Vancouver, BC, Feb. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Only Strata Snow Removal Releases Findings Showing No Clear Industry Standard for When Snow Dispatch Is Actually Required — Announces Partnership with Winter Intelligence Engine (WIE) to End the Grey Area
Snow removal and salting services across Canada and the USA are under mounting pressure in 2026.
Climate-driven freeze–thaw cycles.
Rapid accumulation events.
Salt supply volatility.
Labor shortages.
Rising insurance scrutiny.
But amid equipment strain, budget pressure, and environmental regulation, Only Strata Snow Removal says the industry is overlooking a more fundamental issue:
There is no standardized answer to a basic operational question:
When should snow removal actually be dispatched?
According to internal operational findings released this week, the absence of defined dispatch thresholds is fueling widespread disputes between contractors and property managers — while increasing slip-and-fall liability exposure across strata and multi-residential properties. This is especially true for high liability environments like snow removal in Vancouver
The industry has best practices for plowing.
It has best practices for salting.
It does not have best practices for dispatch timing.
And that gap is expensive.
Across strata, condo, townhome, mixed-use, and senior living communities, the company identified recurring grey areas:
• Is 1–2 cm accumulation enough to trigger plowing?
• Should salting occur before snowfall, during freezing rain, or only after plowing?
• Is applying salt during heavy snowfall effective — or wasteful?
• At what pavement temperature does salt lose effectiveness?
Public-facing guidance widely agrees on a three-phase salting strategy:
Pre-treat before a storm to prevent bonding.
Apply during freezing rain or high-traffic risk zones.
Plow first, then salt residual ice after accumulation is cleared.
Yet in practice, dispatch often happens without measurable environmental triggers.
Salt applied too early during heavy snowfall becomes buried and diluted.
Waiting too long allows ice to bond to pavement.
Salt loses efficiency below approximately -9°C to -7°C (15–20°F).
Uncalibrated spreaders increase environmental runoff and cost.
Without calibrated thresholds for snowfall depth, pavement temperature, and refreeze risk, dispatch decisions remain subjective.
When a claim occurs, documentation is judged against hindsight.
“The industry has normalized ambiguity,” said Trevor James, Regional Manager at Only Strata Snow Removal. “Everyone talks about how to plow and how to salt. Almost no one defines when dispatch becomes mandatory. When timing is subjective, liability is amplified. Standardizing triggers protects property managers, contractors, and insurers alike.”
The company warns that broader national pressures — including salt shortages in certain provinces, environmental restrictions on runoff, and increasingly volatile winter patterns — are magnifying the consequences of imprecise timing.
Operational inefficiency is one cost.
Insurance exposure is another.
Slip-and-fall investigations increasingly examine:
• Whether pre-treatment occurred before bonding
• Whether high-traffic zones were prioritized
• Whether dispatch timing was reasonable given weather data
• Whether salt application was calibrated and appropriate
But without objective trigger standards, “reasonable” remains debatable.
In response, Only Strata Snow Removal has partnered with Winter Intelligence Engine (WIE), built by: snow removal expert — a weather analytics and risk-modeling platform designed to convert environmental data into defined dispatch protocols.
The integration introduces:
• Verified snowfall accumulation thresholds
• Live pavement temperature monitoring
• Freeze–thaw cycle modeling
• Refreeze risk prediction
• Time-stamped dispatch justification logs
• Site-specific trigger calibration
Dispatch shifts from interpretation to instrumentation.
For property managers, this reduces billing disputes over “unnecessary” service.
For strata councils, it strengthens defensibility in liability review.
For insurers, it creates documented, measurable risk mitigation.
High-density residential environments — including strata complexes, apartment buildings, and senior living communities — carry elevated pedestrian exposure and litigation probability. Yet the broader snow removal industry still lacks uniform dispatch standards aligned with insurance expectations.
Snow removal best practices answer how to plow.
Salting best practices answer how to treat ice.
The missing standard has been when to act.
Winter events are measurable.
Accumulation depth is measurable.
Pavement temperature is measurable.
Refreeze probability is measurable.
Dispatch should be measurable too.
As underwriting scrutiny increases and climate volatility accelerates, Only Strata Snow Removal argues that data-driven dispatch governance may soon transition from operational innovation to industry requirement.
The snow is predictable.
The trigger should be too.
Media Contact:
Only Strata Snow Removal
Trevor James, Regional Manager
Phone: +1 (604) 992-7500
Website: www.onlystrata.ca
Email: [email protected]
