As in most municipalities, winter had always been a difficult season for Hamilton Township to manage.

Snow would pile up and with it came citizen complaints, school delays, and possible accidents and traffic jams.  We would battle each snowfall with our 20 dump trucks (equipped with plows and spreaders) and seven loaders with plows.  These vehicles were driven by 27 drivers per 12-hour shift.  Tracking the location and accomplishments of these vehicles was difficult. 

Using antiquated tracking systems, inherited from our predecessors, we coped as best we could with mixed results.   We searched for a better way than using highlighter markers, poster paper and Cheez-It crackers to track our progress and locations.

Recently, Rich Balgowan, our director of public works, and I learned about National Geomatica, an Allenhurst-based company that had been successful in developing automated systems for managing municipal operations.  Other New Jersey municipalities, including Mendham Township, Hightstown, and Mine Hill, were already using the system for many functions such as building permitting, animal licenses, and apartment leasing.

We met with National Geomatica and discussed the snow plowing management challenge, and also brought in other department heads to discuss their possible uses of the system.  We quickly reached agreement with National Geomatica and decided to start using the system, effective this past August.

To begin, National Geomatica created for us a geographic information system (GIS), which combines a detailed series of maps of an area with a database that contains any information that can be associated with it.

Within days, we had several mission-critical functions of government online, including building permitting and zoning management.  But our biggest challenge was our snow removal operations.  Although National Geomatica had never tackled snow removal, they created a special system for us by the time winter came that organized the snow removal process and allowed us to control and track our snow and ice control operations at a much more detailed and efficient level. 

The system accurately displays information about the movement of salt spreaders and plows, using our color code system on the GIS map.  The map clearly shows the progress we are making in clearing our roads: Yellow for plowed once, green for plowed twice and other colors signifying pre-treatments and salt spreading.  Using the GIS computer mapping system, all markings are clear—we no longer have overlapping colors that are difficult to interpret.

During a snowstorm, drivers did what they did in the past—they radioed our control center to report starting and completion of salt spreading and snow plowing for each section of road.  Our technician in the control center made an entry using the software and it was updated on our screen.  The roadway’s color was instantly changed on the map.  This eliminated any confusion over how many times a road had been salted or plowed.

The system recorded all snow removal operations for each storm.  This feature gave us the opportunity to analyze routes and evaluate driver performance.  Tracking who salted and/or plowed what roads in past storms helps optimize plowing and salt-spreading operations when assigning routes.  Giving drivers the same route for each storm allows them to become familiar with obstacles, like high manholes and exposed curb ends that can damage plows and trucks.

Using the system’s database, which includes the time spent salting and plowing on each road, we are able to optimize our operation by balancing road assignments (maximizing available resources) so that roads are salted and plowed in the most timely and efficient manner.

While there is an annual outlay to run the National Geomatica system, our snow removal expenses have actually gone down.  This is primarily because of improved planning, employee accountability, training and equipment calibration.  As a result, we have been able to reduce our salt-spreading on primary roads from, in some cases, 3 hours to 1 1/2 hours.  Plowing time has also been reduced substantially through better planning and route optimization.  Because of the noted efficiencies, we are hoping to begin including our secondary streets into our salting plan.

National Geomatica moved quickly and, early this winter, we managed to have all 225 miles of primary roads and many miles of our secondary roads covered by the system.  Before the winter is over, we expect to have all our roads included.

We were concerned that testing and staff training for new automation would take time, but National Geomatica had the system up in less than two months. In fact, the system is so “turnkey” that after a brief tutorial, Rich Balgowan, the staff, and I were able to learn it on our own.  

Every time we use the system, we get more ideas about how it can be used by other departments.   And, as in all of the customization National Geomatica does, there is no charge.  They feel the real value in the system is in what we tell them to program and, in fact, they look forward to letting other towns use what we created, as we currently use functionality created by others.

We are already planning to increase the system’s capabilities to accomplish such things as storing permits for the Engineering Planning Department and tracking water quality control.

And we even came up with another use that turns the snow-clearing system from a single-season tool to a two-season tool: Using it to track fall leaf pickups from township roadsides.  We expect our leaf-pickup control system to be fully operational by fall.  We also expect the same benefits—immediate and accurate instructions to drivers calling in on what roads to service next, and familiarity of drivers with the roads they drive and the potholes and curbs they must avoid.

As a mayor, taking a risk with new technology is worrisome.  I was concerned about whether the system would accomplish our goals.  But the system has worked very well, providing increased safety on our highways.  Rich Balgowan and I have noted a near-total lack of any complaints on primary roadways about snow removal this year.