Snow and Ice Guidance

Procedure for Snow and Ice Clearing for Winter

The following is the agreed procedure for coping with snow falls and ice throughout the winter.

To pre-empt bad weather/icy conditions during the call out period, the following procedure is to be adopted each day at 3.00pm: the first contact on the call out rota will contact the weather station, Leicester Meteorological Office, for a weather report; if snow, ice, or sub-zero temperatures are predicted, he will make the necessary arrangements to start salting that evening.

In the event of a call out, Security is to telephone the person named as the first contact on the rota, if conditions are such that salting or snow clearing is required early in the morning, or over weekends. The first contact will then decide, having assessed the situation, if the second contact is required or if additional staff need to be called in.

In the event of heavy snow, the third member of the Call out staff will be called out for operation of the snow plough. Additional staff, which have made themselves available for such occasions, will also be called in to start clearing paths and priority areas.

The ‘call out’ rota will commence the third week in November and continue until the end of February each year. Should adverse weather precede or continue prior to or after these dates, it will be necessary to extend this period.

During normal working hours Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm, any issues involving snow or, ice should be directed through the Estates and Facilities Management Helpdesk on ext. 222121.

The campus will be prioritised as follows:

  1. Main campus road from East to West entrances
  2. Remaining roads
  3. Medical Centre
  4. Main campus path from East to West entrances
  5. Holywell Park/Loughborough Park roads
  6. Steps/Path inclines
  7. Main Car parks
  8. Remaining paths
  9. Responses to phone calls
  10. Any remaining areas

This may be subject to change in the event of extreme conditions when it will depend on staff availability.

For safety reasons ‘On Call’ staff are required to sign in and out at the Security Gatehouse when working ‘on call’.

An inspection of all the snow clearing/salt spreading equipment is to be made by the Sports Grounds Manager (Will Relf) prior to the call out period and any deficiencies are to be rectified.

The Sports Grounds Manager (Will Relf) will ensure salt supplies are kept at reasonable levels and will re-order when necessary.

If any problems occur, in the first instance the Sports Grounds Manager (Will Relf) should be contacted and kept informed of the situation. If the Sports Grounds Manager (Will Relf) is not available the Building Fabric Manager (Dominic Eade) should be contacted on extension 222127.

The Joiner’s lorry and driver will be made available if required.

Halls of Residence

If snow, ice or sub-zero temperatures are predicted, Campus Services Repairs and Logistics Office (CSRLO) will be contacted by the Grounds and Gardens Team. The CSRLO will assess whether to deploy salt spreaders as a pro-active measure in the areas of the campus where CSRLO is directly responsible for snow and ic clearance.

With regards to the halls of residence, in the event of heavy snow falling at weekends, Security will contact the Campus Services Residences Duty Manager on 07791 832825 requesting to contact the Duty CSRLO Team Member. They will then assess the situation and undertake any work needed to make areas safe in the areas of the campus where CSRLO are responsible for snow and ice clearance. Additional resources from within the CSRLO Team should be called upon if needed.

Halls of residence will be prioritised by the CSRLO team:

  1. 7 day catered, - Towers and Elvyn Richards
  2. 5 day catered - David Collett, Cayley Rutherford, Faraday Royce
  3. Self-catered - Butler Court, Falkner Eggington, Telford, University Lodge, John Philips, Rig/Rut and Robert Bakewell.
  4. Salt/ Grit the pathways around SAC, Parcels, and main entrances.

This procedure may be subject to change in the event of extreme conditions and will be dependent on staff availability.

CSRLO will in addition to the Grounds and Garden team, assist in clearing snow and ice around the halls of residence, due to our customers staying in the accommodation blocks. Please note: Depending on distance from the campus (minimal 2 miles) and assessing the risk to themselves, at no point will the teams be expected to put themselves at risk if the weather conditions are so severe that they cause a significant safety risk with travel.

General

At critical times, there may be a request for additional support from catering and caretaking, to assist with clearing their surrounding work locations by the main door, only if safe to do so. The risk assessment will support this change if and when needed.