Is your fleet ready for snow season?

Winter is around the corner, and your preseason prep should be in the books. But it's never too late for a final check to ensure your physical assets—from heavy machinery and hand tools to material deliveries and maintenance workflows—are solid. This will help prevent avoidable delays, equipment failures, and safety hazards in the middle of a storm. Use the  checklist below to make sure your fleet is ready to perform.

Equipment Compliance, Placement, and Safety

• Conduct a thorough overview to verify that all equipment is compliant, operating properly, and backed by updated documentation and established processes.

• Confirm that your personnel know where to locate equipment documentation.

• Review equipment placement to ensure you have the right machinery staged for the job at hand.

• Verify that all staff members understand the safety requirements and potential hazards associated with each piece of equipment.
  

Hand Tools, Materials, and Deliveries

• Inspect and tune up all hand tools, checking whether non-motorized tools are functional or need to be repaired or replaced.

• Make sure hand tools are easily accessible to your crew rather than still tucked away in storage.

• Communicate and train impacted staff on any required processes or documentation tied to those tools.

• Review upcoming deliveries to spot potential delays, evaluate their operational impact, establish backup plans for major delays, and notify the appropriate people.

• Confirm whether documentation is required for rentals and materials, and ensure a shared, accessible process is in place.
  

Inspections, Repairs, and Breakdown Protocols

• Determine whether your team has the tools and ability to make minor repairs on the fly—and if not, establish a clear process for how those repairs get handled.

• Train field staff to complete pre-event, during-event, and post-event equipment checks using shared, accessible documentation.

• Maintain a regular maintenance schedule alongside an organization-wide breakdown process—and a backup plan—that holds up during long-duration storms or crisis management.
  

Cross-Training and Fleet Changeovers

• Train all staff members on basic machine functions and how to locate, check, and fill essential fluids—including oil, DEF, and fuel—so any team member can step in to assist with minor tasks in a pinch, even if it falls outside their normal role.

• Run a changeover dry run on one or several pieces of equipment to work out any kinks.
  

Preparing your equipment and supply logistics is an essential piece of getting ready for winter. Additional prep checklists can be found at resources.sima.org.