader Blades: When Carbide Pays on Gravel and Ice Roads ↗Micro-Grain vs Standard Grain Carbide Inserts: Choosing by Wear Mechanism ↗Tungsten carbide inserts for snow plow edges ↗Tow Plow Feedback From Clear Roads: Upfit, Spreading and Blades ↗Flexible Carbide Blades: What States Said, Praise and Complaints ↗Ease of Installation Is a Cost: What State Ratings Say About Heavy Blades ↗
