SIMA releases first standard for snow and ice services procurement

The Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) released SIMA-10-2020 Standard Practice for Procuring and Planning Snow and Ice Management Services — the American National Standard for the commercial snow and ice management industry approved by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).

Identifying the industry’s lack of resources for those who seek to hire quality commercial snow and ice management services, SIMA convened a diverse Stakeholder Advisory Group, including snow contractors and facility managers, and its Standards Development Committee to help craft and approve an initial standard. As an ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer, SIMA then went through a rigorous process to publicly announce this standard, including a public review period, consensus body vote, and finalization following standards policies.

The Standard Practice for Procuring and Planning Snow and Ice Management Services covers the following:

  • General Procurement: Includes recommended minimum snow services contract term lengths, optimal contract award dates and general information related to the use of subcontractors.
  • Level of Service (LOS) and Scope of Work (SOW): Identifies descriptions of desired outcomes, service timeframes and service priorities related to LOS. It also emphasizes guidelines for SOW, including site assessment and inspection recommendations, as well as information related to environmental, architectural and equipment considerations.
  • Monitoring Procedures and Documentation: Establishes minimum guidelines for snow service documentation/reporting, billing requirements, technology requirements, service controls and decision-making and communication processes between the snow contractor and facility or property manager.

 

SIMA members can access the standard at My.sima.org or via an online certificate course at Train.sima.org at no charge. Non-members can purchase the standard for $150 at sima.org/store.