Last Updated 12/10/2020 3:06pm
The Railways and Transport Safety Bill received Royal Assent on 10 July 2003 and came into force on 31 October 2003. It contains a clause that adds the following after Section 41(1) of the Highways Act 1980“
(1A) In particular, a highway authority is under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.”
There is also a duty under Section 150 to remove obstructions, which includes snow. It is therefore important that the procedures set out in this Plan are followed. The Plan is reviewed annually and has been designed as an operational handbook for staff in Devon’s Highway Management Service, maintenance contractors, for the information of adjoining highway authorities and other road users. It sets out winter service policies and procedures to meet the duties imposed under the Highways Act. Details of the pre-salting network are given in Chapter 2, dealing with ice in Chapter 8 and snow in Chapter 9.
This document sets out the County Council’s strategy and details how winter service and emergency operations are managed. Its objectives are designed to assist emergency services, commerce and industry as well as other road users and can be summarised as follows:
The main facilities in place to achieve these aims are:-
This is the period where treatment on the PSN may occur and is normally from 15th October through to 15th April. This period may be brought forward or extended depending upon weather conditions at the time.
Winter Service is provided by the Term Service Contractor, directed by Devon County Council staff.
The following are abbreviations used in winter maintenance:
Abbreviation | Meaning |
---|---|
EMV/4WD | Emergency vehicles and 4-Wheeled Drive only |
GPS | Global Positioning System (used in automatic vehicle tracking) |
NOCC | Network Operations Control Centre |
IBC | Impassable, being cleared |
INBC | Impassable, not being cleared |
PEC | Passable with extreme care, snow still present over a road length |
PNAP | Passable, not available to the public |
PSN | Primary Salting Network |
PWC | Passable with Care, isolated areas of snow |
RC | Road Closed |
SLO | Slow Lane Only (Lane 1) / No Overtaking |
SSN | Secondary Salting Network |
TMP | Term Maintenance Provider |
To meet the duty to provide safe passage along the highway in a reasonable and practicable manner under Section 41(1A) of the Highways Act and to meet the requirements of the TMA and Road Traffic Act, the County Council undertakes pre-salting of the Primary Salting Network to prevent as far as reasonably possible the formation of ice or snow from settling. It is not expected that reports of ice not on the primary salting network will normally receive treatment. However, during long cold periods, snow or ice is treated on other routes including footways and cycleways, off the PSN as needed, subject to resource availability, once the PSN is clear.
During the summer of 2011, a comprehensive route optimisation exercise was been carried out with the Met Office, the outcome of which was a reduction in the number of salting routes required to deliver the PSN. Since then several minor alterations have occurred to the salting network, principally where there have been physical changes to the highways network usually as a result of development.
Devon County Council as highway authority maintains nearly 13,000 km of roads in the county. During a winter emergency, it is not practicable or cost-effective for the whole network to be pre-treated or cleared immediately.
Criteria have been developed enabling the PSN to be defined, this ensures a consistent approach across the County and achieves a reasonable balance between cost and level of service.
The criterion is as follows:
The length of the road forming the PSN comprised of 37 routes is about 20% of the road network therefore 80% of the road network will not receive precautionary salting even if icy roads are forecast.
Total road length: 12866 kilometres or 7995 miles
Length of road salted: 2664 kilometres or 1655 miles
The M5 motorway and following trunk roads are the responsibility of Highways England, contact names and numbers for these roads are available from the NOCC.
Several sections of the County’s network are salted by adjacent authorities and the detailed maps in Appendix 8 indicate the sections of the County network that are treated by our neighbouring authorities. The County treats some sections of adjacent authorities’ networks in Dorset, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay; details of the sections treated are shown on the route maps in Appendix 2. Under the Highways Act, responsibility for maintaining safe passage rests with the highway authority for the road and this arrangement allows for the efficient operation of the service.
Detailed action and operational procedures are described in section 7.10
Winter service is defined as the service provided by the County Council to meet its duty under the Highways Act 1980, the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the Road Traffic Act. This recognises recommendations and best practice included in the relevant National Code of Practice.
The following map shows the pre-salting network as defined in section 2.2, full route descriptions and maps are given in Appendix 2.
An up to date route card and a map is produced for each route and must be kept in the assigned gritting vehicle at all times. A route optimisation exercise has been carried out to maximise efficiency by adopting the concept that the most efficient routes treat a distinct area (i.e. not having significant overlap with other routes) and that they are confined to one weather domain. Arrangements with neighbouring authorities at the County’s boundaries have been agreed.
Winter service is important to the County Council in improving road safety preventing collisions and ensuring that the effect of adverse weather on road users is minimised. Whilst some precautionary treatment of footways and cycleways would be desirable, the cost of providing a service suggests that the current policy of only providing a reactive service is appropriate, when considering the risks to the road user and the Authority.
Busy footways e.g. main shopping centres are treated on a reactive basis during periods of prolonged freezing, within the resources available, once the precautionary salting network is clear.
Major cycleways will only be treated on a reactive basis during periods of prolonged freezing within the available resources and priorities.
A copy of the report giving further details appears in appendix 7 and was further considered by the Devon County Council scrutiny committee in 2020 with no changes to current policy recommended.
This will be subject to regular review.
The secondary salting network will usually be treated during extended periods of cold weather (defined as snow or ice most of the day). The list of the settlements and roads is in Appendix 3.
The secondary route criteria are defined as follows:
Network Rail level crossings have equipment prone to signal failure when solutions high in salt exist. Network Rail has instructed that all level crossings should not be salted between the stop lines. Consequently, consideration should be given to the siting of grit bins containing only grit at these locations. Any accidental spillage of salt should be reported immediately to Network Rail or private rail operator quoting the location reference displayed at the crossing.
Network Rail 24hr emergency number: 08457114141
Location name | Public or private road | OS grid reference |
---|---|---|
Hele & Bradninch | Public road | SS 995 023 |
Stoke Cannon | Public road | SX 937 980 |
Red Cow | Private road | SX 910 936 |
Crediton | Public road | SX 840 994 |
Salmon Pool | Public road | SX 827 991 |
Eggesford | Public road | SS 683 115 |
Umberleigh | Public road | SS 609 328 |
Pinhoe | Public road | SX 964 942 |
Crannaford | Public road | SY 012 960 |
Topsham | Public road | SX 965 884 |
Teignbridge | Public road | SX 856 733 |
Axe | Public road | ST 321 017 |
Axminster | Public road | SY 295 987 |
Feniton | Public road | SY 094 944 |
Private rail level crossings
Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway telephone number: 01803555872
Location name | Public or private road | OS grid reference |
---|---|---|
Kingswear | Public road | SX 288 052 |
Seaton Tramway telephone number: 0129720375
Location name | Public or private road | OS grid reference |
---|---|---|
Colyford | Public road | SY 254 927 |
Recommendation 25a of the Quarmby Review on the “Resilience of England’s Transport Systems in Winter” recommends highway authorities adopt a full pre-season stock resilience benchmark of 12 days/48 runs. The winter service period is broken down into distinct times:
Overall Winter Period is 1st October to 30th April (3 days resilience)
Core Winter Period is 1st November to 1st March (6 days resilience)
Devon County Council enters the winter service period with a normal resilience over 12 days or 48 runs quoted at the quoted treatment rate.
During the winter service period, the Country may experience difficulties in the regular supply of salt and this can and has affected Devon in the past. To maintain adequate resilience over the core winter period this authority will seek to maintain adequate salt stocks in December, January and February (the high-risk period) to be able to treat a reduced/core pre-salt network at a rate of 20g/m² six times a day for 6 days. This will require a minimum stock holding of 13,000 tonnes during December, January and February (the high-risk period). During the lower risk months of November and March, the stock holding would be a minimum of 6,500 tonnes.
Where problems exist regarding the supply of salt and there is uncertainty on the timing of deliveries, Devon County Council will take appropriate action to conserve salt stocks by rationing salt through as many of the methods detailed below as deemed necessary. The decision to take this action will be made in consultation with the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure, Development and Waste.
In the event of a salt shortage or other resource problems, a reduced salting network of just over 50% of the pre-salt network will be implemented to the following criteria:
This minimum winter network will only be implemented when authorised by the Head of Highways and Traffic Management in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation, and it will be instigated on a countywide basis only.
It has been agreed that when sections of the County’s network, motorway or trunk road are closed, and diversion routes are in operation, the salting plant usually in operation on the closed section will treat the diversion route when salting is required unless already forming part of the County’s pre salting network. Consideration should be given to salting up to the point of closure if a significant distance is involved. Salting must be considered when closures are set up or removed.
Consideration may also be given to salt a section of road being used as a diversion route following an incident on the primary salting network if the closure is expected to last for a significant time.
The PSN and SSN are reviewed annually to reflect developments, improvements, changes in traffic patterns and settlement populations. Routes on both networks may be varied by the County Council as route priorities change.
The County Council and its Term Service Contractor must be at a state of readiness before the onset of winter conditions. It is therefore of the utmost importance that planned winter service operations are defined by 1st October, so highway users are not put at unnecessary risk.
The following operations must be carried out before the start of the winter season:
Devon Highways should arrange pre-winter meetings with the maintenance contractor during the first week in October which should confirm the following:
This section details the role of the winter service contractor and should be read in conjunction with the entire winter service plan.
The workforce along with some plant and equipment to carry out winter service and emergency operations is provided by the County Council’s term service contractor.
The contractor is on standby from 15 October to 15 April, occasionally there is a need to respond to situations requiring winter service action outside this period and plant and personnel should be ready between 1 October and 30 April. This document has already stressed the importance of pre-winter season meetings, plant calibration and other issues affecting the works.
The contract encompasses all activities necessary to secure the free passage and safety of persons using the highway network. Skanska has provided a commitment that they will have sufficient resources available to attend all winter service call-outs on the salting network and emergencies within the required response times. This work will take precedence over other highway works.
Individual salting routes are provided to the Contractor with any amendments going through a consultation process. When agreeing routes it is imperative salting vehicles are matched to specific routes (e.g. some routes have very narrow sections which would not be suitable for the larger capacity bulk gritters) and that the overall route efficiency (salting length divided by total length to the completion of salting) is as high as practicable. The contractor is expected to be at the start of the route defined as when the salting starts (not leaving the depot unless that is where salting starts) at the pre-agreed action time or within one hour when an immediate call-out is instructed.
Under the Contract, Skanska must provide a sufficient number of trained operatives to carry out continuous shift work, on the salting network, during snow or other emergencies. All drivers salting, gritting, and ploughing on roads must be trained and successfully assessed per City and Guilds 6157 and registered with the IDeA.
The Maintenance Contractor shall ensure that all their operatives engaged on the delivery of Winter Service are fully trained and certified in the proper use, handling and pre-driver vehicle inspection requirements and equipment maintenance as required by this plan and as otherwise required by the Employer. The Maintenance Provider may be required on occasions to undertake evening and overnight inspections (EOI) and early morning inspections (EMI). The Maintenance Provider should agree with the Employer before the start of the Winter Service period the number of operatives likely to be required. Those identified shall be fully trained per this plan.
Contact numbers for Skanska managers and DCC Managers can be obtained from the NOCC are provided in the Devon Highways Hub along with a full listing of those involved in winter service activities.
The plant available for winter service (directly owned by DCC or provided by the contractor) is as follows:
37 frontline gritters
12 reserve frontline gritters
17 white-out gritters
6 tractor-mounted spreaders
7 tractor trailed gritters
61 snow ploughs
5 snow blowers (tractor mounted)
Skanska also has access to additional resources through its supply chain.
On completion of each salting operation unless agreed by the Employer. The Maintenance Provider shall demobilise each vehicle by unloading any remaining brine, salt or grit, thoroughly wash down and clean the whole vehicle, ensure the vehicle is fully fuelled and if no anticipated need exists over the next 24 hours detach any snow plough and snow clearing blade which may have been used in the previous treatment.
Where garaging facilities are made available for the winter service vehicles the winter service provider shall ensure that priority is given to garaging the Employer owned vehicles over the Maintenance Providers vehicle.
The driver is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is driven safely and legally, with due regard for road conditions, however the maximum speed (recommended by the manufacturer) that gritters may travel when salting is:
Speed related pre-wet spreaders – 45 mph [72 kph]
Speed related dry spreaders – 40 mph [64 kph]
Non-speed related demounts – 25 mph [40 kph]
Travelling speed when not spreading should be appropriate to the road and conditions. Speeds for other types of gritter should be checked with the Materials Laboratory.
All gritting plant is calibrated following the recommendations in NWSRG Practical Guide for Winter Service Section Six – Spreader Management, to a specification defined by Devon County Council Materials Laboratory. A calibration certificate is provided for each vehicle at the start of each winter service period. Details of this specification can be obtained directly from the Materials Laboratory or may be viewed in the Winter Service section of the Devon Highways Hub. All frontline and reserve dedicated gritters will have the capability of spreading prewet salt in 1gsm increments from 8gsm to 20 gsm.
It is intended that tracking information should be available from the front line fleet of gritters whenever possible, as this has shown to be invaluable for:
The contractor will maintain good alternative records of gritter activity to provide adequate backup to this system.
The current fleet of gritters is predominantly under ten years old, and the route optimisation undertaken in 2011 has reduced the number of dedicated front line gritters required to 37
There has also been a long-standing commitment to using a pre-wet front line fleet, as this again helps to minimise salt usage and improves resilience.
Frontline gritters will continue to be replaced as they reach the end of life on a rolling programme, and where economically advantageous, second-hand vehicles a few years old will be purchased.
An appropriate number of frontline reserve dedicated gritters will be held to support the front line fleet, and this currently stands at twelve. These will be the first vehicle used routinely if any front line gritters fail.
A white-out fleet is maintained to respond to the more extreme winter conditions that occur from time to time, for example, heavy snow. These periods typically last for a week to ten days. A balance has to be maintained between the cost of maintaining this fleet and the frequency with which it is required. Recent budget pressures have required a reduction in these costs, and some quick wins have been achieved by allowing the contractor to dispose of some vehicles. However alternative equipment in the form of tractors deployed with ploughs, hoppers, trailed gritters and snow blower attachments have been procured to offset some of the reduction.
The dedicated snow blowers were replaced with tractor mounted snow blowers, which will facilitate quicker deployment. The contractor is required to provide the appropriate tractors to support the deployment of these snow blowers.
Snow Ploughs – each front line Gritter and reserve will be equipped with a snow plough and a suitable number of spares available.
In emergencies, local areas may require additional plant; this can be ordered and paid for through the Term Maintenance Contractor or directly from a District Council.
Where an area is severely affected by winter weather and additional gritters/snow blowers are required, they should liaise with the Operations Manager to agree on transfers from other Areas.
It is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that vehicles are serviced to minimise breakdowns. When these do occur, it is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that the area and the NOCC are informed with an estimated time for completing the route, either by repairing the vehicle or using a substitute, whichever will provide the quickest response. It is the responsibility of the client to consider any other implications of this delay (e.g. timing of critical road weather conditions) and whether any other action is appropriate (e.g. reallocation of front line vehicles from less strategic routes).
The summer service of the winter service plant will be undertaken by the maintenance contractor between 1 May and 30 September. Areas should receive written confirmation from the maintenance contractor that the summer service has been completed at the time the vehicles are returned to their operating depots before the end of September.
An emergency pack and blanket should be provided by the Contractor for each bulk gritter with two packs and blankets for each snow blower. The packs are to be checked during September with any necessary replacements ordered by the maintenance contractor. Responsibility for the health and safety of the contractor’s staff lies with their Employer.
Winter service operations seek to ensure the safety of road users whilst minimising the use of de-icing agents. Widespread use of alternatives to salt is not currently cost-effective but any new materials or methods will continue to be considered and trialled where appropriate. Environmental aims are achieved when the correct patterns and rates of spread of salt appropriate to conditions are maintained.
Research has demonstrated salt (sodium chloride) will effectively treat ice to temperatures of -9ºC or with a fully saturated brine solution to -15ºC. However, the latest advice in NWSRG Guidance is that consideration should be given to using alternative de-icers where temperatures fall below -5 ºC in low humidity and -7 ºC in normal winter conditions. As these temperatures only occur in Devon on rare occasions, the risk assessment is that salt will continue to be used and alternative de-icers will not be held in stock. Media messages with appropriate warnings would be issued to alert motorists to the hazard.
The management of the salt stock is the responsibility of the maintenance contractor. The planned pre-winter stock level is 23500 tonnes of spreading salt and 1074 tonnes of brining salt, capacities at each depot are shown in the salt stock table that follows. Brining salt is monitored closely and if a depot falls below 20 tonnes then additional salt is ordered and delivered from a call-off order.
Winter salt stock capacities 2020/21 (all capacity figures in tonnes)
Depot | Spreading salt | Brining salt | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Parracombe | 1600 | 150 | 1770 |
South Molton | 3250 | 40 | 3270 |
Dolton Beacon | 1450 | 28 | 1478 |
Copstone | 850 | 28 | 878 |
Okehampton | 1500 | 96 | 1596 |
Tavistock | 1300 | 97 | 1397 |
Kingsteignton | 5000 | 102 | 5102 |
Pridhamsleigh | Emergency | stock | |
Torr | 850 | 40 | 890 |
Ivybridge | 1300 | 30 | 1330 |
Crediton | 1300 | 68 | 1368 |
Tiverton | 1600 | 139 | 1739 |
Honiton | 2000 | 144 | 2144 |
Exeter | 1500 | 112 | 1612 |
TOTAL | 23500 | 1074 | 24574 |
During periods of extreme snow conditions arrangements are in place to use the Highways England depot at *Pridhamsleigh for emergency refilling for extended operations, initial contact should be made via the NOCC.
Salt barns are effective in providing conditions that keep salt at low moisture content; preventing leaching and allowing easier handling of the salt. Barns will ideally have an entrance at both ends but where this is not the case, the stocks should be worked from one side at a time to the rear of the barn and not across the full face, as this allows the stocks to be turned over.
During emergencies, temporary stockpiles may be used at locations which provide adequate working areas and suitable access without causing pollution problems. Any such location must be cleared at the end of the winter. Under no circumstances will temporary storage depot stocks be placed within 15m of trees or 4.5m of hedges, or sited where pollution of watercourses may occur. The requirements of paragraph 5.4 above must be met.
To be effective the salt needs to be used in the best form and on the right place in the road. Using small particle sizes achieves this and the most effective road position is in the wheel tracks.
The conventional application of salt relies on a spinner mechanism to distribute the salt behind the gritting vehicle. This action alone causes the salt particles to segregate. Historically the salt used was 10mm nominal size which tended to bounce on the road surface or be spread too widely on distribution. Traffic following the gritter tends to displace those particles that fell into the wheel tracks. The move to finer grading of salt to reduce wastage during distribution does, on high-speed roads, lead to the potential for traffic and wind-induced drift of the particles, i.e. some of the salt ends up out of the wheel tracks and often in roadside vegetation or watercourses.
Pre-wetting the particles of salt as they are distributed from the gritting vehicle leads to a more predictable spread pattern. Pre-wetted particles bounce less and a residual salt layer is adsorbed and adheres more effectively to the road surface. Very fine particles are also less liable to drift in-vehicle slipstreams (including the spreading vehicle) and in crosswinds. Pre-wet salt, therefore, is in a form and position where its de-icing action is most beneficial and lasts longer. The 6mm salt can be spread dry or pre-wet, but when making brine solution the salt must not contain more than 2% insoluble. There is a significant saving in salt on negative texture surfacing as it can be spread at the standard rates.
To ensure control of the rate of spread when using correctly calibrated winter plant, the quality of salt is important. Two grades of salt are used as detailed below.
Salt for spreading
The following Devon County Council specification shall be used when ordering salt for dry or wet spreading on carriageways:
Grading:
Sieve Size (mm) | 6.3 | 2.36 | 0.3 |
---|---|---|---|
Percentage passing | 100 | 30 – 70 | 0 – 10 |
Constituent | Specification |
---|---|
NaCI | >90% |
CaSO4 | <2.5% |
Insoluble | <7.5% |
Moisture | <4% |
Anti-caking agent | >30mg/kg |
This grading is coarser than the BS3247 specification because trials have indicated a more uniform spread is achieved on the carriageway and overspread reduced by 17%, so reducing contamination of the adjacent vegetation.
Chemical composition shall be stated by the supplier and tested by the Materials Laboratory per BS 3247 Part 1. All salt shall be transported in covered vehicles and shall have a moisture content not exceeding 4% by mass when delivered to the stockpile.
Salt for the brine solution
Salt specifically for the making of brine will be to the same constituent specification as that for pre-wet spreading above except for the grading requirement.
Grading:
Sieve Size (mm) | 6 | 3.35 | 0.5 |
---|---|---|---|
Percentage passing | 100 | 90 – 100 | 5 |
The County Council procure all road and brining salt. This allows the Council to control salt quality together with obtaining salt at the lowest price. The salt is procured through a framework tender contract that includes a consortium agreement with Cornwall Council.
In liaison with the maintenance contractor, depot managers will inform the Highway Operations Team of salt stock levels in each of the depots by the first week of March, confirming the levels at the end of the winter season.
The contract for salt supply includes a requirement for the supplier to inform Devon Procurement of dates, delivery and times for each location. They, in turn, will inform the Materials Laboratory and Areas, confirming details at least 48 hours before delivery.
The density of salt stored in barns is nominally 1.24 t/m3.
The term maintenance contractor must inform the Operations Team when salt levels in any depot fall to 50% of the proposed pre-winter stock. This information will be used to determine if an additional order for salt should be placed with the supplier.
Reference should be made to section 2.9 on the need to maintain minimum stock levels of 6,500 tonnes from December to February and 5,000 tonnes in November and March. This is to ensure resilience to severe winter weather in high and medium risk months.
During 1993 barn owl nesting boxes were placed in 5 salt barns: Beacon Down, Parracombe; South Molton; Copstone, Parkham; Dolton Beacon; Fordton, Crediton. The barn owl is listed on schedule one of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which means it is protected against disturbance whilst at or near the nest. As the main restocking takes place near the end of the normal nesting season (March-August inclusive) care must be taken to ensure there is no disturbance. Inspections during the nesting season at sites where occupation by barn owls is suspected can only be carried out by the holder of an Natural England nest inspection licence such as the Barn Owl Trust. Boxes can be checked outside the normal nesting season provided there is no evidence of Barn Owl nesting at the time.
Requests for the supply of salt to outside organisations will generally be refused. The maintenance contractor, who manages and owns the salt stocks, may not sell salt to other Local Authority Directorates or Government bodies without the permission from the Head of Service or their delegate.
Public Sector Organisations can order salt in 25 kg sacks or 1-tonne dumpy bags by contacting Devon Procurement Services on 01392 383000 who will pass on details of the framework salt supplier.
The general public can obtain 25 kg sacks from some builders’ merchants for use on private property.
The Head of Service or their delegate may instruct the Maintenance Provider to supply members of the public with salt for highway use up to a maximum of 25 kg during extended periods of cold weather or snow (defined as most of the day), sacks should contain a maximum of 12.5 kg. This should be by arrangement from places where the public normally have access, not from operational depots unless there are appropriate safety facilities and insurance cover. The person issued with salt should be given a copy of the appropriate guidelines for use and sign the register.
Grit for roads for winter service will be a 50/50 mix by volume of salt with a clean, coarse, crushed aggregate or sand having angular particle shape with a nominal size of 3mm graded by the following:
Sieve size (mm) | 6.3 | 5 | 3.35 | 1.18 | 0.6 | 0.075 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Percentage passing | 100 | 95 – 100 | 66 – 90 | 0 – 20 | 0 – 10 | 0 – 1.5 |
A dry stockpile of aggregate for mixing with salt should be maintained at each salt store sufficient to cover the route(s) run from that depot twice at 20 g/m², up to a maximum of 100 tonnes.
The use of roadside open heaps is not permitted because of the risk of pollution. Bins and bags containing salt should be positioned so that leakage, spillage or vandalism does not adversely affect tree roots.
Grit bins
Grit bins are an expensive facility to manage and maintain but provide a useful means of self-help for the local community. The use and value of existing grit bins in any location must be reviewed before additional bins are considered. Grit bins should only be sited off the precautionary salting network at known trouble spots, usually in urban areas, but also in some rural locations where particularly difficult conditions exist, subject to financial restraints. Grit bins will only be considered for location on the precautionary salting network at railway level crossings (grit only) or known trouble-spots on urban footways. Grit bins should only be located where they do not present an unreasonable hazard to other highway users and can be safely accessed. Requests for new grit bins will be made to the local Neighbourhood Team who may consult local members.
Members may request the addition of a grit bin where there is a pressing community justification that may not strictly meet the above requirement, in consultation with the Neighbourhood Team, and using their locality budget.
Grit Bins should contain salt except at railway crossing where 100% grit must be used. Grit bins will only be used within National Parks when the Park Authority has given express permission.
Grit bins will be filled on a reactive basis when reports are received throughout the summer via the DCC online reporting system. The Contractor will ensure reports received by 30th September are actioned before 15th October so these grit bins are checked and filled before the onset of winter. Bins will be refilled during periods of prolonged freezing when they are known to have been used. As it is not cost-effective to refill an individual bin in an area, bins will only normally be refilled when a number in a locality requires replenishment. Where grit bins have been abused or vandalised, consideration will be given to removal or relocation. Grit bins will be uniquely identified with a label that provides advice on how the grit bins should be used and managed.
Neighbourhood Teams should order through the works ordering system new/replacement grit bins or to move an existing grit bin, this process will be managed by the neighbourhood teams.
The colour of the bin will be yellow or green as appropriate to the location and consideration will be given to whether lifting points are required to allow removal of the bin during summer. The inventory system must also be updated with any changes, additions or removals.
Bagged salt/grit
Salt bags will not be placed by DCC in Parishes where a snow warden is active; the salt supplied to the parish should be used. NHT’s may provide empty salt bags if requested particularly where dumpy bags have been supplied.
The use of bagged salt/grit should be kept to a minimum and all bags will be removed at the end of the winter period. They will be sited at known trouble spots where grit bins are not suitable due to limited space or within sensitive areas, provided that animals have limited or no access. Salt, grit or a combination of both may be used.
Any bags used should be constructed of a heavy duty material or two bags to prevent leakage. Additional salt bags are ordered through the Network Response Team.
Devon County Council will normally only consider providing salt for mutual aid to other authorities when its winter service provision is not disproportionately affected and when the requesting authority:
The correct prediction of ice and snow is a key factor of efficient winter service operations as it minimises the extent of abortive salting works whilst keeping the network as safe as possible. The County has made a considerable investment in providing the means for accurate prediction e.g. forecasts, predictive radar and thermal mapping so that appropriate winter actions are taken.
Introduction
The weather forecast provider is DTN (formally MeteoGroup) and the contract includes Plymouth City Council, Torbay Council, BCP Council (Bournemouth. Christchurch and Poole Council). During the period 1st October to 30th April inclusive (which may be extended) the County receives a road weather forecast each day. This is normally issued at 12:30 hours with updates to defined criteria as appropriate. The forecast aims to predict ice formation or snowfall at seven forecast sites for the following 24 hours presented in a graphical and tabular form together with text forecast for the 5 weather domains. The main forecast is also used as the basis from which thermal maps are constructed. Details of the domains and heights of routes are shown in Appendix 5.
The Network Operations Control Centre will consult with the forecaster when necessary and be able to provide further information when requested. Staff involved in winter service decision making should be trained in road weather metrology at the earliest opportunity and courses are normally available each autumn.
Route-based forecasting (RBF)
Route-based forecasting has been developed to provide better information for decision makers to determine which individual routes may need treatment rather than a whole domain. The domain forecast with the site graphs has forecaster intervention, whereas the RBF is more automated. Therefore decision makers will give precedence to the domain forecast and graphs and where there is consistency between this and the RBF, then the RBF information will be used to determine the detail of which routes to treat and which not to treat. The fact that a decision maker has decided to use or not use RBF should be recorded in the rationale.
The 36-hour text forecast
DTN is now providing a 36-hour rolling forecast where the domain tables will be updated automatically every hour and the text will be updated at 0600, 0900, 1200 and 1800 when a specific Confidence Level will also be added. At these times there will also be forecaster intervention.
The tables contain a hazard warning ring using a Red, Amber, Green (RAG) status, these are also shown on the key hazard lines, and this year will contain a snow probability level and the maximum precipitation rate within each hourly period.
The domain tables will indicate the worst conditions expected in the domain and consideration must be given to the variation across the domain using information from route-based forecasting and forecast graphs.
The need for forecast updates is specified in the contract and the forecaster is aware of the requirement to update when their monitoring of sites indicates divergence from the previous forecast.
2 to 15-day text forecast
This provides a general forecast 2 to 5 days ahead with an indication of alert state and hazards expected anywhere across the salting network. A summary of days 6-15 is also given for general guidance only.
Graphs
Nine forecast graphs are received for the county which provides the following information as a minimum:
The forecasts are automatically updated hourly, but for ease of monitoring the website also provides fixed issue graphs which allow the actual data to compare to the original forecast.
The need for forecast updates is specified in the contract and the forecaster is aware of the requirement to update when their monitoring of sites indicates divergence from the previous forecast. The update criteria, applicable for each site are, for graphs:
The following terminology and weather states are used in the forecasts.
The freezing of wet road surfaces:
In most cases, the road will have become wet because of rain which fell when the air temperature was above freezing point. It may also become wet because of a heavy deposit of dew, from a wet fog, by melting of a hoar frost which may have formed during the previous night or by the melting of snow. A subsequent fall in temperature of the road surface, usually due to radiation of heat to a clear night sky, causes the water film remaining on the surface to freeze. The difference between the rates of fall of temperature for various road materials due to changes in their thermal properties are small and significant differences in the ice formation on various surfaces arise only in marginal cases.
Definition of forecast terms
Air frost
This occurs when the air temperature (measured between one and two metres above the ground) falls below 0ºc.
Blustery
Used to describe showers, which are associated with strong gusts of wind.
Drizzle
Small droplets, which fall from a low cloud. Drizzle can last for several hours and cover a large area, or be intermittent and localised.
Dry frost
The road surface temperature is 0C or below, with most roads expected to be dry. However, consider seepage, leaking water pipes, known hollows where dampness may persist.
Flash frost
The rapid build-up of hoar frost on roads around sunrise. The road state can change from dry to a significant cover of hoar frost within 15 minutes.
Fog
When used on the forecast hazard table: Visibility less than 200m.
Freezing fog
The fog which forms when the air temperature is below 0°C. The fog droplets remain in the liquid state but will freeze on contact with trees and other objects (Rime). The rime under some circumstances, can fall off trees and affect the road surface.
Freezing rain/drizzle
A very dangerous condition where drizzle or rain (from warmer air aloft) fall onto surfaces below freezing. The rain and/or drizzle freezes instantly causing widespread ice. Fortunately, this is rare in the UK, most likely to occur at the end of a prolonged spell of cold weather.
Gale
10 minute Mean wind speed of 39mph or more. (Severe gale, mean 45 mph or more).
Heavy rain
When used on the forecast hazard table: Rainfall of an intensity which is likely to cause large amounts of surface water/ponding on the carriageway. See also rain.
High confidence
Implies that on more than 60% of occasions the forecast event will occur. In that, an event is more likely to happen than not. Amendments are unlikely
Hoar frost
Deposition of water vapour directly as ice on to ground surfaces i.e. when the road surface temperature is below both the dew point and zero. The ice forms as ice crystals and is usually highly visible. Hoar frost is more common over grass than on roads. Hoar frost on roads may quickly change to clear ice under pressure from car tyres. It requires a dew point above a below freezing road surface temperature and a low wind speed of 3 to 15 knots.
Icy patches
Used in road weather forecasts to indicate ice formation in prone areas only (gutters, dips in road surfaces, etc).
Icy stretches
Used in road weather forecasts to indicate more widespread ice.
Isolated
Used to describe showers. Isolated showers imply that most places will stay dry, but somewhere in the area of coverage a shower may occur. The probability of a location having a shower will be in the range of 0-20%. Maybe abbreviated to ISOL.
Low confidence
Implies that on less than 50% of occasions the forecast event will occur. Amendments are likely.
Marginal
This describes nights where the road surface temperature is expected to be very close to freezing.
Period
Used to describe the length of cloud breaks or the amount of sunshine, generally more than two hours.
Powder
The form of snow that occurs when the air temperature is well below freezing (lower than -2°C). This form of snow is very fine (like sugar crystals), drifts very easily, but does not tend to stick to objects. It can be handled by snow blowers. Salt is usually less effective. Powder snow contains more air than wet snow and consequently requires less liquid water equivalent to produce 1cm of snow. 1cm of wet snow is usually equivalent to 1mm of liquid water, but 1cm of dry snow may only contain 0.5mm of liquid water. Thus precipitation amounts do not have to be as high to produce significant snow depths in very cold weather.
Prolonged
Used to describe showers, which merge producing a spell of continuous precipitation lasting one hour or more.
Rain
When used on the forecast hazard table: Rainfall over 2mm/hour at anytime over 24 hours. This is given for salt wash-off purposes only. See also Heavy Rain.
Rain or snow
When used by themselves, i.e. without the word “shower”, it means a long spell of precipitation, generally lasting more than one hour and covering a relatively large area.
Rime
Deposition of ice from freezing fog. This is a white form of ice, similar to hoar frost, but has a finer
(at times feathery) structure. On roads, this tends to be more of a problem at higher levels.
RST
Abbreviation for road surface temperature.
Scattered/occasional
Used to describe showers. “scattered” or “occasional” showers imply that a wide covering of showers across the area expected. Many places will see a shower but one or two locations will stay dry. The probability of a location having a shower will be in the range of 30-60%. Maybe abbreviated to SCT/OCC.
Shower
Precipitation falling from convective clouds. Generally of fairly high intensity and short duration, and covering a limited area. However, showers can sometimes be widespread and prolonged. It can be assumed that shower will be of rain, unless prefixed by a qualifying word, e.g. snow, wintry shower, etc.
Snow
Frozen precipitation of a loose, semi-liquid or solid consistency
Snow amounts
These are detailed within the forecast text and given in centimetres (cm). Adjectives such as light, moderate or heavy are used to describe the expected intensity of the snow.
Spell
Used to describe the length of cloud breaks or amounts of sunshine, generally more than one hour, but less than two hours.
Trend
The likely direction the weather is going over the next two to five days, e.g. “Turning much colder with night frosts and scattered snow showers”, “cold and frosty at first, but becoming milder by Sunday”, “little change through this period”, or “remaining mild and windy”, etc.
Wet snow
Snow which falls with air temperatures close to freezing point. It melts easily and can be very sticky. In the UK, this is more common than powder snow.
Widespread/frequent
Used to describe showers. The terms “frequent” or “widespread” showers imply that nearly all areas will catch a shower and most places will see more than one shower. The probability of a location having a shower will be in the range of 70-100%. Maybe abbreviated to FREQ.
Wintry
Used to describe showers when the precipitation consists of a mixture of the following: rain, sleet, hail, snow pellets, snow grains (snow pellets 2-5 mm in diameter, snow grains less than 1mm in diameter).
Those directly involved in winter decision making must have easy access to weather information, and the vast majority of weather information is available via the internet, externally hosted and hence as easily available at home as at work. Web sites which are not public will be password protected, and those provided with access to these sites must not divulge the access information to third parties without express permission in writing. Data collection from the ice detection sites is managed by Vaisala, made available on the web and provided to a server in the NOCC. The weather forecast is transmitted by DTN to Vaisala as well as being displayed on their website.
DTN web site (main forecast site) DTN Roadmaster
Vaisala NAVIGATOR service Vaisala Navigator
Met Office Severe Weather Warning Met Office Severe Weather Warnings
Flood warnings Flood Warnings
DTN and Vaisala will take you to a login page where you should enter your username and password supplied by your manager. Each has a help facility which identifies abbreviations and terminology used. The Met Office and flood warnings are web pages.
Archive information
Extensive archive information is available through the DTN and Vaisala system. However, this information should not be released outside the Authority without consulting the Operations and Communications Manager, to ensure that the appropriate caveats are made concerning this data, and to ensure consistency, as some data could be misleading if taken in isolation.
Thermal mapping
The thermal mapping is a useful tool that takes its data from the latest forecast information and extrapolates this information from across the forecast site to the adjacent salting network. Whilst this can be a very useful aid and guide, it should be remembered that the thermal mapping information is several years old and where significant changes have been undertaken in the road construction, some inaccuracies may occur. It is expected that the route based forecasting developments will supersede the thermal mapping.
There are 35 outstations in the County, two of which are in the footway with combinations of the following sensors: –
It is important for the integrity of the system that any sensor faults identified are promptly relayed to the NOCC by Areas, and that Area staff ensure that the sites are kept free of encroaching foliage. Repairs are to be put in hand as soon as possible with the outstation maintenance contractor who is also responsible for the calibration of the sensors before October each year, with an intermediate check in January. All personnel must be aware of sensor locations. If any maintenance works are planned to be undertaken on lengths of carriageways containing sensors, the NOCC should be consulted one month before the works. Arrangements will then be made, if necessary, for the disconnection of the sensor and subsequent replacement.
Information is also available from some adjacent highway authorities (eg HE, Torbay and Plymouth).
Barnstaple sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
32* | Vaisala | A399 | Bratton Down* | 320 | 266200, 139000 | Forecast | Yes | Yes | |||
33 | Vaisala | A361 | Ashmill | 45 | 278600, 123600 | Extended | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Vaisala | A361 | Moortown Cross | 243 | 282978, 121682 | Extended | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
40 | Vaisala RWS | B3226 | Little Stone | 105 | 269200, 124800 | Basic | |||||
Vaisala RWS | A361 | Mullacott Cross | 202 | 251200, 144500 | Extended | Yes | Yes | Taw Bridge site only has an anemometer to monitor wind speed and direction across the new bridge. | |||
55 | Vaisala | A361 | Taw Bridge | 25 | 255044, 133187 | Wind only | Yes | ||||
Vaisala RWS | B3181 | Taw Bridge | 20 | 255044, 133187 | Basic | Yes |
Eastern sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | Vaisala RWS | A3052 | Three Horse Shoes | 170 | 318736, 091220 | Basic | Yes | ||||
13 | Vaisala RWS | A376 | Exton Camp | 30 | 298766, 086100 | Basic | |||||
38* | Vaisala RWS | A380* | Yarcombe * | 260 | 323026, 107687 | Forecast | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
39 | Vaisala RWS | B3165 | Raymond’s Hill | 200 | 332868, 096955 | Basic |
Exeter sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12* | Vaisala RWS | A379 | Russell Way Exeter* | 40 | 295755, 90940 | Extended | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Vaisala RWS | A3122 | Exmouth | 34 | 298726, 850970 | Extended |
Ivybridge sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | Vaisala RWS | A385 | Markey Head | 140 | 271936, 060703 | Basic | Yes | ||||
20* | Vaisala | A3122 | Halwell Camp* | 185 | 278387, 053022 | Forecast | Yes |
Newton Abbot sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Vaisala RWS | A380 | Kingsteignton | 20 | 287809, 072377 | Basic | |||||
16 | Vaisala RWS | B3212 | Culver Bottom | 90 | 284723, 090003 | Basic | |||||
17 | Vaisala RWS | A382 | Slade Cross | 140 | 279821, 081287 | Basic |
Okehampton sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | Vaisala RWS | A382 | Whiddon Down | 230 | 269456, 092671 | Basic | |||||
9 | Vaisala RWS | B3357 | Rundlestone | 450 | 257603, 074962 | Extended | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
21* | Vaisala | A386 | Shortacombe* | 280 | 252443, 086465 | Forecast | Yes | Yes | |||
22 | Vaisala RWS | A386 | Yelverton | 185 | 252069, 067769 | Basic | |||||
23 | Vaisala RWS | B3362 | Tuelldown | 205 | 242545, 078010 | Basic | |||||
41 | Vaisala RWS | A3072 | Hillsmoor | 85 | 253195, 103714 | Basic |
Tiverton sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 | Vaisala RWS | A377 | Wellparks | 40 | 284429, 099617 | Basic | |||||
15 | Vaisala RWS | A377 | Chawleigh Week | 70 | 268422, 112819 | Basic | |||||
34 | Vaisala RWS | A396 | Exbridg1e | 125 | 293339, 124195 | Basic | |||||
51 | Vaisala | A3072 | Cadbury Cross | 195 | 290779, 105250 | Basic | |||||
53* | Vaisala | A361 | Craze Lowman | 100 | 299106, 114115 | Forecast | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2 |
Torrington sub-area
Site | Make | Road | Location | AOD | O.S. grid reference | Type | Webcam | 2nd RST | PWD | Wind | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 | Vaisala RWS | A388 | Nether Bridge | 55 | 234967, 089817 | Extended | Yes | ||||
27 | Vaisala RWS | A3079 | Halwill Junction | 180 | 244286, 099925 | Basic | |||||
28* | Vaisala | A388 | Waldon Bridge* | 115 | 236810, 110165 | Forecast | |||||
30 | Vaisala RWS | B3320 | Beaford Moor | 165 | 256370, 114466 | Basic | |||||
54 | Vaisala | A39 | Waytown | 160 | 236245, 122821 | Extended | Yes | Yes |
Note 1 – Taw Bridge site only has an anemometer to monitor wind speed and direction across the new bridge.
Note 2 – Craze Lowman has two additional sensors (sensor 3) which monitor the adjacent minor road for the presence of hoar frost as part of a research project with the Met Office. (Site previously called Uplowman).
There are several other ice detection outstations for which data may be available via web sites.
Owner | Site/type | Road | Description | O.S. grid reference | Altitude |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Torbay | V* | A380 | Tyre Compton | 287878, 65578 | 150m |
Plymouth | V* | A386 | Tavistock Road | 251936, 51714 | |
Plymouth | V | Staddiscombe Rd | 246753, 56160 | ||
Highways England | T50/V* | A303 | Stopgate Cross | 232600, 109800 | 255m |
Highways England | T43/V* | M5 | Willand | 304060, 113000 | 70m |
Highways England | T44/V*# | M5 | Junction 31 | 293030, 087840 | 50m |
Highways England | T45/V*# | A30 | Cheriton Bishop | 278230, 093425 | 150m |
Highways England | T46/V* | A30 | Ebsworthy | 249810, 090600 | 140m |
Highways England | T47/V*# | A38 | Buckfastleigh | 274640, 066980 | 40m |
Highways England | T48/V* | A38 | Heathfield | 283700, 076250 | 10m |
Highways England | T49/V* | A38 | Smithaleigh | 259190, 055520 | 70m |
Highways England | V*# | A30 | Two Bridges | 227020, 081750 | 110m |
Highways England | V*# | A38 | Landrake | 237090, 060400 | 80m |
V – Vaisala ROSA Site
F – Findlay Irvine Site
* – Forecast Site
# – Mains powered site with present weather sensor
A good communications network is essential to ensure a speedy and effective response to winter conditions. The Network Operations Control Centre (NOCC) acts as Devon’s coordination centre for both routine winter service and severe weather emergencies. To control operations, links are required between the Network Operations Control Centre, Highway Management (HQ), Neighbourhood teams and the term contractor. This is achieved using winter service management systems which hold information on operations, weather, road conditions, routes, costs, etc.
The forecast together with other available information is considered and a proposed action is made by Highway Management (HQ) Central Decision Maker (CDM) and modified using any local condition information known to the Area Weather Contact (AWC) if appropriate. To ensure appropriate action, decisions will be determined on a route by route basis. A web-based system is in operation for recording the proposed, confirmed and actual actions. Should a problem exist with this system then the forms in Appendix 4 should be used. A check sheet/recording form which can be used if required when receiving forecast information by phone is also in Appendix 4.
The central decision maker (CDM)
The nominated officer usually from HQ who is responsible for the initial determination of the daily action from the forecast information and acts as the central weather contact for the 24 hours from that lunchtime. Where the lunchtime and overnight CDM are different officers, there should be a briefing between the two for continuity.
Area weather contact
(AWC) A designated person (usually at Project Engineer or Highway Neighbourhood Engineer) responsible for reviewing any action proposed if necessary and discussing and agreeing on any changes with HQ contact, and confirming the lunch-time action for their area, and instructing the contractor on the action for the area.
Standby officer (SO)
The SO on duty out of normal hours to deal with incidents affecting the public highway.
Inspection person
Usually DCC SO or nominated contractor operative.
Inspection buddy
The person appointed to ‘buddy’ the Inspection Person whilst lone working, this should be arranged locally or through the NOCC
Winter service manager (WSM)
Term service contract nominated staff member with responsibility for the Contractors delivery of winter service.
The action proposed, by route, will be one of the following:-
No planned action
When used
Action to be taken
Monitor
When used
Action to be taken
Pre-salt
When used
Action to be taken
Inspections will only be undertaken when the information available through the Weather Information Systems (ice detection, weather radar etc) leaves some uncertainty about potential hazards with the state of the road surface. Any inspection must be undertaken following the standard safe working procedures and a record of the inspection maintained and reported to the NOCC.
When an inspection is requested it will be qualified with a time and a reason, and two named individuals, Inspection Person and Inspection Buddy will be identified to undertake the inspection. Examples of a reason include:
Wash-off
Where the roads have been pre-treated but subsequent rain may have washed the salt away to leave inadequate residual salt
Ice
To determine if ice is present
Snow
To determine the depth of snow and whether any previous treatment has been adequate
Hoar frost
To determine the existence of hoar frost – this may be difficult to determine by staff and therefore careful consideration must be given before this is used.
Flooding
To determine the extent of flooding problems and would normally be undertaken at dawn.
Obstructions
To determine the effect of severe weather, again usually at dawn.
The decision to salt should include a risk assessment of the probability of ice forming against residual salt levels by considering the following factors:
Residual salt should not normally be relied on for more than 2 nights this includes the night the treatment was for– i.e. if other factors are acceptable and there was a treatment on day 1 then it may be possible to not salt on day 2 but day 3 should be treated.
When immediate winter service operations are ordered from the maintenance contractor, the response time is defined as the period between the instruction being given and arrival at the first point of salting on the route. Treatment time is defined as the period between the start and finish of spreading salt on the route, not the times of leaving and returning to the depot.
For treatments, up to 20g/m2, the response time on the pre-salting network is to be 1 hour. When undertaking a treatment up to 15g/m2, the treatment time is to be within 3 hours. Extra time should be allowed for a 20g/m2 treatment and when it is required to treat and at times of heavy traffic or when temperatures are already below zero and winter hazards may be present.
Where part of an Area’s network is covered by an adjacent Area’s route, the adequate liaison must be undertaken between NHT’s to ensure all routes receive the required treatment, and there is cross-boundary consistency. This is particularly important when an action results from an overnight MONITOR action or an inspection.
Each AWC must be aware of the proposed actions of the Highways England agents and other highway authorities within and adjacent to their Area including any later changes. The NOCC will liaise with the Highways Agency’s agents and inform the appropriate AWC of the proposed action, together with any later changes if there are significant differences to the Area’s earlier action. The AWC will liaise with their adjacent authorities and the AWC should then consider and amend the proposed action if appropriate in liaison with Highway and Traffic Management (HQ) contact if necessary.
The following sections of Devon County Councils highway network are salted by adjacent authorities. The relevant AWC will need to make arrangements to treat them if required when the adjacent authority are not pre-salting their roads. Detailed maps of these sections are shown in Appendix 8. A formalised arrangement has been agreed with Cornwall Council for the sections of the A39 and B3254 that are treated for Devon by Cornwall; these will be treated following Cornwall’s salting policy.
Area Office | Road Number | Location/description | Adjacent Authority |
---|---|---|---|
South | A380 | Torbay Ring Road, Marldon | Torbay Council |
South | A379/B3205 | Kingswear area | Torbay Council |
East | B3165 | Monkton Cross to Wootton Cross | Dorset Council |
North | A39 | Welcombe Cross Boundary | Cornwall Council |
North | B3254 | Jewells Cross to Bevill’s Hill | Cornwall Council |
When temperatures are forecast to be below zero for the following 24 hour period or longer then the Secondary Routes detailed in Appendix 3 should be treated, within the available resources [including use of the whiteout fleet if appropriate]. Consideration should also be given to proactively treating high priority footways and cycleways, within available resources.
Highway and Traffic Management (HQ) will nominate a CDM as an out of hours weather contact for each day during the winter period. An AWC is nominated for the 2 winter operational areas for each day including Saturday and Sundays during the winter period. HQ and the NHT’s will advise NOCC of their contact details no later the midday on the last working day of the week. The AWC will be responsible over the lunchtime period for agreeing the proposed action with the CDM and passing the resultant action details on to the SO. The contractors WSM will pass details of the planned treatment to the contractors’ Winter Agents. The CDM will update the Winter Action Management System with the specific actions and detailed rationale for the decision. The AWC then agrees with this action (CDM when all green NPA) and the contractor accepts the action. The NOCC will add any comments and update information relevant over the remainder of the forecast period and the contractor updates the system with completed actions.
The following set out the general action decision process and specific requirements for each of the designated actions.
General procedure: Deciding the Action over the lunchtime/early afternoon period
General procedure: Contacts out of hours
The following 3 sections give additional specific requirements for the defined courses of action (a) to (c):
(a) No planned action
(b) Monitor
(c) Pre-salt
Monitoring of actions
Weekdays
Weekends
The policy is to carry out precautionary treatment on the pre-salting network only. Ice may inevitably form on roads off the pre-salting network [80% of County roads] from time to time. The following gives guidance on the expected response.
When the pre-salt network has been treated
Reporting of ice on the pre-salt network
Reporting of ice off the pre-salt network
When the pre-salt network has NOT been treated
Reporting of ice on the pre-salt network
Report of ice off the pre-salt network
During inspections, the thermometer probe and unit should be kept in the cold box provided whilst travelling between sites. The probe and unit should be as near as possible at the temperature of the road surface as this minimises the time taken to obtain an accurate reading, the ‘ice block’ should therefore not be frozen in a deep freezer but cooled to ‘fridge temperature’ (between 2ºC to 4ºC) otherwise it will be too cold on the majority of occasions.
Where routine winter service conditions prevail, the Network Operations Control Centre will liaise regularly with the Police Control Rooms. Regular contact will also be maintained with the local police in the Areas most affected by winter weather conditions.
Staff providing an emergency response (most SOs), rely on their mobile phones and must carry sufficient coins to be able to make use of public phones in areas or at times of restricted coverage. It is known that the mobile phone network can be unreliable during emergencies (when there is a very high demand for the network) and staff on duty should be alert to such occasions and contact the NOCC via landline to see if any calls are waiting for their response. It is County policy that mobile phones must not be used whilst driving.
Contact names are held by the NOCC and available on The Hub. The NOCC needs to be given lists of standby contacts in advance, (e-mailed to the NOCC to cover a minimum period of one week) both in and out of hours, by the Neighbourhood Offices and Highway Management (HQ).
To share the duties over Christmas, New Year and Easter; Neighbourhood Offices and Highway Management (HQ) provide a rota of personnel who may be contacted. This information is collated and sent out to all relevant parties. Weekend procedures apply during this period.
The County has health and safety procedures in place, reference should be made to the task-specific and generic risk assessment stored on the Devon Highways Hub. Operation and maintenance of the prewet equipment and saturators can be found in Appendix 9
Local offices must keep a ‘winter file’ to record all action decisions and reasons together with any other reports, responses and outcomes as a defence for any claims that may be received.
The very nature of freezing rain means that it is difficult to predict, and pre-treatment will have virtually no initial effect – consequentially ice will form for a time. The NOCC should notify the police and the local media to broadcast bulletins to advise the public to avoid travelling in the area. Wherever possible, VMS will be used to convey the message to drivers approaching the affected area along with social media.
If freezing rain is predicted, and when time permits, the part of the network predicted to be affected should be treated in advance. All available spreaders (including white-out fleet) should be loaded, when freezing rain is predicted and when time permits, be stationed across the part of the pre-salt network likely to be affected to enable spreading to commence as the rain falls, concentrating on routes in priority order as set out in the snow plan. During the period all County and contractors’ staff should proceed with extreme caution and be prepared to suspend operations if conditions present an unacceptable danger.
When the weather forecast is considered at lunchtime, the client decision-maker in conjunction with a contractor representative (duty manager) will consider the risk for gritter drivers when they may be required to undertake treatment and for those undertaking inspections. The risk will be categorised as follows:
Risk of ice/frost | Scenario | Reason |
---|---|---|
Low | ice or frost not expected at the planned time of treatment. | treatment is undertaken before freezing temperatures occurring. |
Moderate | sub-zero road temperatures and ice or frost are possible, although the road may have been previously treated. | treatment is undertaken when roads are below freezing (eg overnight re-treatment) Ice or frost possible but not certain. |
High | high probability of the presence of ice on the salting network. | treatment when rain is expected on freezing roads, freezing rain, or snow which could be compacting to ice. |
In the low-risk scenario, drivers should be aware of the need to treat as close to the treatment time as safely as possible as this will be the decision maker’s assumption in planning the action. In medium and high risk, it is accepted that treatment may take longer as the driver will need to take extra care with the heightened risk.
It will be the responsibility of the contractor’s duty manager to ensure this information is communicated to the drivers and Area Weather Contacts to communicate with those on standby (including staff undertaking inspections when required). Where the NOCC receive updated information that suggests the risk will increase – this will be communicated to the contractor duty manager for onward communication to drivers, and those undertaking inspections.
The contractor will determine what procedures are required to discharge their duty of care to the drivers in light of the varying levels of risk.
There will be some occasions in the high-risk scenario where the driver considers that it would be too dangerous to continue with the treatment. In this situation the following procedure will be adopted:
There are several factors which affect public safety and cost of winter service and these are monitored. The County Council is currently using winter service management systems including GPS fitted to the front line fleet allowing monitoring of operations and highlights areas where improvements can be made.
Forecasts
The forecasts received from the forecaster dictate to a large extent the action that is proposed. Accuracy is therefore of prime importance to avoid abortive work, hence mean errors, standard deviations and whether frosts were accurately forecast are all monitored. The County will take up significant errors with the forecaster.
Action taken/actual conditions
This will be monitored to measure the extent of abortive work or dangerous road conditions.
Response/treatment times
Highway Management will monitor their contractor’s performance to ensure that response and treatment times are being met so that conditions are as safe as is reasonably possible for highway users.
Salt usage
A check of actual salt use should be made, by the measure of salt stocks at the end of winter, monitored against salt operations ordered.
Financial monitoring
Expenditure is to be monitored and will be compared to Actions Taken
Pre-treatment is by far the most effective course of action when dealing with ice and snow.
To determine treatments, a distinction is made between dry, damp and wet road surfaces. Definitions for use when making treatment decisions are as follows.
Dry road
Damp road
Wet road
Devon County Council has considered the recommendations in Practical Guidance Spread Rates for Precautionary Salting issued by the NWSRG appending the NCoP Well Managed Highway Infrastructure. Devon County Council has sought to interpret and adopt this advice as far as reasonably practicable. The tables provide the minimum spread rates that should be applied given the various weather scenarios but are on the basis that there is no residual salt. If residual salt is considered present as described in Section 7.6, this must then be justified, and the rates adjusted accordingly. As research has shown salt losses do not increase significantly in high traffic situations and given the variability of traffic levels along each route there is an assumed ‘Medium Traffic’ level situation around the time of operation the higher spread rates for high traffic situations has not been applied. However, where treatment is planned to start after 9.15 pm the very low traffic table must be applied. There are 2 tables, one assumes that the gritter has been calibrated to “good”. Where gritters are not calibrated to “good” for example the spinner looks like it has been knocked or dry salt is being spread rather than pre-wet, higher rates of spread should be used as in the FAIR table.
Wind speed and direction can affect the spreading of salt and in dry conditions, can also affect the length of time salt remains on the road surface. It should also be noted that when a forecast predicts mean wind speeds these typically relate to those at a height of 10 metres above the ground and these are not likely to be the same the closer to the road surface. Where possible all treatments should be avoided during periods when meaning wind speeds are predicted to be 20mph or more. If this can’t be avoided consideration should be given to residual salt and routes where greater exposure to winds are likely to be an issue such as open moorland. If it is deemed necessary to increase the spread rate a factor of 20% should be applied. If the spread rate then exceeds 20gsm, additional treatment should be considered. All salt is stored under cover, except for the bagged saturator salt which is sheeted.
The dry spread rates are based on a tested salt moisture content of between 1.5% and 4% which is typical for barn-stored salt in Devon. The prewet spread rates are based on the moisture content of less than 4%. There are practical difficulties in spreading salt in one pass greater than 20g/m² and it may be difficult to get more than one or two treatments down before the winter hazard occurs. Therefore, treatments have been limited to 20g/m² for practical reasons and the situation should be monitored and retreated at an appropriate level if there is any cause for concern.
The action will indicate the pre-wet GOOD spreading capability treatment, and where locally the vehicle does not meet this criterion, the driver will convert this rate of spread to that appropriate for their vehicle. This conversion process will be based on these tables and re-enforced through toolbox talks.
All frontline gritters can spread pre-wet salt and this should be used whenever possible. The spread rate on the control box should be set to the specified rate of spread, e.g. 10g/m², then when pre-wet is selected the control box automatically adjusts the rate of spread of dry salt from the hopper to 7.0g/m² to take account of the salt being applied in the brine solution which contributes the other 3.0g/m² including water. A pre-wet gritter will automatically spread at the dry rate if it runs out of the brine. Details of the safe working and operational procedure for pre-wet salt spreading are given in Appendix 9.
On occasions, the RST’s will remain at or below 0ºC throughout a single forecast period. During this time consideration should be given to further treatments to ensure adequate salt has been applied to the road surface. For example, on occasions, early treatment will be actioned in the afternoon for a forecasted hazard and the appropriate spread rate applied for those conditions, decision-makers may then decide a further treatment would be appropriate before dawn to supplement this action. Factors to be considered may include run-off and standing water.
The treatments above should be undertaken in one pass wherever possible, except when annotated as two treatments. The action plan should identify the timing required for each treatment.
The treatments above should be undertaken in one pass wherever possible, except when annotated as two treatments. The action plan should identify the timing required for each treatment.
Highway Authorities have a statutory duty under the Highways Act Section 41(1A) to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, safe passage along the highway and under Section 150 to remove obstructions. Snow is considered to be an obstruction when it impedes the use of the highway and will be removed as soon as practicable and conditions allow within the resources available.
Severe Weather and Emergency Response Plan
Section 12 details the County level Severe Weather and Emergency Response Plan (SWERP) which will be invoked during a widespread snow event. This plan details the activation, communication and roles required to manage such an event. This plan will marry with Local Snow Plans and follow the defined framework with this plan to provide details of organisation and snow clearance at a local level.
The SWERP will provide a strategic overview for managing a large-scale event, whilst the Local Snow plans will give the detail of priorities within the area. Any movement of the plant between across the county can only be agreed by the Lead Officer managing the event at County level.
The local snow plan
The Snow Plan should be a complete document setting out priorities in tabular and map form together with full details of how the County Council’s and the Term Contractor’s plant should be allocated to routes and areas. There should also be a schedule and allocation plan of other plant and manpower resources together with emergency contact details.
The plan should include reporting sheets which list the A and B roads, broken down into suitable sections that can be used to report the road status during an event to the NOCC and Local Control Point, using standard reporting nomenclature as defined in section 1.5.
Liaise with border colleagues to assist with clearance after their roads are passable with care should be undertaken at the local level.
Priorities
There are 4 separate areas to be prioritised:
The reduced salting network
This will be the core network that will be treated and cleared if circumstances dictate. It will consist of just over half the normal salting network as defined in section 2 of this plan. The requirement to fall back to this network will be determined by the Lead Officer in consultation with senior management at a countywide level and may be used, for example, if salt supplies become unavailable.
The salting network
A priority list of roads within the Local should be drawn up starting with the major through roads, or parts thereof in consultation with adjacent Areas and working down through other roads in Maintenance Category order that make up the pre-salting network including the accesses to Emergency Service establishments.
Pedestrian and Cycle Routes
Priorities should be established so that routes with the highest flows are cleared first, e.g. commuter cycle routes together with footways in town centres, shopping areas and where there are high numbers of pedestrian traffic, i.e. footway category 1. Residential areas and less used footways should be cleared (following the footway and cycleway category priority) as resources become available.
Other Routes
The Local should be split into smaller areas to be supervised by an NHO and the remaining road network in each prioritised as follows:
Preparation
During the summer period, the provision of plant required to implement the snow plans should be discussed with the term maintenance contractor and suitable equipment identified from their lists of suppliers. The Local Snow Plans should be issued to the term contractor. Similarly, enquiries should be made with local companies that may have the manpower available to clear snow from footways and cycle routes.
Farmers and contractors within or near the Local who own tractor-mounted snow blowers should be contacted to confirm their continued availability and details passed to the term maintenance contractor.
Operations
The front line gritter fleet should be allocated to clear the major routes, in priority order supported as necessary by vehicles from the reserve fleet and hire plant. When these are passable plant can be allocated to other routes on the salting network and then directed to clear routes within each HS’s area.
Manual staff should commence clearing footways and cycle routes in shopping areas and then to work through the priority list.
Areas will be informed of snow conditions through the weather information systems. The Met Office will probably issue severe weather warnings if any sizeable falls are expected (severe weather warnings are detailed in Section 13) and further details may be available through the NOCC.
The following table is intended as guidance on clearing snow under varying conditions. Pre-wet spreading should be used when possible.
Precautionary treatments before the snow
Weather conditions | Treatment |
---|---|
Light snow forecast | Spread • 40g/m² of pre-wetted salt • 40g/m² of dry salt |
Moderate/Heavy snow forecast | Spread • 20-40g/m² of pre-wetted salt • 20-40g/m² of dry salt |
The treatment should be spread in one pass where possible. If there is insufficient capacity to achieve this, vehicles should spread at the specified rate and refill as necessary. The treatment time will be extended and the start time will need to be adjusted by the accordingly. Where there is only a short time available then both the front line and reserve fleets should be mobilised to work in tandem. It is suggested that both vehicles spread at half the specified rate with the reserve vehicle leading, when it runs out off salt it returns to the depot to reload and the front line vehicle continues spreading at the full rate. When the reserve vehicle returns it continues as above or spreading at the full rate to allow the front line vehicle to return and reload if necessary.
On receipt of snow warning, the following procedure should be carried out:-
The five snow blowers are mounted on the front of tractors enabling then to be easily deployed across the County. Procedures are in place to ensure that snow blowers can be put into action as soon as conditions make it necessary, and also that the crews operating the machines are suitably equipped to operate safely in extreme weather conditions. A system of control has been laid down which will enable the progress of snow clearing work to be monitored and for assistance to be given to the crew in the event of any mishap.
Five snow blowers are based in depots at South Molton, Parracombe, Honiton, Newton Abbot and Okehampton. These snow blowers will be brought into action as necessary on the instruction of the Area.
Salt must not be spread between the stop lines of all Network Rail level crossings, even when covered with snow (see Section 2.6).
Before ploughing over a level crossing the driver must stop and telephone the signalman for permission to proceed and then inform the signalman when past the crossing. The crossing telephone can be used or telephone Network Rail Control on 01793 515 410.
Snow blowers must not be used between the stop lines of all level crossings.
Snow blowers location map
The Police and the County Council have produced a coding system for describing the status of routes affected by snow. The following codes are for operational use and all come under the classification “Impassable” when reporting to the public, the media or other external organisations:
Abbreviation | Description |
---|---|
INBC | Impassable, not being cleared. |
IBC | Impassable, being cleared. |
EMV/4WD | Emergency vehicles and 4-Wheeled Drive only. |
PNAP | Passable, not available to the public. |
SLO | Slow lane only / no overtaking |
PEC | Passable with extreme care, snow is still present over road length. |
PC | Passable with care, isolated areas of snow. |
RC | Road closed. |
When making reports to NOCC, Inspectors should also include the general conditions of side roads as well as those on the inspection route.
In severe conditions when the maintenance contractor is fully committed, Areas may directly engage additional labour/drivers. District Council contractors should be engaged wherever possible, but failing this, labour can be engaged as follows:-
Casual road employees
Personnel recruited by the Council through the Department of Employment offices and other local sources who are brought temporarily on to the Council’s establishment, to be paid the appropriate wage rate laid down by the National Joint Council for Local Authorities’ Service with no bonus entitlement and proportionately reduced rates for youths.
Where Local Labour is recruited in villages, some persons of authority in each village must be made responsible for locally organised groups and collect and certify the timesheets of each person employed.
Contract labour by local builders
Where local builders and contractors are employed on a contract labour basis the following payment formulae to be applied as a maximum:-
Assistance by farmers and agricultural contractors
Farmers, agricultural contractors and others who offer the use of their plant and operators during extended periods of snow should be directed to the term maintenance contractor. This and any other additional plant required can be ordered and paid for through the term contract series 4800.
The Devon Procurement list of approved contractors Contract DP18/1 no longer applies.
The following work shall be undertaken after a snow emergency:
Contact via the media is an important way of keeping road users informed of adverse conditions and promoting safety on the highway. Media coverage of winter service and emergency operations plays a necessary part in making the public aware of the service provided and how vital the service is to the community.
It is therefore important that NOCC receives frequent updates from local teams on the local situation, preferably by email to NOCC but faxes and telephone calls otherwise. As a minimum; an overnight summary should be provided to the NOCC by 8.30 am, with morning update reports at 11 am and afternoon reports by 3 pm to include details of important highways affected, together with men and resources deployed (a good estimate is sufficient).
If the public is kept informed by contact with the community and road users, winter operations will more effective and better understood.
The County, therefore, makes use of several means of communication which include:-
Part of the role of the Network Operations Control Centre staff is to collate the countywide highway situation in winter and severe weather conditions from information, largely provided by local teams, and issue regular reports to senior management, emergency services, and the media. The NOCC staff must receive situation updates within the prescribed deadlines to enable credible media statements and interviews to be actioned.
The schedule below indicates the times at which the NOCC may be contacted for information during winter or severe weather event.
06.00 Radio stations make initial contact to establish the overnight picture
06.10 First ‘live’ broadcasts may be required
06.00 – 09.00 Media require details of events in their area
09.00 Summary required by Senior Management and Media office
11.30 – 13.00 Midday broadcasts on local radio
16.00 Morning papers require the latest information
17.00 – 19.00 Evening radio and Television may require information/broadcasts
21.00 – 22.00 Occasional evening broadcasts may be required (especially for snow)
If in an emergency, an unusual situation arises, high priority must be given to obtaining photographic records. Local teams should arrange to have photographs taken in all winter emergencies.
Devon County Council has variable message signs (VMS) across the county, particularly in Exeter, Barnstaple, Newton Abbot and on the North Devon Link from the M5 to Barnstaple.
These signs will be used to reinforce messages to the travelling public about winter driving conditions, winter road safety and other weather-related travel information when they are not required for higher priority messages, and when it is appropriate to do so.
Information may be automatically generated for these signs from, for example, data from the ice detection system when temperatures fall below freezing, or when wind speeds exceed pre-defined trigger levels and may include forecast information.
Whilst it is the drivers’ responsibility to ensure that they are driving according to the prevailing weather conditions, this information can assist in making drivers more aware of the environment in which they are driving.
Examples of messages will include:
Risk of ice
High winds
Gritting in progress
Risk of ice
If a major emergency occurs in Devon, it is inevitable that the Place Directorate will be involved, as most major emergencies will affect the highway network. Typical recent events have included major flooding, collisions involving heavy goods vehicles with dangerous chemicals and factory fires involving large scale evacuations. This chapter will clarify the terminology used within emergency planning and set out what may be expected from this Directorate.
An emergency is defined by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 as an event or situation which threatens serious damage to:
Serious damage to human welfare may involve:
Serious damage to the environment may involve:
A major incident is an emergency that requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency responders provided it meets one of the following conditions:
the emergency is likely to obstruct the organisation seriously in the performance of its functions, or it is likely that the organisation:
The Police will lead the co-ordination of the response to most major incidents, particularly sudden impact emergencies and weather-related incidents such as flooding. The response to some other emergencies will be co-ordinated by other Agencies, these will be identified as part of the Community Risk Register, and examples include:
In the early stages, the Network Operations Control Centre will be the first point of contact for highway-related issues and will advise the duty Area contact (duty NHO/PT out of hours) with details of what the police require. Whether the event has been declared a major emergency and whether a Tactical (Silver) Control has been established. Emergency Planning will often be contacted through the NOCC.
When the duty Area officer arrives on sites the following actions should be undertaken:
If evacuations are required Transport Coordination may be asked by Emergency Planning to provide transport from the incident to a rest centre.
Purpose
This document is designed for operational use with checklists, agendas and procedures to aid an operational response. It will also detail some key useful information that may be required in an emergency but does not seek to replicate information available in the Winter Service and Emergency Plan.
The purpose of this plan is to provide an operational overview of the key roles and operation of Highways Management in the event of severe weather or other highway-related emergencies that requires more than a local (within an area) response. However, some of the principles used within this plan may be relevant to other situations. It is not intended that the plan will cover the details of area responses (eg which roads to give priority to) but will provide the handle into such local plans and detail the minimum criteria that they should contain.
Term | Meaning |
---|---|
MACC | multi-agency conference call |
FLOODCON | See MACC |
DEVFLOODCON | |
Gold | Police strategic management of emergency – may involve partner agencies |
Silver | Police tactical control |
Bronze | emergency services local operational control |
SWERP | this plan |
WSP | winter service and emergency plan |
ERA | extreme rainfall alert |
NOCC | Network Operations Control Centre |
LRF | Local Resilience Forum |
EPO | Emergency Planning Officer |
Criteria for activation
The plan should be activated by a manager within the group when there is sufficient information to suggest that there is a reasonable likelihood of a widespread event that could cause significant disruption to the travelling public. Whilst this is a judgement call there are various tools available to assist with this judgement, and it is better to initiate the plan and then stand-down than to initiate the plan too late.
Examples of information that will assist in determining whether to activate the plan:
The type of forecast scenarios that may require activation are:
The activation is most likely to be undertaken by the duty manager of the Network Operations Control Centre. If other managers feel that the plan should be activated they should consult with the NOCC manager and then agree with its activation.
Where possible it is preferable that the plan is initiated in working hours so that an initial conference call can be undertaken and staff prepared for future action. Therefore this may occur when there is less certainty over the event. The advantage is that it will be easier to contact staff and make initial arrangements and then stand down if not needed than to have the additional difficulty of contacting appropriate staff out of hours.
Multi-agency conference calls (MACC)
As a result of the Pitt Report, agencies responsible for responding to flooding incidents are being encouraged to engage in advanced communication to co-ordinate an appropriate response to the emerging situation. This is not to be confused with a gold conference call when a major incident has been declared by the emergency services. These calls may be initiated with a codeword to differentiate them from a gold conference and the current proposal is DEVFLOODCON or FLOODCON. These may be called by any agency and will enable discussion about:
Anyone at Highway Engineer/duty NOCC manager level or above may be required to attend this conference (normally by a conference telephone call from wherever they are currently based) on behalf of the Directorate (Emergency Planners from DCC may also be involved) and should ensure they are briefed about the current situation and understand the potential impact on the highway network. Their responsibility is to understand what other agencies are doing and what is the appropriate response for the Directorate. This information should be relayed to the NOCC and others that need to follow-up on the actions.
The MACC may help to determine whether this plan needs to be activated or form part of the liaison once the plan has been activated. Senior managers at Head of Service or Director level should be informed when these conferences occur, so they are aware at the level of preparedness.
Action by NOCC
On receipt of a call requesting a MACC/FLOODCON /DEVFLOODCON (eg from EA or other agency):
time of conference call
attendees required (HQ, area, and HA)
the telephone number for call
participant passcode
If a NOCC manager or HQ weather contact assesses that a MACC would be useful, they should discuss this with the duty EPO and then activate this procedure with the NOCC and EPO.
Activation of SWERP
When it is determined that this plan should be implemented, the following actions should be undertaken:
IN HOURS
2. NOCC watchkeeper to contact each and pass information declared in 1. above
OUT OF HOURS
3. NOCC watchkeeper to contact each Area – either through the Area Weather Contract (winter) or an Area Standby (one of a number on duty in the area) if not in winter, with the information declared in 1. above
AREA PERSON CONTACTED
4. the person who is contacted in the area is responsible for invoking the area procedure to ensure an Area Manager and anyone else the Area Manager considers appropriate to dial into the conference call at the designated time
NOCC MANAGER OR LEAD CONTACT
5. the NOCC manager or lead officer is responsible for informing:
CONFERENCE CALL PROCEDURE
Audio-conferencing in DCC normally uses a Microsoft Teams meeting. A calendar appointment will be sent to all participants and this meeting may be recorded for record-keeping.
Initial SWERP conference call agenda
The agenda for the initial conference call, which will be chaired by the Lead Officer or HQ manager if Lead Officer not designated, will be:
1. a summary of why the SWERP has been activated
2. summary of available weather information and warnings issued
a. 24-hour forecast
b. Severe weather warnings
c. Flood guidance and Extreme Rainfall Alerts (if issued)
d. Other warnings in place (Flood, tidal etc)
e. Advice from the Met Office
3. assessment of the potential and probable impact of the event
4. multi-agency arrangements and information
a. information from other gold/FLOODCON conferences
b. emergency planning arrangements/GOSW/LRF
c. adjacent highway authorities
5. reports from each area of current highway status and impact
a. north area
b. east area
c. south area
6. proposed response action required to event (see next section)
7. resources required for a response
a. client staffing
b. contractor staffing
c. plant
d. materials (eg salt)
8. designation of key officers in HQ and Areas (if not clear at the meeting they must be designated within 1 hour of meeting closing)
9. media arrangements
10. time of next conference call (to be determined by nature and timing of the event, availability of further information etc)
Action response required to the event
The action required will vary depending on the nature of the event but the following will give some useful guidance to be considered.
Snow
Heavy rain
Tidal
Management of event
The Lead Officer will determine the frequency and for how long the conference calls will be required. These will provide the main facility for managing the event from a Directorate perspective and the interplay with other conference calls that may be undertaken (County, gold, MACC etc) will determine if any external factors need to be considered.
The conference calls should provide a useful vehicle for engaging with staff in the Area teams, pooling expertise and ensuring that strategic decisions that need to be taken can be well-informed. Only the Lead Officer must make the final strategic decision, especially regarding the movement of resources, being the one with the full overview of the event.
It is also important that decisions taken at the conference calls are acted upon by the area staff and others engaged with the conference. Any concern must be raised at the appropriate stage during the call, otherwise, effective management is lost and the County could become vulnerable. It is the Lead Officers responsibility to ensure areas have the opportunity to engage with the process.
The roles and responsibilities should provide an effective mechanism to clarify who is responsible for what in the response.
Conference calls must be disciplined and strongly chaired as there can be many attendees and the meeting can be lost if attendees talk over each other. Records and any minutes of the meeting should be recorded using OneNote and uploaded onto the Microsoft Teams page Storm Events under the relevant event.
It is recommended that whilst a response is or may be required, conference calls occur at least once a day for continuity, and during the winter, 1300 is recommended to co-inside with the availability of the forecast.
Roles and responsibilities
The roles identified below are essential to the effective operation of the Plan. They are not specifically related to “rank” but should be undertaken by a suitably senior person who has the relevant training and experience to undertake the task effectively. It is the responsibility of senior management to ensure the designations are suitably endorsed.
The roles defined are:
Lead officer
Responsible to:
Responsible for
Support officer/ NOCC manager
Responsible to:
Responsible for:
Admin support (if available)
Responsible to:
Responsible for:
Communications officer
Responsible to:
Responsible for:
Area manager
Responsible to:
Responsible for:
Sub-area manager’s responsibilities if not designated
Responsible to:
Responsible for:
Network Operations Control Centre
Responsible to:
Responsible for:
Local emergency plans
Key information will be held in the Winter Service and Emergency Plan (WSEP) on the general county response to winter service and weather emergencies and this plan details the county-wide response to a severe weather emergency. However, the Neighbourhood Highway Group Manager is responsible for ensuring that each locality has a plan that will determine the local response which links to this countywide plan and specifically contains the following information:
Extreme weather information services
There are many services and warning that are now issued when severe weather is expected, or as a result of it occurring and they are described in this section.
Severe weather warnings
These are issued by the Met Office as part of the public warning service and come in the form of early warnings and flash warnings when specific trigger levels are reached. They are distributed by email and are also available on the web with additional information at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/sw/sw_forecast_warnings.html
Early warnings can give up to 5 days notice of an extreme weather event and will often contain a risk assessment in the form of a likelihood of causing disruption or risk to life. They will refer to the probability of a region being affected and the South West region stretches from Cornwall to Gloucestershire.
Flash warnings are issued when confidence in an event reaches 90% and can be from 0 – 6 hours warning. They will identify which local authority area is likely to be affected.
Extreme Rainfall Alerts and Flood Guidance
These documents are relatively new and are provided by the Flood Forecasting Centre which is a joint venture between the Met Office and Environment Agency. They are designed to provide better information about flooding risk, but notably including surface water (flash) flooding risk. They are intentionally focussed on the extreme events but will provide risk assessments when events have only a 10% probability and hence care needs to be exercised in how the information is used to ensure an appropriate reaction. They can be helping in guiding the need for FLOODCON audio-conferencing.
Flood warnings
Issued by the Environment Agency these work in a four-stage warning system:
Besides, the EA may issue a pre-MIP (Major Incident Plan) and a MIP. The first means to prepare for a major incident which is imminent – ie flood defences are likely to be overtopped and many lives and property are at risk. The second means to activate the Major Incident Plan as contained in the Devon Flood Warning and Emergency Response Plan.
When invoked the Area will be expected to implement the Traffic Management Plan where it exists, for the specific scenario contained in the DFWERP (which covers most major towns and city susceptible to serious flooding risk).
Summary of warnings are available on the internet at Environment Agency Flood Warning
Debriefs
After any activation of this plan, a debrief should take place with appropriate staff, generally including staff in the designated roles. If only used in a precautionary move, the debrief may be informal, but when used in response to a major event a full debrief should be undertaken, within a month of the event to capture key issues.
Police response to emergencies
Most major incidents will be declared and lead by the police. A weather event may not be declared as a major incident until it is seen to significantly disrupt normality and require a special response due to the number of lives at risk. If a major incident is declared the police will normally establish a GOLD, SILVER, BRONZE command structure.
GOLD
The strategic decision-making group which establishes a framework of policy within which the SILVER will operate. They will often ask partners to send representatives to the Strategic Coordinating Group which advises GOLD either at Middlemoor or via an audio-conference. Officers ranging from the Chief Executive to the Lead Officer of a weather event may be asked to participate at GOLD meetings.
SILVER
The tactical incident management level which the police will normally establish at Exeter, Paignton or Barnstaple. Managers in the areas may be requested to attend silver at one of these locations to advise on highway issues and respond to requests from the silver commander to assist with road closures, diversions, access and evacuation routes etc.
BRONZE
The police operational level designated with specific tasks. There could be several bronze command points established.
Emergency services – First Officer at the Scene
When emergency services arrive at a scene with casualties then they may need to take precautions. By including this information in the plan it can help staff to understand the emergency response and ensure they assist rather than impede any action.
Risk Assess
Don’t rush in. Consider the risks to your safety first, the risks to other responders and the public. Remember the possibility of a CBRN (Chemical Biological Radioactive or Nuclear) incident.
Think – Safety Triggers for Emergency Personnel (step) 1, 2, and 3.
Step One
One Casualty
No obvious explanation or cause
Approach using normal procedures.
Step Two
Two casualties
No obvious explanation or cause
Approach with caution and consider all options
Report on arrival. Update the control room
Step Three
Three or more casualties
No obvious explanation or cause
Do not approach. withdraw, contain and report. Isolate yourself and send for specialist help.
If there is, after an evaluation of the incident, a credible threat:
Emergency services – situation report chalets
When emergency services first arrive at an emergency they are asked to report the situation using the following chalets format:
Casualties
Hazards
Access (and egress) routes
Location
Emergency services required (and evacuation)
Type of incident
Start the log (and safety)
Other emergencies include:
If an emergency develops or has the potential to develop into a major incident, then the Severe Weather Emergency Plan should be followed, as detailed in Section 11.
A good communications network and a single point of contact are essential for the effective management of all emergencies and safe use of the highway network This is provided by the Network Operations Control Centre (NOCC) which is staffed 24 hours a day and provides a contact point between the Council, the public, its contractors, the emergency services and other Authorities.
The NOCC is equipped to enable staff to monitor many aspects of the highway network and manage incidents of severe weather. The technology available to them includes Urban Traffic Control which is utilised to manage traffic in Devon’s larger conurbations and Closed Circuit Television, including webcams and is used to monitor traffic flows and weather conditions.
Incidents which are reported to the NOCC will be passed to the appropriate Devon Highways staff. They will investigate and inform NOCC of the current situation and again when the highway is clear.
The NOCC must be informed of incidents reported that affect the flow of traffic so that they can be included in reports that may be prepared for public information and senior managers as appropriate.
Nominated emergency contacts for use when emergencies arise will be identified. Besides, the NOCC has procedures that list those officers, senior managers and organisations (Police, Environment Agency etc.) who are to be contacted in the event of serious incidents.
The Environmental Protection Act gives the responsibility for highway sweeping and litter clearance to the District, City or Borough Councils (including fly-tipping, dead animals and abandoned vehicles). The County Council still retains certain duties relating to road safety:
Devon Highways will attend the scene of road traffic crashes at the request of the emergency services to clear debris from the carriageway, cycleway or footway.
Non-hazardous spillages (liquid or solid) will also be cleared and the carriageway, cycleway or footway temporarily treated if appropriate. The Environment Agency can be consulted using their enquiry line 03708 506 506 on an appropriate course of action if necessary.
Hazardous spillages (gas, liquid or solid) should be treated with caution. The priority is to keep the area clear and call the emergency services if not already in attendance, also the Environment Agency should be informed and consulted on their emergency hotline 0800 80 70 60. In some circumstances, e.g. where material needs collecting and disposing of, then specialist waste disposal contractors will be needed. The term maintenance contractor will arrange this following their standard safe working procedures
Section 148 of the Highways Act makes it an offence to deposit any dung, compost, rubbish or other material (e.g. mud or hedge cuttings) on a made-up carriageway or the highway if it interrupts any user. If the deposit constitutes an immediate danger on a major route and the offender will not immediately remove it, or if he cannot be traced easily, the County Council will remove it and may attempt to reclaim the cost of doing so from the offender per Section 149 of the Act. If the deposit does not constitute an immediate danger or is on a minor route the police should trace the offender and request its removal. If the offender refuses, a formal notice can be issued, if he then fails to act on the notice the default procedure in the Act may be followed, during this time appropriate warning signs should be erected.
Where soil or refuse is being washed onto the highway the County Council will discuss possible preventative measures with the adjacent landowner/occupier concerned, involving the Environmental Agency where appropriate. Should the landowner/occupier not agree to undertake, nor complete the agreed remedial work, the Council will issue a notice under Section 151 of the Highways Act and may pursue retribution through the Court for any remedial work undertaken by the Council.
Over recent years the frequency of storms in Devon has increased and this has led to more instances of flooding affecting the highway. It is therefore important to maintain and improve the capacity and condition of existing highway drainage systems to make them robust enough to cope. Consideration also needs to be given to run off and discharge capacity during the design process.
Surface water flooding of the highway shall be prevented wherever possible and this may involve exercising powers under Sections 100 and 163 of the Highways Act (draining water from and preventing water from flowing onto, and preventing water falling on or flowing on respectively).
Further details about the warnings that are now available concerning potential flooding are given in Section 14. If a flooding event becomes a major incident, reference should be made to the “Devon Flood Warning and Response Plan” issued by Emergency Planning.
The primary responsibility rests with the property owner to protect their property.
Each delivery unit should hold small local stocks of sandbags ready for use to deal with the effects of highway flooding, for example resulting from a blocked/damaged surface water drains, culverts, etc. It is not able to supply sandbags generally to property owners to prevent flooding arising from rivers or land run-off. In the event of requests for assistance from District Councils, Fire Service or other agencies however; the County Council does endeavour to provide a backup service within the limits of available resources. The prime responsibility of this service at such times is to look after the integrity of the highway infrastructure, including bridges and the safety of road users.
Some District Councils supply sandbags to the general public and the public should contact their relevant District for information
Following storms, the Council will clear fallen trees, branches, earth slips and other debris from carriageways, cycleways and footways on major routes, where necessary using the priorities set out in the pre-salting network and maintenance category order. On minor roads, the adjacent landowner/occupier will be allowed to undertake clearance work where the obstruction originated from outside the highway. Where the Council must undertake any clearance work it may attempt to recover the cost from the adjacent landowner/occupier where appropriate.
The range of possible actions could include the following, although the timing of the response will need to be considered to safeguard the safety of persons until the more extreme conditions have abated:
High temperatures can damage bituminous surfaces by reducing skidding resistance or increasing susceptibility to rutting. Sanding of surfaces can be undertaken to mitigate the former but the latter will need to be remedied through normal road maintenance.
There is a range of other possible situations that will need an emergency response, this includes for example landslips, collapsed walls, collapsed retaining walls, subsidence, broken covers, etc. each will need to be considered and an appropriate response actioned for example:
When necessary, where there are several emergencies and resources are fully committed, responses should be actioned using the priority order set out in the pre-salting network and maintenance categories.
Where emergencies are not limited to localised areas an inspection of all major routes (as given by the salting network) and other known trouble spots will be made so that necessary clearance work and signing can be organised in priority order. This information about the status of the network should be passed to the NOCC as soon as possible.
Local staff will liaise with Highway Managers in neighbouring authorities so that mutual assistance can be arranged as necessary.
During emergencies, information on resources deployed in terms of men, plant and costs will be required and the Network Operations Control Centre will make requests for information so local staff will need to ensure this information is being collected.
Local staff must keep local records of all incidents, emergencies, etc., together with reports of responses and outcomes for use in defence of any claims that may be received.
The National Severe Weather Warning service has changed and been improved. Extensive information is available online and this section only gives a summary. The weather warnings for the Southwest can be found at
Severe Weather Warning Service
Weather warnings will continue to be emailed and these will be forwarded to staff who operationally require them.
Warnings are issued out to five days ahead for the UK.
There are two types of warning:
Warnings are issued for rain, snow, wind, fog, ice
Warnings are based on a combination of:
Warnings are given a colour depending on a combination of both the likelihood of the event happening and the impact the conditions may have.
This is an example of the matrix used to decide the warning colour is shown below. In this case, an event with a high likelihood and medium impact would result in an amber warning.
The matrix information showing how a warning was assigned its colour will be available for all warnings via the ‘More details’ link on the warnings page. However, you don’t need to view this level of detail if you don’t want to. You can simply use the following guidelines for each colour:
Chief Forecaster’s assessment explains why the warning has been given the colour it has, as well as indicating where any uncertainties lie and any additional information. Again, you don’t need to view this level of detail unless you want to.
An example of the warning style is shown below:
Speeds are given at height of 10 m above open flat ground.
Beaufort force | Description | Mean speed (MPH) | Gusts (MPH) | Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Calm | <1 | Calm: Smoke rises vertically | |
1 | Light air | 1 – 3 | The direction of wind shown by smoke drift but not wind vanes. | |
2 | Light breeze | 4 – 7 | The wind felt in the face; Leaves rustle; ordinary vanes moved by the wind | |
3 | Gentle breeze | 8 – 12 | Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flags. | |
4 | Moderate breeze | 13 – 18 | Raises dust and paper; small branches are moved | |
5 | Fresh breeze | 19 – 24 | Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters | |
6 | Strong breeze | 25 – 31 | Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telegraph wires; umbrellas used with difficulty | |
7 | Near gale | 32 – 38 | Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt when walking against the wind | |
8 | Gale | 39 – 46 | 49 – 59 | Breaks twigs off trees; generally impedes progress |
9 | Severe gale | 47 – 54 | 60 – 69 | Slight structural damage occurs; (chimney pots and slates removed) |
10 | Storm | 55 – 63 | 70 – 78 | Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage occurs |
11 | Violent storms | 64 – 72 | 79 – 89 | Very rarely experienced; accompanied by widespread damage |
12 | Hurricane-force | 73+ | 90+ | Devastation |
Following the major UK flooding in June and July 2007, the Government commissioned Sir Michael Pitt to lead a year-long independent inquiry, and on the 25 June 2008, the final Pitt Review was published. The report examines both how to reduce the risk and impact of floods, and the emergency response to the floods. Whilst there has been no legislative changes enacted to date as a result of the report, there has been action on behalf of the Government to act on a number of the recommendations, in particular in improving the information available to emergency responders and encouraging emergency responders to improve their communications before potential flooding events including surface water and flash flooding.
On 21st April 2009, the Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) was created, as a partnership between the Environment Agency and Met Office, to forecast river and coastal flooding as well as extreme rainfall which may lead to flooding from surface water. It will help provide earlier warnings of floods to local authorities and the emergency services, to give them more time to prepare for floods and reduce the risk of loss of life and damage to property. The new service will complement existing public flood warning arrangements from the Environment Agency and public weather warnings from the Met Office.
As a result of these initiatives the following operational information is available to assist in managing flood events (FFC – Flood Forecasting Centre, MO – Met Office, EA – Environment Agency):
Title | By | When |
---|---|---|
Extreme Rainfall Advisory | FFC | Probability >10% |
Extreme Rainfall Alert | FFC | Probability >20% |
Flood Guidance Statement | FFC | Noon daily when Amber or above |
Severe weather early warning | MO | Up to 5 days before |
Severe weather flash warning | MO | Up to 6 hours before |
Flooding operational information | EA, Devon | When flooding expected |
Flood Warnings | EA, Devon | When required |
As a result of these warnings a multi-agency conference call may be convened, normally by the County Council’s Emergency Planning Duty Officer in consultation with the Environment Agency and possibly the police for the professional partners within the County or Local Resilience Forum area (covered by the Devon and Cornwall Police Force). This may be known as DEVFLOODCON or FLOODCON and operates in a similar way to a GOLD conference. It is designed to allow the professional partners to be appraised of the situation and for each party to understand how others are planning to respond to the event. Professional partners would include emergency services, local authorities, EA, Met Office, Highway England.
If major flooding events occur or are likely, reference should be made to the Devon Flood Warning and Response Plan which details how the county and other agencies will respond to the incident in Devon and have specific plans for several locations susceptible to fluvial (river), pluvial (surface water) or tidal flooding.
The Flood Forecasting Centre is operational every day of the year and sends out Flood Guidance Statements daily at noon, with an increase of frequency during extreme flood events. The NOCC only receives these statements when they are categorised as “Amber of above” – i.e. when there is the possibility of an event.
The ERA Service is designed to alert emergency responders in England and Wales to the possibility of urban surface water flooding as a result of extreme rainfall. The alert is issued at a county level to help local response organisations manage the potential impacts of flooding. An ERA can take two forms:
The Environment Agency (EA) has 4 stage system of flood warnings, which applies to both floodings from rivers and the sea.
Also, the EA’s local office will issue “operational information” in the form of faxes or emails which provides their best information summary on an expected flooding event.
There is a single number information line for the general public – 0845 988 1188. Members of the public can sign up to Floodline Warnings Direct. Their website on Current Flooding Situations is updated every 15 mins. The warning code definitions have also been updated.
The NOCC will receive flood warnings from the Environment Agency and distribute these to affected Areas by email as appropriate. The email will include whether or not there is a need to invoke the responses given in the Devon Flood Warning and Response Plan Part 1 – Major Risk Areas, in which case the County Emergency Planning Officer will be informed by NOCC.
The new codes are a fundamental change from the previous colour coded flood warning system and are not directly comparable. Flood Watch and All Clear applies to all watercourses and coastlines, Flood Warning and Severe Flood Warning are only applicable to main rivers and coastal areas. Generally, the system will move up and down through the stages, however, there will be circumstances when stages are omitted e.g. for a flash flood. The term Update is used to indicate that flooding within an area is forecast to increase but a step-up in warning stage is not warranted, it can also be used to update a warning that has been in force for a time to maintain public awareness.
The country is divided into Flood Watch Areas that are based on river catchments. Devon is mainly covered by four River Areas, which do not coincide with the similarly named District Council boundaries and two Coastal Areas although small areas of the County are covered by part of adjacent areas.
River Areas – Mid & East Devon, North Devon, South Devon, West Devon
Coastal Areas – South Devon Coast and North Devon Coast
Sub-area | River areas | Coastal areas |
---|---|---|
Barnstaple | North Devon Area | North Devon Coast Somerset Coast |
Exeter | East & Mid Devon Area | |
Ivybridge | South Devon Area West Devon Area |
South Devon Coast |
Newton Abbot | East & Mid Devon Area South Devon Area |
South Devon Coast |
Okehampton | North Devon Area South Devon Area West Devon Area |
|
Eastern | East & Mid Devon Area | South Devon Coast |
Tiverton | East & Mid Devon Area North Devon Area |
|
Torrington | North Devon Area West Devon Area |
North Devon Coast North Cornwall Coast |
These areas are shown on the following map:
Flood area map
There are many different sources and types of flood risk and flooding including rivers and the sea, estuaries, sewers, surface water, overland flow, etc. The Agency’s Flood Warning Code System applies principally to flooding from rivers and the sea, to designated areas within the indicative floodplain. Such areas are known by their standard generic terms “Flood Watch Area” or “Flood Warning Area”.
Flood Watches will be issued for areas of the floodplain within a catchment or group of catchments at risk from minor impact flooding from main rivers, ordinary watercourses and the sea. These will be known as Flood Watch Areas. A single Flood Watch Area may cover the flood plain across several catchments with broadly similar hydrological and hydraulic characteristics e.g. a single Flood Watch may be issued for several catchments within the flood plain. The degree of detail provided by the Flood Watch regarding specific flood locations will depend on local knowledge of where rivers start to come out of banks in low lying areas, or where coastal spray/overtopping starts to occur.
Flood Warnings and Severe Flood Warnings will be issued for Flood Warning Areas, which are delineated by recognised communities such as an urban area, a significant suburb of a large city, a village or hamlet as follows:
For further information see: Environment Agency
During periods of extreme weather, such as the heavy snow over the last two winters, communities can do a lot to help themselves and others. Devon County Council’s programme of winter service is extensive but our focus is on the major routes which carry the most traffic, which sometimes means smaller communities don’t receive as much help as they would like.
The Snow Warden is the key point of contact between the local community and DCC. It is primarily a coordination role but also provides traceability regarding Devon County Council’s public liability insurance by delivering training to community volunteers and through keeping a register of the local volunteers.
Other public sector organisations can purchase salt through Devon County Councils salt supply tender by contacting Devon Procurement Services Helpline on 01392 383000 or through other external suppliers. All public sector organisations are encouraged to ensure that their requirements for salt are met in advance of the onset of winter.
Where it is agreed that free salt will be provided to towns and parishes, normally on 1 tonne in 25kg sealed bags, this will be on condition that:
It is for the Neighbourhood Highway Teams to ensure these requirements are met.
Contact details – held internally
The route details and maps are correct as of 30th September 2020. Any changes made during the winter period must be passed through the Highway Operations Team where new route cards and maps will be issued to the Neighbourhood Teams and Contractor.
Index of Routes
Barnstaple neighbourhood team
Torrington neighbourhood team
Ivybridge neighbourhood team
Newton Abbot neighbourhood team
Tiverton neighbourhood team
Exeter and Eastern neighbourhood team
The route details and maps are correct as of 30th September 2020. Any changes made during the winter period must be passed through the Highway Operations Team where new route cards and maps will be issued to the Neighbourhood Teams and Contractor.
Index of Routes
Barnstaple neighbourhood team
Torrington neighbourhood team
Ivybridge neighbourhood team
Newton Abbot neighbourhood team
Tiverton neighbourhood team
Exeter and Eastern neighbourhood team
The following appendices are operational documents are used should there be a loss of computer systems, downloadable documents are linked.
Appendix 4.1 – proposed action
Appendix 4.2 – forecast summary and rationale
Appendix 4.3 – action taken
Appendix 4.4 – inspection report
The following form is downloadable for operational use and assists in the decision making process.
Winter Service and Emergencies General Information 2020/21
Highway winter service and emergency operations are carried out following the County Council’s Winter Service Plan, which details policies and procedures that have been developed over many years. Its objectives are designed to reduce accidents and delays to the travelling public and assist the movement of emergency vehicles, and can be summarised as follows:-
It is impracticable to salt the entire County road network in freezing conditions so a salting network has been identified comprising the major routes where the majority of vehicle movements take place and it also includes, where practicable access to hospitals, ambulance and fire stations, other emergency service establishments and Secondary Schools.
During severe weather, such as prolonged freezing or significant snowfalls, other routes on the Devon network are treated or cleared on a priority basis after hazards affecting the salting network have been dealt with.
We use modern technology to predict likely road conditions which enable the County to be proactive when freezing conditions or snowfalls are anticipated. With the assistance of weather forecasts, radar and satellite imagery and site sensors, salting operations can be targeted more accurately, thereby minimising the use of salt. This is an important consideration for both environmental and cost grounds.
The condition of the highway network is monitored 24 hours a day from the Network Operations Control Centre at Great Moor House in Exeter; it is from here that winter service operations are co-ordinated.
A modern fleet of salting vehicles is operated by the Council’s contractor, Skanska, from strategically placed depots and used when action is required to:-
prevent the formation of ice on the carriageways of the precautionary salting network;
treat ice that has already formed;
prevent or reduce the amount of snow settling on the carriageways of the precautionary salting network;
The M5 and Trunk Roads are looked after by Highways England and their contractors but Devon still has the greatest road length of any county in England and this, combined with diverse climate conditions, often results in the need to manage complex winter service situations.
General information
Devon’s area and topography
Area 6700 square kilometres (2600 square miles), is ranging from sea level to 620 metres (2000 feet) above sea level.
Roads and Bridges
Devon has 12,866 kilometres (8000 miles) of roads, which is approximately 3000 kilometres (1840 miles) more than any other Highway Authority in England. Devon owns 3300 bridges, of which 3000 bridges are crossing water.
Winter Service and Emergency Budget
Winter service operations £1.29m, Plant, winter systems and standby £1.15m, £2.44m total.
Emergencies £496k (Severe weather damage, flooding etc)
Salting Network
The salting network is 2664km (1655 miles approx) the length of the network actually salted (20% total network), 1394km free length, 4058km total (66% efficient).
Approximately 10,167km (6352 miles), 80%, are not routinely pre-salted and may be icy during cold weather.
There are 37 pre-salting routes.
The typical operational cost of a full pre-salt is approximately £10,700 (excluding plant costs). Salting is typically undertaken on about 60 nights each winter.
Pre-wet Spreading
Pre-wet spreading is carried out by special gritters which have been fitted with brine tanks, as the salt is discharged on to the spinner it is sprayed with a 22% salt brine solution. The brine is made and stored in special tanks called saturators at each depot. By pre-wetting the particles of salt it has been found that the distribution pattern is more predictable and there is less bounce, a residual salt layer is adsorbed and adheres more effectively to the road surface. The finer particles, which are the most active also drift less in-vehicle slipstreams and crosswinds. This has been confirmed by use and experience in Newton Abbot and Tiverton sub-area offices. The same 6mm salt can be used for spreading on the carriageway as dry spreading or a finer 3mm grading can be used. Pre-wet spreaders can operate at higher speeds and there is also a significant saving in salt on negative texture surfacing as salt can be spread at the standard rates. Other advantages are: pre-wet has better retention characteristics; gives a more even spread on the road; less drift onto roadside vegetation and watercourses.
All winter service depots operate a prewet service.
Salt and Grit
Devon spreads salt as the most cost-effective method of treatment. A stock of around 24574 tonnes of spreading and brining salt is stored at depots, mainly in salt barns, at the beginning of the winter season. Typically Devon uses 13000 tonnes of salt per year.
6mm is generally used and for pre-treatment, it is applied rates between 8 and 20 grammes per square metre. Where ice has already formed salt is applied at a heavier rate between 15 and 40 g/m². Salt becomes ineffective for the prevention or treatment of ice at very low temperatures.
When snow is forecast salt is applied at a rate of between 10 and 40 g/m² depending on the amount expected. Uncompacted snow is treated with salt at a rate of 10 g/m² for every 25mm. Grit or a grit/salt mix is used to treat compacted snow.
The County has approximately 3000 salt/grit bins located at known trouble spots away from the pre-salt network for self-help by road users. These are supplemented by bags of salt/grit.
The County Council does not supply salt to outside organisations. Skanska may not sell salt to other Local Authority Directorates or Government bodies without the permission of the Head of Service or their delegate.
Local offices can supply members of the public with salt for highway use up to a maximum of 25 kg during extended periods of cold weather or snow (defined as most of the day), sacks should contain a maximum of 12.5 kg. This should be by arrangement from places where the public normally have access, not from operational depots unless there are appropriate safety facilities and insurance cover. The person issued with salt should be given a copy of the guidelines for use and sign the register.
Ice
Highway authorities have a “duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.” It is therefore important that the procedures set out in the Winter Service Plan are followed as it sets out the policies to meet the duties imposed under the Highways Act. To meet this duty the County Council undertakes pre-salting on the more major routes of the network to prevent the formation of ice or snow settling. During longer cold periods, snow or ice formation is treated on other routes off the pre-salting network on an ‘as needs’ basis, within the resources available, once the precautionary salting network is clear.
Snow
Highway Authorities have a statutory duty under section 150 of the Highways Act to remove obstructions which includes snow.
When snow is forecast, predicted undisturbed amounts are defined as follows:
Slight < 25mm,
moderate 25 to 100mm,
heavy > 100mm.
Snow can only be effectively ploughed when it reaches a depth of greater than 50mm.
Flooding and High Winds
The Environment Agency issue flood warnings during periods of heavy rainfall. Expected conditions have been circulated by the Agency for the different alert states. They operate an information service under the name of Floodline on 0845 988 1188, this service has been expanded in Devon to include information from the County District Councils.
Warnings of high winds are given in severe weather warnings issued by the Met Office.
Mean wind speed of a gale is 43 mph with gusts of 55 mph.
Mean wind speed of a severe gale is 50mph with gusts of 65mph.
Mean wind speed of a storm is 59 mph with gusts of 74 mph.
Sandbags
The County Council holds small local stocks of sandbags to deal with the effects of highway flooding, for example resulting from a blocked highway drain, and is not able to supply sandbags generally to property owners to prevent flooding arising from rivers or land run-off. Where there is a risk that properties might flood, either through high tides or surface runoff, it would be expected that the property owners would take some measures themselves to try to prevent flooding e.g. stop-boards, or purchase of sandbags.
In the event of requests for assistance from District Councils, the Fire Service or other agencies, however, the County Council does endeavour to provide a backup service within the limits of available resources. Some District Councils can supply sandbags, see the Plan for contacts and details or call Floodline, otherwise the following businesses can supply bags for sand but the sand will have to be obtained from quarries or builders’ merchants: Greenhams, Exeter (01392 271770); Parker Merchanting, Exeter (01392 288900). Many builders’ merchants do not stock sandbags.
Skanska
Skanska, the County Council’s term maintenance contractor, provides the workforce to carry out winter service and emergency operations, with up to 200 trained and experienced operatives available.
Plant – Devon has approximately 145 items of plant available for winter service as follows:
In addition to this Skanska, vehicles are used in clearance operations during storms and flooding.
The tractor-mounted snow blowers are available to deal with heavy snowfalls and are based at Okehampton, Newton Abbot, Honiton, South Molton and Parracombe. The County Council’s and Skanska’s equipment can, if necessary, be supplemented by the hire of other contractors’ vehicles. Some farmers and agricultural contractors have tractor mounted snow blowers which can be hired in emergencies.
Ice prediction and detection
Devon uses the following to assist in the prediction of ice formation and snow:
Weather forecasts
Devon receives a comprehensive daily weather forecast specifically aimed at predicting road surface conditions from which the need for pro-active treatment of the salting network is determined. Other forecasts include National Severe Weather Warnings in respect of snow, high winds and flooding when appropriate.
Weather radar and satellite images
Information from radar and satellite sources supplements the weather forecasts and allows engineers to track rainfall and cloud cover. This is important to obtain the correct timing of winter maintenance operations and to prevent abortive salting.
Sensors
Equipment installed at 33 key sites throughout the County provides frequent information concerning road and air temperatures, wind speed and surface conditions. There also 2 footway temperature sensors in Newton Abbot and Okehampton. The sensors will detect the presence of ice and indicate the residual salt concentration present on the road. Also, information from 8 sites on the motorway and trunk road network is available.
The forecasters use information from specific sensors to aid their prediction of road surface temperatures and carriageway conditions.
Thermal maps
The majority of the pre-salting network has been mapped to provide a thermal fingerprint of each route.
Network Operations Control Centre
Crucial to the control of winter service and emergency operations is Devon County Council’s Highway Operations Control Centre from where conditions are continuously monitored so that the action taken can be initiated at the appropriate time. Decisions are taken by considering the forecast, data from the ice detection system, weather satellite and weather radar. A winter service management system has been introduced which collates all the winter service activities and is capable of providing real-time information from the spreaders which have been fitted with GPS to record when they start and complete a salting route. The Highway Operations Control Centre also acts as the liaison point for the police, other emergency services and the motoring organisations. It also serves as a central point of contact for providing information to the media, particularly during severe weather when it collates the county road status across Devon.
Winter service statistics
Pre-salt Routes 37
Pre-salt length 2,664km or 1,655 miles
% of the network treated 20%
Ice Detection Sites 33
Gritters 73
Salt Barns 13
Salt Stock 24574t
Typical Pre-salt Uses 150t
Typical Pre-salt Costs £12,700
Appendix 7 is the report on how the precautionary salting of footways and cycles has been determined.
The following sections of Devons road network are treated by a neighbouring authority to the neighbouring authorities policy and procedure.
8.1 Kingswear – Treated by Torbay Council
8.2 A380 – Torbay Ring Road – Torbay Council
8.3 A39 Welcombe Cross – Cornwall Council
8.4 B3254 – Jewells Cross to Bevill’s Hill – Cornwall Council
8.5 B3165 Monkton Cross to Wootton Cross – Dorset Council
8.6 A3015 Moor Lane to Crossing A30 – Highways England
Salt saturators for prewet
The general operation and maintenance procedure
1.0 General
2.0 Start-up for season
3.0 Check pumps
4.0 Flush pipelines
5.0 Check pipes
6.0 Check level switches for crystallised deposits and correct action
Float Level Switches (eg washdown sump):
Level Sensors (eg saturator):
Level Transmitters (Ultrasonic):
7.0 Check Conductivity Probe for crystallised deposits and correct action
8.0 Check Trace Heating
9.0 Switch on a production unit and produce brine, check correct concentration on the display panel, operation of level switches/sensors, pumps, etc and other controls
10.0 Check general operation of each system
11.0 Top-up salt
12.0 Normal operation of saturator during the season
13.0 Normal operation of spreaders
14.0 End of season run down
15.0 Summer shut down
The saturator can be left in ‘shut down’ mode for many months but power must not be switched off on some units as the backup batteries for the onboard computer and monitoring sensors will not last that long, Some units also have heating elements to protect the electronics from condensation. If appropriate:
16.0 Safe use of pre-wet facilities and stored water
10.1 Winter Service and Other Emergency Inspections
Introduction
Some employees carry out winter service or emergency inspections of the public highway to check on weather and road conditions to ensure the safe passage of the travelling public.
Usually, inspections are ordered as part of the winter service following the lunchtime forecast which should enable those involved time to prepare. Occasionally inspections are undertaken for other purposes eg flooding, and these procedures should be followed as appropriate.
Advice on Emergency Traffic Management for “First on the scene” at accidents and incidents can be found in the Ch.8 Procedure Notes on the intranet.
Planning and Preparation
If you are going to carry out an inspection you should consider the following points:
Starting Out
You must be properly prepared.
Travelling
Employees should be aware of the risks involved in travelling in potentially hazardous conditions and be well prepared.
Finish Time
You must make contact with the other Inspectors and the NOCC to confirm completion of your inspection. If you are delayed for any reason you should notify your colleagues or NOCC.
The safety of inspectors is of paramount importance, if a planned contact between inspectors is overdue, every effort should be made by the other inspectors to make contact. If contact cannot be made within 1/2 hour the other inspectors should inform the NOCC and initiate a search.
On completion of an early morning inspection, you should take a minimum half-hour break before continuing your normal working day.
Extended Operations
In extreme circumstances continuous working may be necessary due to the extent and severity of winter conditions, in these circumstances managers should organise a shift system to ensure staff do not work excessive hours. If an employee feels that they are unable to carry out their duties satisfactorily due to tiredness they should advise their manager and take an appropriate break or be stood down from further duties. All staff must take a minimum of a half-hour break after 4 hours of continuous working.
Training
All personnel engaged in inspections must be trained and competent in the use and maintenance of all relevant equipment and their vehicle, including emergency procedures. Those involved in winter service inspections should attend the skid car course at Devon Drivers Centre before commencing inspections and undergo a refresher every 3 years.
Further Points
Line managers must ensure there is;
Managers must check the driving licence of staff that drive any vehicle on Council business at the commencement of employment and regular intervals thereafter. On travel claims, claimants are required to confirm the validity of their licence. Staff must inform their manager and DVLC of any change in circumstances which affects their licence to drive on Council business, e.g., health difficulties, legal proceedings for motoring offences etc.
There are some directorate documents which should be read in conjunction with this note, including the Winter Service and Emergency Plan and relevant Ch.8 Procedure Notes [most are available on the Intranet].
10.2 Lone Working
Introduction
This safe working procedure has been developed to assist managers and staff in developing the appropriate measures to control risks to lone workers. Lone working is not in itself a hazard, but it is a factor in risk assessment since an incident can become more serious if the person is working alone.
Definition of Lone Workers
Lone workers are those who work by themselves without direct or close supervision.
E.G. Neighbourhood Officers, Public Rights of Way Wardens, Rangers, Road Safety Officers, and any other staff who work away from the office on their own.
Responsibilities:
Managers must ensure that there is a safe system of work in place for lone workers and, that staff are given suitable and sufficient, information, instruction, training and supervision and equipment to do the job safely. Managers are also responsible for ensuring that lone working systems are effective and making changes where necessary. This might include carrying out spot checks on the system to ensure that it is working and making records of such checks.
Staff have a responsibility for their health and safety and for that of others affected by their work. They have a responsibility to inform management of any dangerous or unsafe situations that they become aware of, and to comply with the lone working procedures
Risk Assessment
General risk assessments (Form PD59) should be carried out by the line manager in consultation with the member of staff. (Refer to section 2 of the Safety Management System). These should be recorded and should include tasks where lone working is a factor. Where staff regularly work alone in a set location, such as the Devon Drivers Centre, Stover Country Park etc, a full lone working risk assessment should be developed and recorded for that activity/member of staff.
Risk assessments for lone working must take into account the individuals capabilities and competence as well as the local situation and environment. For example, new or inexperienced members of staff will require more supervision than others who are very experienced. Similarly, young people or women may be more at risk of attack than others. People who work alone must also be fit to do so and be able to respond to emergencies appropriately on their own. Some medical conditions may preclude lone working and this must also be considered in the risk assessment.
Procedures
Where staff work alone but not in a fixed location, for example, Inspectors, Rangers, staff on visits etc, the general risk assessment (above) by the manager should recognise this. These members of staff must be competent to assess the risks to themselves for each lone working visit and to decide on the appropriate action including whether a ‘buddy’ is required. (See flowchart). Under normal circumstances, the daily site risk assessment by the lone worker will not need to be recorded.
Based on the risk assessment, and guidance in this SSWP, each group must develop its procedures for checking where staff are, contacting or checking on staff and responding to emergencies. These procedures must be documented and brought to the attention of all staff and any others affected by them, e.g. Network Operations Control Centre.
Communication
The flow chart indicates three basic levels of risk and the appropriate monitoring arrangements to ensure that the member of staff is safe. Staff may move from one level of risk to another during their normal working day so the level of contact may vary. If there is any doubt, the member of staff must discuss the situation with their line manager and avoid taking unnecessary risks.
First Aid
Refer to Standard Safe Working Procedure on First aid at work. Staff who work alone should have a basic four-hour emergency first aid training (First Aid for Lone Workers) and be provided with a personal first aid kit. There may be circumstances identified in the risk assessment where the member of staff requires a higher level of first aid training, or a more comprehensive first aid kit.
Information and Training
All staff who work alone must be made aware of the requirements and given access to a copy of this safe working procedure by their line manager. Staff must also be given a copy of their lone working risk assessment and have the local hazards and control measures explained to them. (Managers keep records)
Lone working staff will require training in risk assessment so that they are capable of assessing risks from lone working and knowing when to seek help. The training will also include safe working procedures and how to respond to emergencies.
Violent, Aggressive and Threatening Behaviour
Where such behaviour is assessed to be likely, lone working must be avoided. This might be by sending two members of staff or arranging the meeting in a public place etc. Even where two members of staff are sent, checks may still be necessary to see that they are ok.
It is recommended that lone workers are given training in dealing with conflict. Refer also to SSWP on Dealing with Conflict and SSWP on Accident and Incident Reporting. Form PO20 is used to report incidents of aggressive or threatening behaviour and line managers should ensure that the details of such reports are considered in the risk assessments, so that staff are made aware of potentially aggressive people. The County Council Policy on Acceptable Behaviour can be found on the Corporate Intranet site. See the Health Safety and Welfare homepage.
Contractors/Volunteers
In addition to County Council Staff, managers should consider the safety of others who work alone on behalf of the County Council such as contractors and volunteers. These groups must produce a suitable risk assessment and develop safe working procedures.
Further Advice can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website Lone Working Guidance
Inspections
For inspections, the existing SSWP will apply, see section 3.1 of the safety management system.
Emergency Call Outs
Staff on emergency call outs must follow the medium risk procedure (see flowchart).
Suggested Emergency Procedure to be followed by the buddy or NOCC staff
You should only initiate this procedure if the officer is more than half an hour late in responding or returning to base.
Staff must inform line managers of any relevant changes such as new phone numbers, change of address, change of vehicle details etc. Line managers must then pass on the relevant information to the NOCC. Staff must not take unnecessary risks and must take care of their own health and safety. Staff must inform buddies or responsible person of any changes to visit route, timings etc.
Line managers must ensure that staff records are kept up to date and that the Highway Operations Control Centre is updated on any new mobile phone numbers. Staff must be trained in simple risk assessment so that they are capable of making basic assessments in the course of their jobs.
10.3 Guidance on Risk Assessment for Lone Workers
Personal Risk Assessment Advice
Employees should carry out their risk assessment before undertaking any work activity. This should include as a basic minimum a consideration of the following:
On arrival at the Worksite
10.4 Guidance for the Management of Lone Working (Risk Assessment)
Task Analysis
Are there any hazards which you could reasonably expect to result in significant harm due to conditions of the work area. Additionally, have you considered the compound effect from a combination of hazards? Record each hazard and state how the particular risk associated with the hazard has been overcome.
Task Analysis – Aide memoir
The following list is not exhaustive and should be used only as a memory jogger, by employees and managers to determine the maximum information about the task and working environment, and as an aid to producing the risk assessment.
Ability (personal) | Access and egress | Accidents | After hours |
Aggression and violence | Animals | Cash | Chemicals |
Communications | Competency | Complaints (previous) | Electrics |
Environment | Equipment (vehicles) | Experience | Fire |
First Aid | Ground conditions | Heights | Illness |
Instructions | Ladders/scaffolding | Lighting | Machinery |
Manual handling | Night work | Noise | Parking |
Permits to work | Protective clothing | Recording in and out | Remoteness |
Restriction | Road signs | Specialist equipment | Signing |
Travellers | Test equipment | Time constraints | Toilets |
Tools | Training | Traffic | Trenches |
Trip/slip/fall hazards | Weather | Warning devices | Water |
People | Gender | Living alone | Confined spaces |
Where employees are visiting / meeting service users, clients or members of the public, managers must take into account any past incidents of violence, their attitude or known behavioural problems of the individuals.
Working alone can add additional risks to work activity. Managers must establish clear procedures on what can and what cannot be done when carrying out a work task. Managers must ensure that the lone worker has full knowledge of all known and considered hazards and the risk associated with a specific task. They must know the lone worker’s whereabouts and have a means of communicating with them where appropriate. They should have contingency plans for any breakdown in communications or any other emergency which could develop. Consideration should be given to:
Supervision
How is this achieved, with what frequency, can contact be initiated by the worker or can it be initiated by the Supervisor. Levels of supervision should complement information, instruction and training and give guidance in situations of uncertainty. Supervision will depend on the risks involved and the proficiency and experience of the employee. The supervisor must stress that where the lone worker finds themselves in a hazardous situation, to withdraw without fear or prejudice.
Training, Instruction and Information
Has the employee been informed and given all necessary and relevant information, instruction, training and supervision to enable them to recognise and minimise the hazards and appreciate the risks involved whilst lone working? Is it recorded?
Communication
Should be commensurate with the risks involved. Should be easily and readily utilised. May include mobile phone, pager, personal alarm, handheld or vehicle two-way radio. Is coverage complete i.e. is the phone/radio signal strength adequate? Decide on the frequency of communication? This may range from monitoring checks, a regular pattern of calls or an automatic device if period signals aren’t received.
Are records kept of where staff are, how long away, when returning, and the contact name and numbers of staff working away from the base, together with their current vehicle details? What contingency plans for a breakdown of communications are required?
Remember – communication can give a false sense of security and may increase risk rather than reducing it in some circumstances.
First Aid
What is the location of the nearest first aid kit and availability of a competent first aider, for treatment of injuries? (See SSWP on First Aid at Work)
Suitability of equipment
The selection and use must be in line with the requirements of Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. It is imperative that only the tools supplied by the employer are used and as instructed. Tools must have a planned system of maintenance. Standby equipment should be earmarked for emergencies in the event of equipment failure. Can the equipment be safely handled by one person?
Accident and Emergency Procedures
Are the physical and mental abilities of the individual capable of responding to the incident correctly and in a specified manner? What procedures are in place for reporting accidents or incidents. What action should be taken if an employee fails to call in or report back, who is to be notified? Who is the contact during out of hours work? Consider equipment failure, uncontrolled exposure to harmful agents, illness, physical assault or vehicle breakdown.
Personal Protective Equipment
Determined by the risk assessment, and in line with the requirements of Personal Protective Equipment Regulations. Supervisory checks are critical to its continued safe use.
Personal Preparedness
Achieved through work planning and validation of procedures used.
Double Staffing
Should a particular risk be incapable of being eliminated or reduced so far as is reasonably practicable, double staffing may have to be considered as part of a safe system of work. Additional advice should be obtained before work commencing
Transportation
Can premises be reached by ordinary vehicles and will weather further affect this? Suitability, maintenance and servicing of vehicles. Are courses in defensive driving necessary?
Contact with the Public or Animals
92% of violent crime is related to direct contact with the public. Is cash to be handled?
Is it feasible that an animal will be used to provoke an attack?
Permits to work
Particularly where risk is considered high or where specific legal requirements exist, some or all of the above procedures may be contained in a written permit to work and without which the activity may not take place. Where time limits are a consideration from exposure or fatigue the permit to work should state the start / stop time or maximum duration of the task.
Safety When Approaching Or Opening The Workplace
Safety When Leaving Or Closing The Workplace
Practical points in dealing with possible conflict situations during a visit to the public, site, a service user’s or client’s home
Safety In The Car
Safety In The Street
Safety In Reception / Interview Areas
To Reduce The Risk Of Provocation
What To Do If A Difficult Situation Occurs
Try to defuse the situation
Help the person to feel in control of themselves
If you feel at risk from violence
If unable to leave protect yourself
Observe people’s behaviour closely and be aware of non-verbal communication (‘body language’)
Use Of Self-Defence
The law concerning the use of Self Defence was clearly described in the Appeal Judgement given in Palmer V Regina 1971 and still applies today. The judge stated:
“It is both good law and common sense that a man who is attacked may defend himself. It is both good law and common sense that he may do, but may only do, what is reasonably necessary. But everything will depend on the particular circumstances”.
The following points should give some guidance on the legal use of force as a means of self-defence:
What Is a Reasonable Force?
Reference Section Of Publications
Safe work in confined spaces. Confined Spaces Regulations 1997.
Approved Code of Practice
L101 HSE Books 1997 0 7176 1405 0
Memorandum of guidance on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
HSR25 HSE Books 1989 ISBN 0 7176 1602 9
HSE leaflet Violence at work INDG89 HSE Books 1997
Single copies free, multiple copies in priced packs ISBN 0 7176 1271 6
HSE leaflet Working Alone in Safety INDG73(rev)
Risk assessment
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Approved Code of Practice and guidance L21 (second edition)
HSE Books 1999 ISBN 0 7176 2488 9
HSE free leaflet Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations1992. Updated to include changes affecting young people and new and expectant mothers MISC079 HSE Books 1997.
HSE leaflet 5 steps to risk assessment INDG163(rev1) HSE Books 1998. Single copies free, multiple copies in priced packs ISBN 0 7176 1565 0.