Executive summary

This case study examines Clean Cut Lawn & Landscape in Lawrence, KS and its success with the Switchblade Sno Pusher. Since putting the Switchblade to use in 2008, they have reduced their man hours by 37.5% over straight blade plowing. Having both rubber and steel edges in one Sno Pusher has equipped Clean Cut to be prepared for any snow condition, including icy conditions.

Background on company

Clean Cut Lawn and Landscape began as a landscape contractor in 2003. It has grown quickly and expanded its operations into snow removal three years ago. Snow removal currently makes up 10-15% of its business. It has five snow removal employees working eight lots including condos/homeowners associations and large commercial lots. Clean Cut’s snow removal fleet consists of an ASV SR70 track skid steer with a 10’ Switchblade Sno Pusher (SB10S), a 3/4 –Ton truck with a straight blade, a Ramrod walk-behind skid steer with a snow blower, and various other snow blowers.

Site Information

The site analyzed is a 35,000 square foot church parking lot. The lot has many islands and is broken into multiple lots with access roads connecting them. The lot is typically empty when it is plowed. The lot receives approximately 25” of snow annually, with a typical snowfall of 3-4”. The snow is typically wet, dense snow with a just a few ice events each season.

Comparison before and after Pro-Tech Sno Pushers

Before: Clean Cut used a ¾-Ton truck with a straight blade plow to clear the lot. The truck would windrow the aisles and access roads to move the snow to designated areas. This took 1 employee 4 hours to complete, resulting in 4 man hours to clear the lot in a typical snowfall event.

After:Clean Cut currently clears the lot with a 10’ Switchblade Sno Pusher on an ASV S70 track skid steer. The Switchblade is able to make single passes over entire lengths of the lot, up to 100ft. Clean Cut primarily uses the IST edge of the Switchblade as it is able to clear any ice and hard pack that may have built up. Removing snow from this lot now takes one employee 2.5 hours to complete, resulting in 2.5 man hours to clear the lot in a typical snowfall. The addition of the 10’ Switchblade Sno Pusher resulted in a 37.5% reduction in man hours.

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