Ismaning's building manager on winter service: Every weather situation under control

The clearing vehicles and the staff at the Ismaninger Bauhof are well prepared for any form of snow and ice.

Ismaning

– The original snow forecast for the weekend does not seem to be fulfilled, but a lot can happen in the short term.

Manfred Gerold (54) manages the building yard in Ismaning.

There, together with 20 employees, he is prepared for all weather conditions.

On the roads and paths in the 40 square meter municipal area of ​​Ismaning, the employees of the building yard clear more than 300 kilometers on their routes.

The service begins at 3:30 a.m., and the most important roads are cleared by 7 a.m., depending on snowfall.

Will we have winter weather with snow and frost again in February or March?

I hope so.

Snow is part of winter.

We are definitely prepared.

We have 21 men on duty.

16 vehicles are available.

Ten men drive their routes with small bulldogs, three with large bulldogs.

Two men are on foot and, for example, clear the pedestrian crossings.

Three big loaders clear the bus stops.

When does it start?

We have a different colleague on duty as a scout every week.

He drives through town at 3:30 in the morning.

If there is black ice or snow, he notifies me.

Then I'll send out the winter service.

In the past two years, it has often only snowed in the early hours of the morning, between four and six o'clock.

Time is short for us, we only have two to three hours until rush hour starts.

It used to be different, the snow tended to come during the night.

If it snows for a long time, the team moves out again after a break in the late afternoon.

Those are long working days.

Do you put more salt or more grit on the roads?

Mostly grit, on the footpaths we only work with grit anyway.

But there are dangerous places where salt is necessary, for example on the mountain road and on the Stumpfberg, where there are slopes, on the bridges or in the moss, where strong drifts are to be expected.

When a lot of snow falls, is it always a challenge for your team?

People have so much experience and have been at this for years.

If someone gets sick or their vehicle breaks down on the tour, others jump in immediately and take over the rest of the tour.

Nobody lets the other down.

The togetherness is great.

That is a good thing.

Your people get up in the middle of the night and are the first to quietly make their laps in the snow early in the morning...

Yes, if you're lucky and shine your headlights on a snow-covered track and the snow glitters, yes, you'll be happy.

Are your employees already looking forward to the assignment?

As long as people are happy with us, it's fun.